Judge chides county attorney in Adam Fravel child protection case: 'Your rush to judgment is misplaced'

Jun. 14—WINONA — A district court judge has denied a motion to suspend reunification efforts of Adam Fravel, who is accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend, and his children and admonished the Winona County Attorney's office for attempting to subvert his constitutional right to a fair trial.

Fravel, 29, is facing second-degree murder charges in the death of

Madeline Kingsbury,

a Winona woman whose body was

found earlier this month

following a months-long search after she went missing in March 2023. Fravel was arrested hours after the body was found.

The county attorney's office is prosecuting that criminal case and is handling the separate child in need of protection or services civil case. Phillip Prokopowicz, a former Dakota County prosecutor, is leading the prosecution team for Winona County against Fravel.

Attorneys for Fravel, the county and Kingsbury's parents appeared before District Judge Mary Leahy Wednesday morning to hear arguments regarding the termination of parental rights for Fravel and his two children, ages 5 and 2.

The children are currently in the custody of Winona County but are being supervised by their grandparents, David and Cathy Kingsbury.

A motion to suspend any sort of contact between Fravel and his children was submitted to the court earlier this week by Anna Tobia, who represents the Kingsburys in the case. The motion cited the current charges against Fravel, as well as a claim by the county that

Fravel attempted to keep the county

from taking custody of the children.

"The allegations against Mr. Fravel assert he is capable of horrific acts — allowing Mr. Fravel to see the children puts them directly in harm's way," Tobia wrote in her motion.

Fravel's lawyer in his criminal case, Zach Bauer, previously called into question the county's claims regarding Fravel's behavior when the county took custody of his children. Fravel has denied involvement in Kingsbury's disappearance.

Leahy firmly rejected the motion Wednesday and called it an attempt essentially to try Fravel's criminal case in civil court, though any sort of parenting time will be suspended while he is in custody.

"If you think we're going to try this murder case here today in this motion, you're gravely mistaken," Leahy said in court. "We have this Constitution that ensures everyone due process. It ensures the defendant a fair trial. It ensures a trial by his peers. It ensures a presumption of innocence until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. It does not ensure that there's going to be an end around through a CHIPS proceeding."

Leahy urged the county attorney and the grandparents to address parenting time in the appropriate venue.

"Your rush to judgment is misplaced in these proceedings," Leahy said, adding the matter needs to be taken care of in family court.

The county had previously entered into a joint

agreement with Fravel to eventually dismiss the CHIPS case

in favor of a stipulation in family court, but Assistant Winona County Attorney Rebecca Church said in court Wednesday that her office planned to file a petition to terminate parental rights for Fravel later this week.

"Mr. Fravel is in custody and (it) appears to be that he will unavailable for an extended period of time," she said in court. "It is in the best interest of the children that permanency is established by maintaining this case with Winona County."

Fravel's lawyer, Thomas Braun, objected to the expedited timeline put forward by the county in the CHIPS case, noting that Minnesota statute establishes a regular timeline for such cases. Braun also objected to the county attorney's office playing a role in both the criminal and civil cases, noting that it presents an inherent conflict of interest.

Fravel is not asking for any form of parenting time while he's in custody on a conditional million-dollar jail bond, Braun said. He noted that prior to his arrest, there had been no issues with the supervised parenting time involving Fravel and his children.

The criminal complaint against Fravel alleges abusive behavior by Fravel toward Kingsbury and cites a possible motive for the murder, but prosecutors have yet to publicly provide any direct evidence that shows he committed the murder.

A medical examiner noted that a knotted towel had been wrapped around Kingsbury's head and neck. A preliminary autopsy report determined the manner and cause of death as homicide and homicidal violence.

A review hearing in the CHIPS case is scheduled for Aug. 10, 2023.