Minnesota man gets life without parole for killing girlfriend who was the subject of a 69-day search

WINONA. Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole Tuesday for killing his girlfriend, whose 2023 disappearance after she dropped off their kids at daycare drew national attention and prompted thousands of volunteers to join a 69-day search for her.

A jury had found Adam Fravel, 30, of Mabel, guilty of premeditated first-degree murder in November. He was arrested in June 2023, days after deputies found the body of Madeline Kingsbury in a culvert on a dead-end road a few miles away from a property owned by Fravel’s parents.

The 26-year-old Kingsbury vanished in March 2023 after dropping off her and Fravel’s two young children at a day care in Winona, a southeastern Minnesota city of about 26,000 residents.

A deputy found Kingsbury’s body in a gray fitted bed sheet that had been closed with black Gorilla tape. Prosecutor Phil Prokopowicz said she was strangled with a towel and that a medical examiner concluded she likely died of asphyxiation. The towel, bedsheet and tape matched items found in their Winona home, Prokopowicz said during the trial.

The trial was moved to Mankato, about 136 miles (219 kilometers) west of Winona, because of extensive pretrial publicity, but the case returned to Winona for Fravel’s sentencing before District Judge Nancy Buytendorp, who handed down the mandatory sentence.

“The sentence reflects the severity of your actions and serves as a clear statement that such violence will not be tolerated in this community,” Buytendorp told Fravel, adding that she hopes the resolution of the case will “inspire collective action to prevent future tragedies of this nature.”

Fravel did not testify in his own defense at trial, and spoke only briefly at his sentencing. Before deputies led him away, he told the judge: “I never caused harm to Maddie and I am innocent. Thank you.”

Prokopowicz and witnesses said Kingsbury had been planning to leave Fravel for another man after becoming frustrated with his alleged abusive behavior and inadequate contributions to their family. He responded to those plans by killing her, the prosecutor said.

“The relationship was never about them,” Prokopowicz said in his closing statement. “It was always about him.”

Witnesses testified they had seen bruises on Kingsbury’s neck. In one instance, a friend said she was on a video call with Kingsbury when Fravel allegedly hit her. Another friend testified that Kingsbury told her Fravel had warned Kingsbury that she could end up like Gabby Petito, a woman who was killed by her boyfriend in a high-profile 2021 case.

Fravel’s attorney, Zach Bauer, told the judge Tuesday they will appeal. He said in his closing argument last month that the case against Fravel relied on “tunnel vision, revisionist history and secret truths.” He contended that there was no sign of any physical struggle inside the couple’s home. He also pointed to testimony from a neighbor who claimed to have never heard the couple argue.

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