ADAM FRAVEL MURDER TRIAL: Opening statements made by the state and defense

MANKATO, Minn. (KTTC) – With jury selection now in the rearview mirror for the murder trial of Adam Fravel, opening statements officially started Thursday.

The day started with state attorney, Phil Prokopowicz, delivering his opening statement to the court for the prosecution. In his statement, he addressed that Fravel, the defendant in the case, is charged with four separate crimes involving the murder of Madeline Kingsbury. Kingsbury was Fravel's ex-girlfriend, and the mother to his two children.

Prokopowicz also stated to the court how Kingsbury would grow frustrated with Fravel overtime because of his lack of taking responsibilities in the household.

Prokopowicz would later tell the court about an incident recorded on FaceTime in 2020 that showed evidence of Fravel abusing Kingsbury, while Kingsbury was cooking dinner. Fravel allegedly came into the kitchen, yelling, and demanded to know why the house wasn't clean. Kingsbury responded by saying she just wanted some help, to which Fravel then allegedly physically abused her.

Other items of note in Prokopowicz's opening statement include Madeline's last phone conversation being with her sister, Megan, before she stopped responding. He then talked about ring camera footage showing Kingsbury dropping her and Fravel's kids off at daycare, this being the last known footage of Kingsbury before she went missing, as well as how and when Kingsbury's body was found.

Prokopowicz concluded his statement by declaring Fravel's guilt, and that the previous instances he noted in his statement will back that up. This evidence will all be shown to the jury.

Next, Fravel's attorney, Zach Bauer, delivered his opening statement.

Bauer pointed out how Kingsbury had intentions of marrying Fravel, before the two had made a mutual decision to split up. Despite the breakup, Bauer says that Kingsbury still wanted Fravel to be a part of their children's lives.

Bauer would also point out concerns he had regarding the police investigation. Bauer believed that the police had not collected enough evidence that would prove Fravel's guilt, nor had the police ever focused on anybody else possibly being responsible.

Bauer also brought up the officer who made the discovery of Kingsbury's body. His concern was that, in the first two days of the search, that same area was searched high and low, but never turned up anything.

Bauer also questions some of the acquaintances of Kingsbury, who say they saw Fravel physically abuse her in the past. He questioned why they would not come forward sooner and report what they saw.

Bauer told the jury they will be presented text conversations between Fravel and Kingsbury, and those will show the "ebbs and flows" of the relationship.

The ultimate goal for Bauer is to show the jury that the investigation done by the police was not very thorough, and there is not enough evidence that would show Fravel is guilty of the crimes he is accused of committing.

The rest of the day will consist of witnesses testifying for the trial.