After guilty verdict, Madeline Kingsbury’s family, friends plan to ‘remain loud’
MANKATO, Minn. — The man accused of murdering Madeline Kingsbury was found guilty, so what's next for her family and friends?
"A deep breath," Megan Hancock, her sister, said after the verdict was read on Thursday afternoon.
Kingsbury's friends marched outside, carrying signs with a photo of Kingsbury next to bold, blue letters that read: "Her name is Maddi."
Kingsbury was reported missing on March 31, 2023. Thousands of people aided in searches for the Winona mother. In June 2023, an investigator found Kingsbury's body along a remote road near Minnesota Highway 43 in Mabel, Minnesota.
The next day, Adam Taylor Fravel, the father of Kingsbury's children, was arrested and charged with four counts of murder in connection to Kingsbury's death. On Thursday, Nov. 7, a jury found him guilty on all four counts, including premeditated first-degree murder.
"We're never gonna get her back, but this feels damn close," said Hailey Scott, one of Kingsbury's friends and a witness in the case. "He's never going to get out — ever."
Fravel will face a mandatory life sentence for the premeditated murder conviction.
Throughout the hearings, Kingsbury's friends and family members testified about seeing bruises on her neck, witnessing Fravel strike her while on FaceTime calls and hearing stories from Kingsbury about Fravel allegedly putting his hands around her neck. The jury found Fravel guilty of first-degree murder with a past pattern of domestic abuse.
"It feels right," said Lauren DeBois, a witness in the monthlong trial and another one of Kingsbury's friends. "If anyone takes anything from this, it's to listen to the victims of domestic violence."
Phillip Prokopowicz, a special prosecutor with Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension who was called out of retirement to represent the state, said he hopes this verdict emphasizes the need for support of survivors of domestic violence.
Zachary Bauer, who represented Fravel, said it's a "disappointing day" from their perspective, "but this is the way the justice system works."
"This is the foundation of what our country is built on," Bauer said. "You may disagree with the verdict, but you have to respect it, too."
David Kingsbury, Kingsbury's father, said they knew Fravel was guilty, but were unsure whether 12 jurors from a different community would think the same. While he said the family is "glad" of the verdict, there's "no joy" in this.
"We've got to figure out a new normal," David Kingsbury said. "Life will never be the same."
Hancock said the family is going to "remain loud" for Kingsbury, Kingsbury's children and other survivors of domestic violence.
Krista Hultgren, Kingsbury's mother, said the family is establishing the Madeline Kingsbury Foundation to continue spreading her daughter's story and to help other survivors of domestic violence.
"There are ways to get help without it being loudly known," Hultgren said. "Her name is going to carry on for a very, very long time. We're gonna be happy to keep spreading her message."
