Adam Fravel gets life in prison for murder of Winona's Madeline Kingsbury

WINONA, MINN. – The man convicted of killing Madeline Kingsbury will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Adam Fravel was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without parole for murdering the mother of his children. Her disappearance at the end of March 2023 sparked nationwide interest and a search that drew thousands of volunteers before her remains were found almost 10 weeks later.

"It is impossible to fully understand the pain you have caused, not only for those who have loved Maddi, but also your own family," Winona County District Judge Nancy Buytendorp said to Fravel before sentencing him.

Tuesday's sentencing ends an almost two-year saga for the families of Fravel and Kingsbury, as well as the Winona community that coalesced around her disappearance and murder.

"The defendant could have stopped, but he didn't. He could have treated Madeline like the extraordinary person she was, but he didn't," said Kingsbury's mother, Krista Hultgren. "He made her feel unlovable, and then he snuffed the life out of her."

Kingsbury was a 26-year-old clinical research coordinator at Mayo Clinic in Rochester when she died. She left behind two young children who now live with grandparents David and Cathy Kingsbury. A custody battle between them and Fravel was paused pending the outcome of the trial, which was moved from Winona County because of media coverage and community awareness of the case.

Kingsbury's disappearance united the Winona area in a campaign to find her. Residents posted signs, lit blue lights and even made parade floats for community events in an effort to get her home. After her body was discovered, volunteers sought justice for her murder and to raise awareness about domestic violence.

"This case profoundly affected our community like no other I have observed in my 35 years in Winona County practicing law," said Winona County Attorney Karin Sonneman.

Her family members took turns pleading for the court to impose a life sentence, one by one breaking down on the witness stand as they revealed how her death at Fravel's hands irrevocably hurt them.

Hultgren and Kingsbury's sister Megan Hancock described how they couldn't work for the past 19 months because of physical and mental health problems stemming from their loss. Hancock talked about the devastating toll searching for her, slogging through bogs and fields, and watching her parents get "thousand-yard stares" during the 69-day search as they lost hope.

Kinsgbury's stepsister Holly Waterston told the court about the time Kingsbury's young son and her young daughter woke Waterston in the middle of the night — Kingsbury's son had woken up crying, calling for his mother.

"Nothing prepared me to try to comfort my nephew," Waterston said.

Fravel appeared stone-faced throughout the victim statements, barely moving and looking on as Kingsbury's loved ones read their testimonies.

Fravel spoke only once on his own behalf: "I never caused harm to Maddi, and I am innocent," he told the court.

His lawyer, Zach Bauer, told the court Fravel intends to appeal his conviction.

Fravel and Kingsbury had an on-again, off-again relationship for seven years before Kingsbury's disappearance. Kingsbury would often say that Fravel never helped out around the house, according to her friends and relatives.

They also testified in court about instances of domestic abuse, including the time in September 2021 when Fravel grabbed Kingsbury by the neck from behind and pushed her onto a couch while they were watching a documentary about Gabby Petito, the Florida woman whose boyfriend killed her and hid her body earlier that year. He told her he could make her "disappear like Gabby Petito."

The last time Kingsbury was seen alive was March 31, 2023. She and Fravel dropped off their kids at a Winona day care. Kingsbury was set to go to work that day but never made it.

Fravel was seen driving Kingsbury's minivan down Hwy. 43 later that morning. He told police he was dropping items off at his parents' house in Mabel, Minn., where he planned to move that weekend, but turned around after he saw items in the back that he wanted to put in a storage unit across from his and Kingsbury's house in Winona.

Video camera footage shows Fravel driving Kingsbury's van along the highway but doesn't account for him for about 45 minutes after he passed through Choice Township.

Kingsbury's remains were found in June 2023 a few miles north of Mable in a culvert a half-mile off Hwy. 43 on property Fravel's father maintained for a time. A medical examiner later said she died of homicidal violence by asphyxiation, though the body was too decomposed to reveal further evidence.

David Kingsbury, Madeline's father, described how he had collapsed over her body, saying goodbye to her, talking to her, singing to her and vowing to get her justice.

He said he took solace in the fact that thousands of volunteers, hundreds of law enforcement staff, the Winona County Attorney's office and Minnesota's judicial system helped his family hold Fravel accountable.

"One of my greatest fears when Madeline disappeared was that no one would care," he said. "Thank God that wasn't true."

For those who are in an abusive relationship or have a loved one who is, contacting the National Domestic Violence Hotline could save a life. Help is available at 1-800-799-SAFE, by texting 88788 or at thehotline.org.