Closing arguments presented Wednesday

WEDNESDAY NOV. 7 10:43 UPDATE: The jury has reached a verdict in the Adam Fravel murder case Thursday morning, which will be announced shortly after

WEDNESDAY NOV. 6 21:38 UPDATE: The jury will continue deliberations Thursday morning.

The jury meets again at 8.00, and it feels that a judgment is close.

WEDNESDAY NOV. 6 20:13 UPDATE: A few of the jurors had questions during the deliberations. The first was a matter of deliberation. The second was a question of murder in the second degree, intentional. The last was whether Fravel could be convicted of all four charges he faces.

Right now, the jury continues its deliberations.

WEDNESDAY NOV. 6 11:45 AM UPDATE: Defense attorney Zach Bauer delivered his closing argument following the prosecution’s closing argument.

Bauer would emphasize how there were no signs of a struggle inside the residence Adam Fravel and Madeline Kingsbury shared. He would bring photos that were shown to the jury during testimony that he says support that.

Bauer also brought up how Fravel was very willing to give investigators his phone and passwords.

Bauer then wanted to review testimony given Friday as the defense presented its testimony. Bauer noted how one of those witnesses saw a person waving to them at the property’s townhouse shared by Fravel and Kingsbury. This witness described the person he saw and that description, Bauer says, did not match Fravel’s appearance.

Bauer then brought up a text exchange between Kingsbury and her sister, Megan. In this exchange, Bauer noted how Madeline said that Fravel wasn’t “evil” but that it was just “awkward” to have him around the house when the two had broken up.

The next part of Bauer’s argument involved a reference to the phone conversation between Kingsbury and Fravel, which resulted in Fravel sending many pictures to Kingsbury. Bauer stated that a text conversation over the course of two hours does not determine what the relationship was really like.

Bauer then went on to talk about other text conversations between Kingsbury and Fravel, including one in which Kingsbury said she wanted to “cuddle” with Fravel. Bauer noted how this text conversation was after their relationship was said to be over and that this was a “weird” exchange to have with someone you’re no longer in a relationship with. Bauer claimed that the relationship was not really over.

Bauer also argued that Kingsbury was not truly “controlled” by Fravel, and that evidence suggests that Kingsbury did many things that she wanted, such as taking long walks around the lake with Spencer Sullivan.

Bauer then talked about some of the testimony Kingsbury’s friends had, and that the stories they shared about seeing marks on Kingsbury were all nearly identical. Bauer noted how the friends “really didn’t like” Fravel and that no one else shared stories of seeing marks on Kingsbury.

Bauer then reiterated the idea that Kingsbury was “fighting for his life”, believing it to be a weak argument. Bauer said Fravel only had a few scratches on his face, which were not a true sign of a struggle. Bauer also said the photos taken of Fravel on April 6 showing bruises are not valuable evidence because those photos were taken nearly a week after Kingsbury disappeared. Bauer said Fravel could easily have gotten those bruises somewhere between March 31 and April 6, the day those photos were taken.

Bauer added that there was plenty of evidence provided through testimony that Fravel was a loving father and also loved Kingsbury. “He loved his children and he loved Madeline Kingsbury,” Bauer said.

Following Bauer’s argument, Prokopowicz would resume the position of refutation.

Prokopowicz argued that there were no signs of a break-in at the house, meaning there had to be someone already there who committed the murder. Prokopowicz again said Fravel would have been the only other person in the residence.

Prokopowicz also argued against the witness testifying for the defense. Prokopowicz reminded the jury that this person the witness saw in front of the townhouse was nothing more than that, just a person in front of the residence. Prokopowicz emphasized that there was no evidence that this person had anything to do with Kingsbury and Fravel.

During his rebuttal, Prokopowicz also noted how Fravel’s stories didn’t add up and didn’t make sense.

Following Prokopowicz’s rebuttal, the jury then began receiving instructions from the judge before beginning deliberations.

Earlier on Wednesday 6 Nov

MANKATO, Minn. (KTTC) – The Adam Fravel murder case appears to be reaching a conclusion soon as Wednesday would see closing arguments being made by the defense and the state.

Prosecutor Phil Prokopowicz took the stand to lead the case Wednesday for the state. Prokopowicz started by reminding the jury of the importance of “proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” and it considers both direct and circumstantial evidence.

Prokopowicz also emphasized that after considering all the evidence presented during the trial, Adam Fravel is guilty of all the crimes he has been accused of. He reminded the jury how Madeline Kingsbury disappeared on the morning of March 31, 2023 and would not be seen for several weeks. He reminded the jury of the course of the investigation that ultimately led to the discovery of Kingsbury’s body in June 2023.

Prokopowicz also wanted the jury to consider whether Fravel had the motive, opportunity and means to kill Kingsbury. He says that the motive for Fravel to kill Kingsbury lies in the relationship between the two and that it was never about “them” but more about “him”. He reminded the jury of the testimony of Kingsbury’s friend Michaela Shaw and how she said Fravel would often call Kingsbury derogatory terms dating back to their college days.

Prokopowicz wanted to revisit testimony that described the frustrations Kingsbury had with Fravel after the birth of the couple’s first child and how he would never take any responsibility in the house. He also wanted to review more testimony from Kingsbury’s friends detailing physical abuse she suffered at the hands of Fravel.

Prokopowicz also went over the ties between this case and the Gabby Petito case. Prokopowicz reviewed testimony that said Fravel pushed Kingsbury and told her that if she didn’t mind, she would end up like Petito.

However, Prokopowicz said the biggest piece of evidence showing what Fravel and Kingsbury’s relationship was like was a text conversation between the two in which Kingsbury didn’t think she still had feelings for Fravel and apologized “for her indecisiveness.” The two talked about potentially going through therapy, but Kingsbury reiterated that she didn’t know if it would change anything. Fravel would eventually start sending Kingsbury many photos of the two together, some dating back to before their children were born. Many pictures were with the children. Fravel claimed he wanted to delete the photos and that he gave her a chance to save them.

Prokopowicz brought up how even though Kingsbury told Fravel to stop and that she knew what he was trying to do, he continued to send more photos.

Prokopowicz went on to revisit Kingsbury’s relationship with Spencer Sullivan and how he was a main reason Kingsbury broke it off with Fravel. Prokopowicz said how it was one thing “Fravel couldn’t control.”

Prokopowicz would add that Kingsbury officially ended it with Fravel in March 2023, by the same month she would disappear. Prokopowicz described how Fravel was angry at the prospect of another man raising her children and that he would constantly hover around Kingsbury around the house in the days leading up to her disappearance.

Finally, Prokopowicz recounted how Kingsbury and Fravel dropped off their children at daycare before returning to their residence on March 31. Prokopowicz said how Kingsbury never responded to a text from his sister that morning, which was unusual. This text was sent to Kingsbury minutes after she and Fravel arrived back at their residence.

Prokopowicz said evidence indicates Kingsbury did not leave her residence alive, meaning someone else in the residence took her life. Prokopowicz said the only other person who would have been there was Fravel. “Don’t forget it,” Prokopowicz said. “The defendant was in that residence.”

Prokopowicz will again argue that there was proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Fravel was responsible for Kingsbury’s death and that he planned it. Prokopowicz said “he knew what he wanted to do that morning.”

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