Adam Fravel trial: Video shows Fravel being questioned by investigators

This week, a court released the evidence used to convict Adam Fravel in the murder of Maddi Kingsbury.

A jury found Fravel guilty of Kingsbury's murder earlier this month but the trial exhibits were just released. It took prosecutors two weeks to present their case, in part because there was so much video evidence to review in its entirety.

The evidence

Fravel was first interviewed by police briefly at his parents' home the day after Kingsbury disappeared. A day later, he sat for a much longer interview, facing more critical questions.

"I’m not going to say much because now my wall is up, and I’m probably going to have to get a lawyer," Fravel said during the 90-minute interview.

By the end of that interview – two days after Kingsbury went missing in Winona – Fravel knew he was a suspect because investigators told him so.

"Your timeline is off, and these text messages where you’re kind of suddenly worried about her don’t make sense," investigators said to Fravel. "They almost seem like they're intentional. They almost seem like they’re breadcrumbs that you knew the police would pick up."

Among the evidence presented to jurors was the initial search of the home Fravel shared with Kingsbury in Winona. Investigators found her jacket, purse, phones, and laptop, all suggesting she didn’t leave voluntarily.

Security video and a phone call

When Kingsbury’s friends reported her missing, police called Fravel. During the call, he seemed unsure about whether he should be worried.

"I don’t know if you can tell me or not, but nobody else has heard from her at all?," Fravel said in the call.

Jurors also viewed dozens of security videos. One clip showed Fravel appearing to change license plates on Kingsbury’s minivan. Later, cameras captured him at a gas station, where the minivan now displayed Kingsbury’s plates.

Additional footage showed the van driving south toward Choice Township, where Fravel claimed he turned around, saying he meant to go to a storage locker instead of his parents’ house in Mabel.

Connecting the dots

Jurors saw photos of the location where Kingsbury’s body was discovered. Her remains were hidden in a drainage ditch near where Fravel said he turned around. She was wrapped in a gray bedsheet and bound with black tape.

Matching black tape was found on a shelf at their home and a bed in the home was missing a sheet. Investigators compared the tags on the sheet Kingsbury was wrapped in with tags from the home – they appeared to be the same.

When questioned again, Fravel denied involvement.

Investigator: "Do you know where Maddi is?"
Fravel: "No."
Investigator: "Did you have anything to do with her disappearance?"
Fravel: "I did not."

What's next?

The jury deliberated for less than a day before convicting Fravel on all counts – two counts each of first-degree and second-degree murder.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on December 17 in Winona and faces a mandatory life sentence.

Madeline KingsburyCrime and Public SafetyMankato