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Maddi Kingsbury vanished after dropping their kids off at daycare, before her body was found two months later; during his trial, one of her friends testified Maddi’s boyfriend Adam Fravel had an “obsession” with Petito’s murder.
A Minnesota jury has convicted Adam Fravel of murdering his girlfriend and the mother of his two children, after allegedly warning her she’d end up like slain van life vlogger Gabby Petito “if she wasn’t careful.”
Fravel was found guilty of first-degree murder in connection to the killing of Madeline “Maddi” Kingsbury on Thursday, following nine hours of deliberation, per NBC News.
Maddi went missing on March 31, 2023, after dropping the couple’s two children off at daycare that morning around 8:15am. She never showed up to work and failed to pick up the kids that afternoon, before her family officially reported her missing the next day. Her body was found two months later near property owned by Fravel’s parents; he was arrested that same day.
Gregg County Jail/Gregg County Sheriff’s Office
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Per prosectors, Maddi was strangled with a towel matching items from their home, with the medical examiner concluding she most likely died from asphyxiation. Though Fravel was initially charged with second-degree murder, the charges were upped to first-degree in October 2023.
During his trial, one of Maddi’s friends, Hailey Scott, testified about Fravel’s alleged fascination with the disappearance and murder of Petito, who was killed by boyfriend Brian Laudrie in late August 2021 while on a cross-country road trip.
“Adam had an infatuation, and I would call it an obsession, with the Gabby Petito case,” said Scott, who claimed Maddi told her about his alleged abuse and threats long before she went missing. “He had actually turned and grabbed her by the throat and pinned her down and told her that if she wasn’t careful that she would end up just like her.”
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Maddi never reported anything to the police before her death, though her parents also testified she told them about the choking incident. When interviewed by investigators about her murder, Fravel allegedly admitted to making the Petito statements — but said he was only “trying to make a joke.”
During the trial, witnesses testified about bruising on her neck, with one reportedly claiming he saw Fravel hit Maddi while they were on FaceTime. Witnesses and prosecutors claimed she was getting ready to leave him when she was murdered; Fravel did not testify in his defense.
His attorneys tried to argue there was no evidence of abuse or signs of a struggle at their home and said they were “disappointed” with the verdict.
He’ll be sentenced on December 17.
Delaware County Sheriff’s Office
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