Adam Fravel guilty on all 4 counts of Madeline Kingsbury murder

MANKATO, Minn. – A jury here found Adam Fravel guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend Madeline Kingsbury, the Winona woman whose disappearance in late March 2023 sparked nationwide interest and a search that drew more than 2,000 volunteers.

Fravel, 30, was charged with four counts of murder after Kingsbury’s body was found in a culvert near a dirt road off Highway 43 in June, a few miles from Fravel’s parents’ property. His trial began Oct. 7, and the jury deliberated for about 10 hours before reaching a verdict Thursday morning.

Fravel is scheduled to be sentenced at 1:45 p.m. 17 December.

It has taken nearly a year and a half to get to this point since Kingsbury’s body was found on June 7. Prosecutors say Fravel was jealous, Kingsbury planned to leave him for another man. Fravel was also dependent on Kingsbury financially, and the relationship appears to have soured after Kingsbury gave birth to the first of their two children.

Kingsbury and Fravel’s friends and family attended the sentencing, some worried beforehand that they would throw up or feel nauseous.

Fravel, dressed in a black suit, appeared to be crying and using a napkin to wipe his face as people filed into the courtroom. Both sides had tears in their eyes as Winona County District Court Judge Nancy Buytendorp finished the sentence.

Several of Fravel’s family members sobbed after the court adjournment.

Fravel and Kingsbury had an on-again, off-again relationship for seven years before Kingsbury’s disappearance. Kingsbury often complained that Fravel never helped around the house, according to her friends and family.