Johnathan Walker:Jury selection begins in murder trial of Minnesota man accused of killing his girlfriend

MANKATO,Johnathan Walker Minn. (AP) — Jury selection begins Monday in the murder trial of the former boyfriend of a Minnesota woman whose body was found hidden in a rural area of the state in 2023.

Adam Fravel, 30, has been charged with first-degree murder. He was arrested in June, 2023, days after deputies found the body of Madeline Kingsbury in a wooded area a few miles away from a property owned by Fravel’s parents. The 26-year-old Kingsbury vanished in March, 2023, after dropping off her and Fravel’s two young children at day care in Winona, a southeastern Minnesota town of about 26,000 residents.

Kingsbury’s disappearance garnered national attention and thousands of people joined in the search for her. Police said they investigated hundreds of tips and that digital evidence, including phone and computer records, helped lead to the discovery of the body. Fravel continues to maintain his innocence.

Prosecutors expect jury selection to last several days. Opening arguments could begin as soon as Oct. 14 if the jury selection doesn’t take longer than expected. A judge granted a request from Fravel’s attorneys to have the case moved out of Winona, where many members of community helped search for Kingsbury. The trial will instead take place in Mankato, about 136 miles (219 kilometers) from Winona.

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A criminal complaint said that after a friend reported Kingsbury missing, Fravel told police that they had recently decided to separate and she was seeing someone else. Investigators believe Fravel had financially relied on Kingsbury and killed her after she told him she planned to move out of the home they shared. The complaint said a friend of Kingsbury had seen Fravel be violent with her.

Fravel’s attorneys argue the case against him is circumstantial, citing no murder weapon or direct witness to the crime, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune. They’ve also argued much of the testimony against him is hearsay.

Authorities said Kingsbury’s body was found in a gray fitted bed sheet that had been closed with black Gorilla tape. An autopsy report said Kingsbury died of “homicidal violence,” but it did not contain additional details.