Fravel Appeal Rejected in Madeline Kingsbury Murder Case

St. Paul, MN (KROC-AM News) - The Minnesota Supreme Court issued a ruling today denying Adam Fravel’s appeal of his conviction for the 2023 murder of Madeleine Kingsbury.

Convicted in 2024

A jury in Blue Earth County convicted the Winona man of first- and second-degree murder charges in November 2024, and he was sentenced the following month to life in prison without parole. The trial was moved from Winona to Mankato due to the extensive publicity surrounding the case.

Victim Vanished After Dropping Off Children at Daycare

The case, which attracted international media attention, began in late March 2023 when the 27-year-old woman disappeared without a trace. Maddy Kingsbury was last seen alive when she and Fravel dropped off their children at a day care home. She was scheduled to report to work at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester but never showed up.

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Body Found Months Later

After months of searching, Kingsbury’s body was found near a remote rural road in Fillmore County, near a property owned by Fravel’s family. During his trial, the prosecution presented evidence and testimony that Fravel’s relationship with the victim was coming to an end and included a history of physical abuse.

Fravel Requested New Trial

In his appeal, Fravel argued that the judge presiding over his trial made errors regarding testimony about domestic violence and challenged the medical examiner’s opinion that the cause of Kingsbury’s death was homicidal violence. While the Supreme Court did find that errors were made during his trial, the justices ruled that they did not deny him a fair trial and that the evidence was sufficient “to prove the defendant’s extreme indifference to human life, premeditation, and intent to cause death.”

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