The ex-boyfriend of Madeline Kingsbury, the 26-year-old mother whose body was found after a 69-day search after going missing in 2023, was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without parole.
Adam Flavell, 30, of Winona, Minn., was found guilty of premeditated first-degree murder in Mankato, about 216 miles away, after pretrial publicity, the Associated Press reported. – Judgment was received from District Judge Beitendorp.
“This sentence reflects the seriousness of your actions and serves as a clear statement that this type of violence will not be tolerated in this community,” Buitendorp said, adding that the incident “will help prevent tragedies of this kind in the future.” He added that he hopes to “encourage collective action to prevent this.”
Froebel did not testify for the defense at trial, but told the judge at sentencing that he was innocent and “never harmed Maddie.”
Madeline Kingsbury's ex-boyfriend remains in custody for 'concealment and concealment'
Adam Flavel, who was convicted in 2023 of murdering his ex-girlfriend Madeline Kingsbury, with whom he had two children, was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without parole in Minnesota. (Saskia Hatvany/Winona Daily News, Associated Press, Pool)
Kingsbury shared two young children with Froebel, but she disappeared after dropping them off at daycare in March 2023. Her disappearance attracted national attention and led to an extensive search that lasted more than two months.
Her body was discovered by a deputy in June 2023 in a culvert on a dead-end road near property owned by Flavell's parents. She was wrapped in a gray fitted sheet and held shut with duct tape. Flavel was arrested a few days after his discovery.
Prosecutors said Kingsbury was strangled with a towel, and the medical examiner determined the cause of death was likely asphyxia.
Madeline Kingsbury, a 26-year-old mother from Minnesota, was last seen dropping her children off at daycare around 8 a.m. on March 31, 2023. (Madeline Kingsbury/Facebook)
The family of a missing Minnesota mother feared foul play when she disappeared after going to daycare.
“The crimes committed by Mr. Froebel have shaken the foundations of our community and shined a very bright light on the height of domestic violence, with no regard for how his actions may affect children. This revealed the man's evil deeds,'' Winona County Prosecutor Karin Sonneman said in court, according to the Associated Press.
Witnesses who said they saw bruises on Kingsbury's neck said Kingsbury had left Froebel for another man for “alleged abusive behavior and inappropriate financial contributions,” the newspaper said. He also said he was planning to leave.
Flavell's attorney, Zach Bauer, told the judge that he plans to appeal the ruling, arguing that the case focuses on “tunnel vision, historical revisionists, and secret truths.” said.
Adam Flavell, 30, was convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend Madeline Kingsbury, whose body was discovered in June 2023 after a 69-day search. (Saskia Hatvany/Winona Daily News, Associated Press, Pool)
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Flavel and Kingsbury's two children now live with her parents, who were in court during the sentencing.
Mr Kingsbury's mother, Catherine, had the following statement read on his behalf in court:
“I will never understand a father who could and did do something like this to his children. He took away a mother's love, the kind of love that only Maddie could give her children. “This horrible knowledge will haunt me forever. Everything that Adam had to do will haunt me.'' He chose to walk away and let Maddie go. He chose evil over good. ”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
