Adam Fravel has been convicted of killing Madeline Kingsbury, the mother of his children.

The jury found him guilty on all charges — two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder.

The jury began deliberating around 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday and went until 9:30 p.m. Deliberations began again at 8 a.m. on Thursday.

His sentencing has been scheduled for the afternoon of December 17 in Winona County. He faces life in prison because of the first-degree murder convictions.

“There’s no joy here,” declared Kingsbury’s father David. “But we’re glad of the result.”

The family says they’re relieved at the verdict but are feeling the loss of a daughter, a sister, and the mother of two young children.

“It’s a bit of a pyrrhic victory,” says David. “We’re not going to get Madeline back. Fravel can’t be punished enough.”

As previously reported, Kingsbury first disappeared from her home on March 31, 2023. A large-scale search effort soon ramped up in southeastern Minnesota.

“Everybody rallied together,” recalled Megan Kingsbury, Madeline’s sister. “Everybody was asking questions, contacting law enforcement, providing resources, making websites, Facebook pages.”

“The community came together immediately,” added Winona Police Chief Tom Williams. “They started organizing search parties before we did.”

Kingsbury’s body was found taped up in a bedsheet off of a country road in Fillmore County in June 2023.

Prosecutors built a case painting Fravel as an abusive partner who had remarked about Kingsbury ending up like Gabby Petito, a social media influencer who was strangled to death by her boyfriend.

“At the end of the day, you have to trust the process,” says Kingbury’s brother Steven. “The truth kind of rises to the top and the evidence, it always comes out.”

The defense argued there was no abuse and said there were no signs of struggle where prosecutors say Kingsbury was killed.

Defense attorney Zachery Bauer called the law enforcement case ‘tunnel vision’— targeting Fravel.

“Just disappointed in the outcome,” he said. “Mr. Fravel will have the right to an appeal before the Minnesota Supreme Court, as with all first-degree murder cases.”

According to sister station KAAL, prosecutors brought 68 witnesses to the stand over the course of two weeks, including Kingsbury’s parents, law enforcement investigators and forensic scientists.

Fravel’s defense team called on five witnesses, including two law enforcement officers, Fravel’s brother, and neighbors of the couple’s home in Winona and Fravel’s parents in Mabel. Fravel did not testify in his own defense.

Winona County District Judge Nancy Buytendorp agreed to move the trial to Blue Earth County due to the extensive pretrial publicity in the Winona area. Even with the move, jury selection took a week and a half before both sides found 12 jurors and five alternates. Both sides gave their opening statements on Oct. 17.

Kingsbury’s family says they’re planning to start a foundation in her name to educate people about domestic abuse and to provide resources for people who need help. The family called the verdict a kind of call to arms.  

“The jury and the state struck a blow for abused women today,” Daniel Kingsbury declared. “The message has got to go out; you can’t do this and get away with it.”

You can find KSTP’s reporting on the disappearance and murder of Madeline Kingsbury here.

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