MANKATO, Minn. — A man from Minnesota was found guilty on Thursday for the murder of his girlfriend, a case that captured national attention following her disappearance in 2023. The extensive search efforts that ensued drew thousands of volunteers, ultimately leading to the discovery of her remains in a secluded area of the state.
After less than a full day of deliberations, a jury declared Adam Fravel guilty of first-degree murder. His arrest came in June 2023, shortly after authorities located 26-year-old Madeline Kingsbury’s body in a wooded region a few miles from property belonging to Fravel’s parents. Kingsbury had gone missing in March 2023 after dropping off their two young children at a daycare center in Winona, a town with approximately 26,000 residents in southeastern Minnesota.
The courtroom proceedings focused on contrasting representations of the couple’s domestic relationship as well as the police inquiries that led to Fravel being charged. Phil Prokopowicz, serving as the special prosecutor for the Winona County Attorney’s Office, built a case based on testimonies from family and friends who reported instances of alleged domestic violence, according to reports. Fravel’s defense attorney, Zach Bauer, argued that the investigation and prosecution were clouded by “tunnel vision, revisionist history, and hidden realities.”
Witnesses gave accounts of seeing bruises on Kingsbury’s neck, and a friend testified to being on a FaceTime call with her when Fravel allegedly struck her. Another individual recounted that Kingsbury had expressed to her concern about Fravel’s threats, likening her fate to that of Gabby Petito, a murder victim killed by her boyfriend in a notorious 2021 case.
Prosecutors suggested that Kingsbury had intentions of leaving Fravel due to his purported abusive behavior and lack of support for their family, arguing that his response to her plans was lethal. “The relationship was never about them,” Prokopowicz emphasized in his closing arguments, “It was always about him.” He contended that all evidence pointed to Fravel being the sole individual with the means to kill Kingsbury.
Investigators discovered Kingsbury’s body wrapped in a gray fitted bedsheet, secured with black Gorilla tape. Prokopowicz indicated that she had been strangled using a towel, with a medical examiner determining asphyxia as the probable cause of death. The towel, bedsheet, and tape were consistent with items located in their home in Winona, he noted.
In Fravel’s defense, Bauer asserted that there were no indications of a physical altercation occurring inside the couple’s residence, which disputed the notion that Kingsbury had died there. He also presented testimony from a neighbor, claiming to have seen an unfamiliar person waving at him from the home on the morning Kingsbury went missing. Additionally, Bauer contested the prosecution’s assertion that Fravel exhibited a pattern of domestic violence by highlighting a neighbor’s account of not witnessing any arguments between the couple.
The trial was conducted in Mankato, Minnesota, situated approximately 136 miles (219 kilometers) from Winona, following a successful motion from Fravel’s legal team to relocate the case. Fravel is scheduled for sentencing on December 16.