Crime, Law and Justice

Adam Fravel found guilty on all charges in Kingsbury murder

Signs along the highway in Chatfield
Signs along the highway in Chatfield and elsewhere indicate the southeast Minnesota community's desire to find Madeline Kingsbury.
Ken Klotzbach for MPR News

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Jurors deliberated for less than a day before returning guilty verdicts on four charges including premediated first-degree murder. The March 2023 disappearance of Madeline Kingsbury, who was last seen in Winona, resulted in a four-month search. The father of her children, Adam Fravel, was arrested shortly after her body was discovered wrapped in a sheet in a culvert in Fillmore County in southeast Minnesota, near property owned by Fravel’s family.
A mug shot of a man.
Adam Fravel
Courtesy of Winona County Sheriff's Office

After a three-week trial, the jury in the trial of Adam Fravel found him guilty of four charges for the murder of Madeline Kingsbury.

Kingsbury was the mother of Fravel's children. The case attracted national attention and was moved from Winona to Mankato as a result.

Before a packed court room, the jury foreperson announced guilty verdicts on charges of: premeditated first-degree murder; first-degree murder with a past pattern of domestic abuse; second-degree murder with intent; and second-degree murder while committing a felony.

A profile image of a woman.
Madeline Jane Kingsbury
Courtesy of Minnesota BCA

Kingsbury disappeared at the end of March 2023 and was the subject of a widespread search. Her body was found four months later in a culvert near Fravel’s parents home in Fillmore County in southeast Minnesota. Law enforcement then arrested Fravel.

Sentencing is set for Dec. 17 in Winona. Fravel faces a possible life sentence.

Members of the Kingsbury and Fravel families were present at the reading of the verdict. Some Fravel family members burst into tears when the guilty verdicts were handed down.

Speaking later to reporters outside the courthouse David Kingsbury, Madeline's father, says justice has been served but it won't bring his daughter back.

“Fravel can’t be punished enough,” he said. “We’ve lost a daughter, mother, aunt, sister. Children are scarred ... not just Eliana and Noah, but the children in our extended family wonder why. His life is wasted, ruin and devastation to two families. There’s no joy here, but we’re glad at the result.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Friends and family of Madeline Kingsbury console each other
Friends and family of Madeline Kingsbury console each other on June 8, 2023, after a press conference in Winona City Hall announcing the finding of her remains.
Ken Klotzbach for MPR News