Defense rested in Fravel murder case

Story provided by WDIO’s sister station KAAL.

On Friday, November 1, the defense rested its case in Adam Fravel’s murder trial. The defense called five witnesses to the stand to testify, including two law enforcement officers, Fravel’s brother, a neighbor of the home Kingsbury and Fravel shared, and a neighbor of the residence of Fravel’s parents.

Lieutenant Steven Garrett testified that he participated in the Kingsbury search efforts both on foot and on an ATV on April 2, 2023 and April 3, 2023. On April 3, 2023, he searched four dead-end roads on an ATV, including the road where Kingsbury’s body was later found. When he was given a map of the area, he said he didn’t search everything because he came to a gate that he believed was private property. Stating that he did not see anything unusual in the ditches and culverts along the road, he added that excessive growth sometimes makes some things less visible.

Raymond Curtis lived two doors down from Kingsbury and Fravel in Winona and testified for the defense Friday. On March 31, 2023, Curtis was outside his own home when he saw a man walking around a blue van in the driveway outside their home. Curtis described the man as “thin” and had never seen him before.

Curtis couldn’t remember what time this incident occurred, and the court recessed for the defense to remind him of Fravel’s previous testimony at the grand jury hearing. When the court returned, Curtis testified that it was late in the morning when he witnessed the man. He also stated that the man renounced him. The prosecution asked whether Curtis actually remembered the events he testified about, and Curtis said he remembered some of the events but not all of them.

Fravel’s brother, Ryan Fravel, took the stand Friday and testified that Kingsbury and Fravel had ups and downs in their relationship, but he did not see any bruises on Kingsbury or hear any yelling between the two. He had previously told investigators that his brother was an “emotional man” but had never seen him get angry.

Fravel waived his right to testify in his own defense Friday.

Closing arguments are currently scheduled for Wednesday, November 6. Closing arguments were originally scheduled for Monday but were rescheduled to allow the jury to vote. Jury instructions and deliberations will be held immediately after the close of arguments.