A Minnesota man was found guilty Thursday of killing his girlfriend. Her disappearance in 2023 attracted national attention, with thousands of people joining the search efforts before her body was found hidden in the state's countryside.
After less than a day of deliberations, the jury found Adam Flavell, 30, guilty of first-degree murder.
He was arrested in June 2023, days after investigators discovered Madeline Kingsbury's body in a wooded area several miles from the property owned by Flavell's parents.
Kingsbury, 26, disappeared in March 2023 after dropping off her and Froebel's two young children at a daycare center in Winona, a southeastern Minnesota town of about 26,000 people.
The trial centered on conflicting portrayals of the couple's home life and the police investigation that led to Flavel's arrest.
Phil Prokopowicz, the special prosecutor in charge of the case for the Winona County Attorney's Office, built the case based on testimony from the couple's family and friends who spoke about the alleged domestic violence. MPR reported.
Flavell's attorney, Zach Bauer, said the law enforcement investigation and prosecution of Flavell relied on “tunnel vision, revisionist history, and secret truths.”
Jurors delivered their verdict in a courtroom attended by Mr Kingsbury's and Mr Flavell's families. MPR reported that some people sitting in the courtroom audience broke down in tears as the verdict was announced.
Witnesses said they saw bruises on Kingsbury's neck, and in one instance, a friend said she was FaceTimeing Kingsbury when Froebel allegedly punched her.
Another friend said Ms Kingsbury had warned her girlfriend that Ms Flavell could end up like Gabby Pettit, a woman killed by her boyfriend in a high-profile case in 2021. He testified that he said that.
Prosecutors and other witnesses said Kingsbury planned to leave Flavel, frustrated by his abusive behavior and inappropriate contributions to his family.
He responded by killing her, prosecutors argued.
“The relationship was never meant for them,” Prokopovich said in his final statement. “It was always about him.”
Prokopowicz said evidence showed Flavel was the only person who had the opportunity to kill Kingsbury.
Police found Kingsbury's body wrapped in a gray sheet held shut with black gorilla tape.
Prokopovic said she had been strangled with a towel, and the coroner concluded that her death was likely due to asphyxiation.
Towels, bed sheets and tape matched those found in Winona's home, he added.
Flavell's attorney, Bauer, argued there were no signs of a physical struggle inside the couple's home, undermining the idea that Kingsbury died there.
Bauer also relied on testimony from a neighbor who said he saw an unknown person waving to Kingsbury from his home the morning he disappeared.
Mr. Bauer also disputed the prosecution's contention that Mr. Flavell had committed domestic violence. He pointed to testimony from a neighbor who said he never heard the couple argue.
The trial took place in Mankato, Minnesota, about 216 miles from Winona, after a judge granted a request from Mr. Flavell's attorneys to transfer the case.
Flavel will be sentenced on December 17th.
