22 January 2024
WINONA, Minn. — The defense for Adam Fravel, a Winona man accused of killing Madeline Kingsbury, the mother of his children, submitted multiple motions this week.
Among the five motions filed on Friday, Jan. 19, the defense is requesting a change of venue and the dismissal of a first-degree murder charge against Fravel. Fravel was arrested in June of 2023, shortly after Kingsbury’s body was found near Mabel in Fillmore County.
He was initially charged with two counts of second-degree murder. Following his arrest, a grand jury was convened and recommended a first-degree murder charge while committing domestic abuse with a past pattern of domestic abuse and a premeditated first-degree murder charge against Fravel.
In a motion for a change of venue, Fravel’s attorney, Zachary Bauer, argues that a “fair and impartial trial cannot be had in Winona County,” where the case is pending, due to extensive media coverage.
Adam Taylor Fravel (Winona County Sheriff’s Office)
The defense is also requesting the judge dismiss the first-degree murder-premeditation charge against Fravel. Bauer argues that the evidence admissible before a grand jury was not “sufficient to establish the offense charged,” according to a statement from the district court.
“An extensive review of the grand jury transcripts in this matter shows that the grand jurors were not presented sufficient evidence as to premeditation to establish the offense,” the motion read. “Accordingly, the Defendant seeks an order dismissing this charge from the indictment.”
Additionally, Fravel’s counsel is requesting an order from the court to omit a statement given on April 2, 2023, at the Rushford Police Department. The defense argues Fravel was not Mirandized when he gave the statement.
Kingsbury, a 27-year-old mother of two from Winona, went missing on March 31, 2023. Her body was found in early June by law enforcement on a rural road just north of Mabel. Fravel was arrested hours after her body was found.
The criminal complaint outlines alleged abuse by Fravel toward Kingsbury, including at least one alleged instance where Fravel hit her in front of a child while Kingsbury was on a video call with a friend.
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