Adam Fravel, convicted killer of Madeline Kingsbury, requests new trial

Adam Fravel, the 31-year-old Winona, Minnesota, man convicted of killing Madeline Kingsbury, the mother of his children, is requesting a new trial. 

In the 48-page document filed this week in Winona County, Fravel lays out a number of complaints about how his trial was handled. He claims there was not enough evidence to convict him of premeditated or intentional murder.   

At Fravel’s sentencing hearing, Winona County Attorney Karin Sonneman asked the judge to adhere to guidelines mandating life in prison for first-degree premeditated murder, the most serious of the four counts on which Fravel was convicted.

Fravel was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in December. In March, he filed an appeal with the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Kingsbury, 26, went missing in March 2023 after dropping off the children she shared with Fravel at a Winona daycare. Her body was discovered three months later near Fravel’s family property.

During Fravel’s sentencing, Kingsbury’s family made emotional victim impact statements. Fravel has maintained he is innocent.