The ex-boyfriend of Madeline Jane Kingsbury, a mother of two who went missing “under suspicious circumstances” in Minnesota in March, has been charged with her murder after she was found dead on Wednesday.
Adam Fravel, 29, was charged with two counts of second-degree murder, according to a statement the Winona Police Department released on Friday.
His bail has been set at $2 million unconditional and $1 million conditional. He is scheduled to next appear in court on July 20.
Fravel was arrested “on probable cause” after Kingsbury’s body was identified as the remains found in some brush off Highway 43 in Fillmore County on Wednesday.
He may be later charged with first-degree murder, Winona County Attorney Karin Sonneman said, per ABC News.
A complaint obtained by the outlet stated that Fravel told police that he and Kingsbury were newly separated and moving out of the home they lived in together with their 5-year-old and 2-year-old after seven years of their “on-and-off relationship.”
Kingsbury, 26, was last seen on March 31, after she and Fravel dropped the kids off at daycare before returning to their home in Winona around 8 a.m. local time, according to KARE 11 News.
ABC News previously reported in April that Fravel told police he left the house in Kingsbury’s dark blue minivan around 10 a.m. and came back later that day, but she wasn’t there, Winona Police Chief Tom Williams said at a press conference.
Kingsbury didn’t arrive at work that morning either, and her family’s numerous calls and texts went unanswered, police said in a press release at the time, adding that “all of this is extremely out of character for her.”
Fravel previously denied any involvement in her disappearance, saying in a statement to the outlet then, “I want the mother of my 5-year-old and 2-year-old to be found and brought home safely. I want that more than anything.”
However, Fillmore County Sheriff John DeGeorge told local news outlet Fox 8 that Kingsbury was found nearby a property owned by the Fravel family. According to the complaint obtained by ABC News, Kingsbury was wrapped in a bedsheet that came from her and Fravel’s home.
“Fravel also admitted that he had made a statement to Madeline about her ending up like Gabby Petito,” the complaint said of the 22-year-old, who was strangled to death by her fiancé in August 2021. “Fravel claimed he was trying to make a joke.”
The complaint also included a message, allegedly from Kingsbury to Fravel, that read: “You know I am not really OK with or over the fact that you put your hand around my neck and pushed me down in front of the kids earlier.”
Kingsbury’s mother, Krista Naber, said of her daughter in an interview with NewsNation, “She took care of her two babies. She had started graduate school in January. Things were finally looking up for her.”
Sonneman said of Kingsbury at a press conference on Friday, per ABC News, “She had a bright future, and Mr. Fravel took that from her.”
The Winona Police Department said in their statement that the deceased’s children have been placed with Kingsbury’s father and will remain there “until the [Child in Need of Protection or Services] CHIPS court makes a determination at a later date.”
They are in the temporary custody of Winona County after the Attorney’s Office filed a CHIPS case following Kingsbury’s disappearance, since Fravel “was not a custodial parent,” the release stated.
Sonneman said, however, that Fravel could obtain supervised and secured visitation rights to his children if his bail is paid, ABC News reported.
“We kindly request the public’s cooperation in respecting the privacy of Madeline Kingsbury’s children, Madeline’s parents, and her siblings during this heartbreaking time for the family,” the Winona Police Department said in their statement.