Adam Fravel sentenced to life in prison for Madeline Kingsbury's murder

Madeline Kingsbury's father decries that she was murdered by "someone she once loved"

WINONA, Minn. — Adam Fravel, the 30-year-old southern Minnesota man convicted of killing 26-year-old Madeline Kingsbury, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Tuesday afternoon.

Fravel spoke briefly before he was sentenced.

"I never caused harm to Maddi and I am innocent," Fravel said.

WCCO

Kingsbury's family, including her mother, father and sisters, gave emotional victim impact statements before his sentencing. Winona County Attorney Karin Sonneman asked the court to adhere to sentencing guidelines, which mandate life in prison for first-degree premeditated murder, the most serious of the four counts on which Fravel was convicted.

"Mr. Fravel's actions put an entire community in mourning, a community in shock, left her family devastated, left the lives of her children changed forever because of their father's evil act," Sonneman said. "But your honor, justice has caught up with Adam Taylor Fravel and justice will be served for Madeline Jane Kingsbury, her family, her friends, her community, this community, by this court sentencing Adam Taylor Fravel to life in prison without the possibility of parole."

Last month, a jury found Fravel guilty of murdering Kingsbury, the mother of his two young children.

A judge ruled last week in favor of allowing cameras and livestreaming of the sentencing hearing after the defense, prosecution and Kingsbury's family agreed to it, according to a court filing.

March will mark two years since Kingsbury disappeared after dropping off the two kids she shared with Fravel at a daycare in Winona. Her body was found two months later near the Iowa border. 

The trial was moved to Mankato, about 136 miles west of Winona, because of extensive pretrial publicity

CBS News' 48 Hours has also been tracking this case since Kingsbury disappeared. On Tuesday night, they're airing their hour-long investigation on the new 48 Hours streaming channel. 

Watch "The Disappearance of Maddi Kingsbury" at 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. CT,  wherever you stream CBS News Minnesota – including the CBS News app, Pluto and Paramount Plus.  

Domestic Violence Resources: For anonymous, confidential help, people can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or 1-800-787-3224.

Read more
f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.