Ex-boyfriend of Madeline Kingsbury is now charged with first-degree murder

A grand jury in Winona County returned an indictment Monday, charging 29-year-old Adam Fravel with two counts of first-degree murder in the death of Madeline Kingsbury — one for premeditation and another for a past pattern of domestic abuse — and two counts of second-degree murder. Fravel was the ex-boyfriend of Kingsbury.

Fravel was charged by prosecutors with second-degree murder back in June, but first-degree charges require a grand jury proceeding in Minnesota. A second-degree murder conviction can carry up to 40 years in prison in Minnesota while first-degree murder is punishable by life in prison.

Kingsbury’s disappearance at the end of March spurred a massive search effort in southern Minnesota, with hundreds if not thousands of volunteers helping law enforcement teams comb land in Fillmore and Winona counties.

The 26-year-old’s body was found wrapped in a bed sheet on June 7 in a rural area between Choice and Mabel, about a mile off Highway 43 on a public gravel road.

Fravel was arrested that same night and formally charged two days later, and Kingsbury’s family released a statement expressing confidence that the person responsible for her death is in custody.

Charging documents noted that at least two people had been concerned in the past after seeing marks on Kingsbury’s face, and a friend reportedly saw Fravel hit Kingsbury in the face during a video call. Additionally, police found messages between the two where Kingsbury wrote that she wasn’t OK with Fravel abusing her and Fravel responded, “You’ll adjust.”

The documents also stated that Fravel made a comment saying Kingsbury would end up like Gabby Petito — a cross-country traveler who was killed by her boyfriend in Wyoming — if she didn’t listen and later told police he was “infatuated” with the Petito case.

Fravel is set to make his first appearance on the upgraded charges on Tuesday morning.