Jury selection begins Monday in trial of Adam Fravel, accused of killing Madeline Kingsbury
MANKATO, Minn. — The disappearance of Madeline Kingsbury captured the nation's attention, and on Monday, jury selection began in her high-profile murder case.
Adam Fravel, the father of Kingsbury's children, is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend last year.
The 26-year-old mother of two went missing last year after dropping her kids off at daycare in Winona.
Hundreds of people joined in the wide-ranging searches.
Kingsbury's remains were found more than two months later near the Iowa border, and Adam Fravel, her former partner and the father of her children, was arrested. He was later charged with first- and second-degree murder in connection to her death.
Monday marks the first day of jury selection at the Blue Earth County Justice Center in Mankato. In June, a Winona County judge granted Fravel's change of venue request, citing "extensive pretrial publicity and the substantial involvement of the Winona community in this case."
One hundred and twenty potential jurors made their way to a Blue Earth County courtroom Monday afternoon. They were instructed to stay away from anything related to the case, discussion on it or even posting about it online.
The defense and prosecution had each potential juror fill out a 13-page questionnaire with general questions about where they lived, their occupation but about who they are as a person; their hobbies and news consumption habits. The questionnaire also asks about their knowledge of the case, if they've formed an opinion on it or posted about it online.
Joe Tamburino, a defense attorney not associated with the case, says Fravel's lawyers will have to deal with evidence that he allegedly had abused Kingsbury before she went missing.
"They're going to argue whatever happened in the past doesn't mean that he did the murder," Tamburino said. "That's quite true. What the prosecution is going to argue is, 'Look, count 2 [accusing Fravel of a pattern of abuse] is about this. It's about a pattern of domestic abuse, which means you can consider past domestic abuse, if it happened, in the current charge."
The judge has ruled no public displays of support for Kingsbury will be allowed in the courtroom.
"Even though it's an extremely serious and very sad case, you don't want to have a jury deciding that on emotion," Tamburino said. "Their decision has to be based on evidence."
Kingsbury's sister wrote on Facebook last week that she and her family won't be in the courtroom most of the trial since they're set to testify as witnesses, but she wrote, "While we cannot be there physically to represent Madeline...Just know that we will be there in spirit each and every moment. As always, we thank everyone for the amazing amount of support."
In a ruling made Monday, Fravel will not have to wear hand cuffs or restraints in court.
If convicted, Fravel could face life in prison without parole. Opening statements are set to begin Oct. 14, but if jury selection is quicker than expected it could start sometime this week. In total, 158 potential jurors will be called for questioning.
Local Domestic Violence Resources
Women's Advocates
wadvocates.org
Crisis Line: (651) 227-8284
St. Paul & Ramsey County Domestic Abuse Intervention Project
stpaulintervention.org
Crisis Line: (651) 645-2824
Minnesota Day One
dayoneservices.org
Crisis Line: 1-866-223-1111
Esperanza United
esperanzaunited.org
Bilingual crisis line: (651) 772-1611.
For anonymous, confidential help, people can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or 1-800-787-3224.
