Closing arguments on Wednesday

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 7 10:43 UPDATE: The jury reached a verdict in the murder trial of Adam Fravel on Thursday morning, which will be announced shortly after 11 a.m

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 6 9:38 p.m. UPDATE: The jury will continue its deliberations on Thursday morning.

The jury will reconvene at 8 a.m. and expects a verdict to be imminent.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 6 8:13 p.m. UPDATE: Some of the jurors had questions during deliberations. The first was a question about premeditation. The second question concerned second-degree premeditated murder. The final question was whether Fravel could be convicted on all four counts he faces.

The jury is currently continuing its deliberations.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 6 11:45 a.m. UPDATE: Defense attorney Zach Bauer gave his closing argument following the prosecution's closing argument.

Bauer emphasized that there were no signs of a struggle at the shared residence of Adam Fravel and Madeline Kingsbury. He brought up images shown to the jury during testimony that he said supported this.

Bauer also mentioned that Fravel was happy to provide investigators with his phone number and passwords.

Bauer would then reexamine a statement from Friday while the defense gave its testimony. Bauer noted how one of those witnesses saw a person waving at them on the property of the townhouse that Fravel and Kingsbury shared. That witness described the person he saw and that description, Bauer says, did not match Fravel's appearance.

Bauer then brought up a text exchange between Kingsbury and her sister Megan. In that conversation, Bauer noted that Madeline said Fravel wasn't “mean,” but rather that it was just “awkward” to have him in the house since the two had broken up.

The next part of Bauer's argument concerned the telephone conversation between Kingsbury and Fravel, which resulted in Fravel sending many pictures to Kingsbury. Bauer stated that a text conversation over a two-hour period did not reveal what this relationship was really like.

Bauer then went on to talk about other text conversations between Kingsbury and Fravel, including one in which Kingsbury said she wanted to “cuddle” with Fravel. Bauer noted how this text conversation went after their relationship was supposedly over, and that this was a “weird” exchange with someone you're no longer in a relationship with. Bauer argued that the relationship wasn't really over yet.

Bauer also argued that Kingsbury was not actually “controlled” by Fravel and that evidence suggests that Kingsbury did many things she liked, such as taking long walks around the lake with Spencer Sullivan.

Bauer then talked about some of the testimonies that Kingsbury's friends had given and that the stories they told about seeing tracks on Kingsbury were all nearly identical. Bauer noted that the friends “really didn't like” Fravel and that no one else told stories about seeing tracks on Kingsbury.

Bauer then returned to the idea that Kingsbury was “fighting for her life,” believing this to be a weak argument. Bauer said Fravel only had a few scratches on his face, which was not a real sign that there had been a fight. Bauer also said the pictures taken of Fravel on April 6 that showed bruises were not valuable evidence because those pictures were taken nearly a week after Kingsbury's disappearance. Bauer said Fravel could have easily suffered these bruises anywhere between March 31 and April 6, the day these pictures were taken.

Bauer added that there was ample evidence through witness testimony that Fravel was a loving father and also loved Kingsbury. “He loved his children and he loved Madeline Kingsbury,” Bauer said.

According to Bauer's argument, Prokopowicz would again take a position on the refutation.

Prokopowicz argued that there were no signs of a break-in at the house, so someone must have already been there to commit the murder. Prokopowicz again said Fravel was the only other person in the residence.

Prokopowicz also argued against the witness who testified for the defense. Prokopowicz reminded the jury that the person the witness saw outside the townhouse was nothing more than just a person outside the apartment building. Prokopowicz emphasized that nothing proves that this person had anything to do with Kingsbury and Fravel.

During his rebuttal, Prokopowicz also noted that Fravel's stories didn't fit together and didn't make sense.

After Prokopowicz's rebuttal, the jury received instructions from the judge before beginning deliberations.

Earlier on Wednesday, November 6th

MANKATO, Minn. (KTTC) – Adam Fravel's murder trial appears to be coming to a conclusion soon as closing arguments from the defense and the state would take place on Wednesday.

Prosecutor Phil Prokopowicz took over for the state on Wednesday. Prokopowicz began by reminding the jury of the importance of “evidence beyond a reasonable doubt,” taking into account both direct and circumstantial evidence.

Prokopowicz also emphasized that after examining all the evidence presented during the trial, Adam Fravel was guilty of all the crimes he was accused of. He reminded the jury how Madeline Kingsbury disappeared on the morning of March 31, 2023 and would not be seen for weeks. He reminded the jury of the course of the investigation that ultimately led to the discovery of Kingsbury's body in June 2023.

Prokopowicz also wanted the jury to consider whether Fravel had the motive, opportunity and means to kill Kingsbury. He says that Fravel's motive for killing Kingsbury lies in the relationship between the two and that it was never about “her” but more about “him.” He reminded the jury of the testimony of Kingsbury's friend, Michaela Shaw, and how she said Fravel often called Kingsbury derogatory terms dating back to their college days.

Prokopowicz revisited testimony that detailed how Kingsbury became frustrated with Fravel after the birth of the couple's first child and that he would never take on household responsibilities. He would also review additional testimony from Kingsbury's friends detailing the physical abuse she suffered at the hands of Fravel.

Prokopowicz also discussed the connections between this case and the Gabby Petito case. Prokopowicz reviewed testimony that said Fravel pushed Kingsbury and told her she would end up like Petito if she didn't mind.

However, Prokopowicz said that the biggest evidence that showed what Fravel and Kingsbury's relationship was like was a text conversation between the two in which Kingsbury didn't believe she still had feelings for Fravel and was “for her indecision.” apologized. The two talked about possibly going to therapy, but Kingsbury reiterated she didn't know if that would change anything. Fravel eventually sent Kingsbury many pictures of the two of them together, some from before one of their children was born. There were many pictures with the children. Fravel claimed he would delete the images and give her a chance to save them.

Prokopowicz mentioned that even though Kingsbury told Fravel to stop and that she knew what he was planning to do, he continued to send more pictures.

Prokopowicz revisited Kingsbury's relationship with Spencer Sullivan and how he was one of the main reasons Kingsbury ended his relationship with Fravel. Prokopowicz said it was a matter “that Fravel could not control.”

Prokopowicz would add that Kingsbury officially ended the relationship with Fravel in March 2023, the same month she would go missing. Prokopowicz described how Fravel was angry at the possibility of another man raising his children and that he constantly hung around Kingsbury's house in the days before her disappearance.

Finally, Prokopowicz recounted how Kingsbury and Fravel dropped their children off at daycare before returning to their apartment on March 31. Prokopowicz said Kingsbury never responded to a text message from her sister that same morning, which was unusual. This text message was sent to Kingsbury minutes after she and Fravel arrived at their apartment.

Prokopowicz said evidence suggests Kingsbury did not leave her apartment alive, meaning someone else in the apartment took her life. Prokopowicz said the only other person who was there was Fravel. “Don’t forget,” Prokopowicz said. “The defendant was in this apartment.”

Prokopowicz would in turn claim that there was undoubted evidence that Fravel was responsible for Kingsbury's death and that he planned it. Prokopowicz said, “He knew what he was going to do that morning.”

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