According to a criminal complaint, the man accused of murdering Madeline Kingsbury in Winona, Minnesota, claimed he was “infatuated” with the Gabby Petito case and told her she would end up like her if she “didn’t listen up.”
Adam Fravel has been charged with second-degree murder in the killing of Kingsbury. Fravel’s two children, ages 5 and 2, were raised by Kingsbury. On March 31, Kingsbury and Fravel dropped their children off at daycare. She was never seen or heard from again.
According to the complaint, Kingsbury’s remains were discovered on June 7 by a sheriff’s officer between Choice and Mabel, Minnesota, on a property owned by one of Fravel’s family members. Her body was covered in a sheet and black Gorilla tape that corresponded to items found in their home.
According to the lawsuit, a concerned citizen told law enforcement that Fravel once told Kingsbury, “If she did not listen up, she would end up like Gabby Petito.”
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Petito, a 22-year-old New York woman, was murdered by her lover while on a cross-country van vacation in the summer of 2021. Petito died as a result of strangulation.
Brian Laundrie, Petito’s lover, went missing after going to his family’s house in North Port, Florida, without Petito. His body was discovered in a wetland near his parents’ home. An autopsy revealed that he committed suicide in September 2021. In a letter discovered with Petito’s body, Laundrie confessed to killing him.
According to the lawsuit, Fravel admitted to being “infatuated” with the Petito case but said he was joking when he made the remark to Kingsbury.
According to the complaint, Fravel and Kingsbury had text messages in which they discussed him injuring her in September 2021.
“You know I’m not really okay with or over the fact that you put your hand around my neck and pushed me down in front of the kids earlier,” Kingsbury writes in a text message.
Fravel replied, “You’ll adjust.”
According to the lawsuit, on the morning of March 31, a person wearing a light-colored jacket was seen on video altering the front license plate of Kingsbury’s vehicle in their driveway. According to the allegation, that license plate was registered to a car operated by Fravel.
According to the complaint, police tracked Kingsbury’s van’s movements on March 31 using traffic and security cameras. The vehicle and a person matching Fravel’s description were observed in many spots along Highway 43 toward Mabel, Minnesota, before returning to Kingsbury’s home in Winona that afternoon.
“I believe we have what I call the three forensic horsemen in this case: video surveillance, internet records, and phone records,” said Joe Giacalone, a retired New York City Police sergeant and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
On Law&Crime’s Sidebar podcast, Giacalone continued, “Those are the things that are going to play big roles in many of these cases in the future, too.”
Fravel’s bail was set at $2 million without conditions and $1 million with conditions by a judge on Friday.
In a press conference following Fravel’s court appearance, Winona County Attorney Karin Sonneman stated that she will try to hold Fravel accountable.
“We’ve heard from so many people about what a fantastic person Maddi was. “She had a promising future, and Mr. Fravel ruined it,” Sonneman said.
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