Madeline Kingsbury case: Full jury seated in trial of Adam Fravel
MANKATO, Minn. (FOX 9) - Opening statements are expected to start Thursday morning in the trial of Adam Fravel, the man charged in the murder of Winona mother Madeline Kingsbury last year.
What to know
Fravel is facing trial for murder in the first degree for the death of Kingsbury.
The trial was moved from Winona County to Blue Earth County due to publicity surrounding the case.
Opening statements from attorneys are expected to start Thursday morning.
Adam Fravel mugshot (Credit Winona County Jail)
Background
Kingsbury was last seen alive on March 31, 2023, after dropping her kids off at day care.
Fravel was in the midst of moving out of Kingsbury's home after Kingsbury broke up with him.
Kingsbury's disappearance gripped the small southern Minnesota community, with hundreds of people volunteering to aid search efforts by authorities.
Despite the efforts of both law enforcement and volunteers, Kingsbury's body wasn't found until June 7, 2023. A Fillmore County deputy discovered her body along a gravel road along Highway 43, wrapped in a bedsheet.
Deputies say the area is near Fravel's parents' home in Mabel, Minnesota.
Fravel was arrested that night and charged with murder in the ensuing days.
Madeline Kingsbury. (Supplied)
Context
Fravel claims he last saw Kingsbury around 10 a.m. on March 31, 2023, when he left home. Kingsbury was supposed to log on for remote work but never did. Fravel says that when he returned home later that morning, Kingsbury was gone.
Fravel told authorities he drove south in Kingsbury's van into Fillmore County to bring items to a storage locker but realized mid-trip that he hadn't brought what he needed.
According to the criminal complaint, however, deputies tracked Kingsbury's van, and their timeline didn't match what Fravel claimed. Instead, the van left later than Fravel said, traveling south along Highway 43 toward the Fravel home in Mabel.
Kingsbury's family said Fravel had abused Kingsbury in the past and had an obsession with the death of Gabby Petito – an online influencer who was murdered by her boyfriend in Wyoming the year before Kingsbury's killing.