Adam Fravel sentenced to life in prison for murdering Madeline Kingsbury
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A judge Tuesday sentenced a southeastern Minnesota man to life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing his estranged partner. A jury in November convicted Adam Fravel of first-degree premeditated murder in the 2023 death of Madeline Kingsbury, the mother of his two young children.
In a Winona courtroom on Tuesday afternoon, Kingsbury’s family members described the profound loss they continue to feel at her absence. Kingsbury's mother, Krista Hultgren, was the first to give a victim impact statement.
“Madeline’s kids will grow up without their mommy, and we go on as best as possible without our daughter, sister, friend and aunt. The wake he has left is far reaching and hardly slows to a ripple. It will never be still,” Hultgren said.
“There are a few things as truly difficult to bear as a death of your child, the exception being that child brutally and senselessly murdered. It’s an almost intolerable weight,” her father David Kingsbury said. “Each morning, my mind painfully adjusts the realization that it's not just a bad dream. Madeline is still really dead and Adam Fravel killed her."
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Kingsbury’s sister Megan Kingsbury Hancock spoke about how she got married recently, and how Kingsbury should have been there as her maid of honor.
“That's one of the worst parts, is that we have no choice Madeline is gone, every holiday, every special event, every milestone, we have no choice. We have to carry on without her,” Kingsbury Hancock said. “The defendant made the choice to take her life, which she had no right to do. He made the choice to rob the children of their mother and consequently, of their father as well.”
When Judge Nancy Buytendorp asked Fravel if he wanted to make a statement, Fravel, who sat beside his attorneys handcuffed throughout the hearing said only that he maintains his innocence.
“I never caused harm to Maddie and I am innocent,” Fravel said. “Thank you.”
During closing arguments in the three-week trial, prosecutor Phillip Prokopowicz referenced testimony from Kingsbury’s friends about instances of alleged domestic abuse by Fravel.
The 26-year-old went missing in March of 2023. Kingsbury was last seen when she and Fravel dropped their two children at a Winona day care. She never showed up for work at Mayo Clinic in Rochester that day, and her family reported her missing.
About 10 weeks later, investigators found Kingsbury’s remains in a culvert near the Fillmore County home of Fravel’s parents.
Because of widespread publicity, the presiding judge moved Fravel’s trial from Winona to Mankato, though his sentencing hearing will be in Winona.
If you or someone you know is in a dangerous situation with a partner, there is a 24-hour statewide domestic and sexual violence hotline. You can call Minnesota Day One at (866) 223-1111 or text (612) 399-9995.
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