MANKATO, Minn. — Krista (Naber) Hultgren, the mother of Maddi Kingsbury, was the first witness to take the stand Tuesday on the ninth day of testimony in the murder trial of Adam Fravel.
Hultgren was the first in what’s expected to be a series of family members and friends who will testify about the relationship between Maddi and Fravel, and share key information about Maddi’s final days.
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Maddi's father David Kingsbury was the second witness called to the stand Tuesday morning, testifying about Maddi’s frustrations with her relationship with Adam Fravel.
“She was doing all the heavy lifting in the relationship,” Kingsbury told the jury panel. “[Fravel] was quite frankly more of a burden than a benefit. I told her she deserved better.”
Kingsbury then shared his perspective of the “Gabby Petito incident” (see below) which included more detail since Maddi and the kids stayed with him for the three to four days that followed the alleged physical interaction and threat from Fravel.
“She told me that Mr. Fravel choked her and told her she was going to end up like Gabby Petito if she didn’t mind, or something to that effect,” David testified.
“How did you respond?” asked prosecutor Phil Prokopowicz.
“Not well. I was angry,” Kingsbury answered, describing his daughter crying hysterically as she told him the story.
In the days that followed the alleged incident David Kingsbury advised Maddi to file a police report and to end the relationship, he testified. She did neither.
“My experience had been that he was really good at gaslighting her,” Kingsbury told the courtroom as defense attorney Zach Bauer objected.
When asked about Fravel characterizing the Gabby Petito incident as a joke, Kingsbury recalled “Yeah I didn’t find it very humorous. I mentioned gaslighting before, and that’s a prime example.”
In cross-examination, defense attorney Bauer emphasized that David Kingsbury did not get along with Fravel, using the word “tumultuous” to describe their relationship, although Maddi's father disagreed with that word.
“At one point you threw him out of your residence?” Bauer pressed Kingsbury.
“Yes, I did,” Kingsbury responded.
“Prior to throwing him out, you texted him calling him a narcissist, selfish, arrogant?” Bauer asked.
“I actually sent another text message after that and said let’s take a step back and have a breather, adult conversation,” Kingsbury said. “But he didn’t reply, so I texted my daughter and said he needed to leave and she agreed.”
Bauer also emphasized that David Kingsbury never reported the alleged abuse to police.
“It would have been hearsay, so no I did not,” David said.
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Like other members of Maddi's family, Hultgren testified that she frequently communicated with her daughter by phone and text about Maddi’s troubled relationship with Fravel, sharing that Maddi was very open with her about it.
Hultgren told jurors that in September of 2021 she received a frantic phone call from Maddi, telling her that Fravel had threatened her, referring to Gabby Petito - a young woman who was killed by her abusive boyfriend in a high-profile case of abuse.
“He pushed her back onto the couch, put his hands around her neck, and said, ‘I can make you disappear like Gabby Petito,’” Hultgren testified.
“How did you respond?” prosecutor Phil Prokopowicz asked.
“I responded that I couldn’t believe that. It was shocking to me," Hultgren responded. "I asked if she was OK, and the kids, and I suggested maybe they vacate the house for the weekend and stay with her dad and Cathy, her other mom. She thought that was a good idea.”
David and Cathy Kingsbury drove to Winona to pick up the kids after that incident, according to Hultgren, and when she learned Maddi was soon planning to return to Winona, her mom asked whether that was a good idea.
“She had received via text some assurance from Adam Fravel that he wouldn’t do that again. She kept saying he said it was a joke and didn’t mean anything. She didn’t want to have the kids away from their dad,” Hultgren recalled.
Fravel and Maddi had other periods of on-and-off separation, including a period of five months apart, her mother testified.
Then, the week of March 23, 2023 – one week before Maddi disappeared – Hultgren learned from her daughter that she and Fravel had decided to finally end their relationship and move into separate homes. Maddi conveyed that Fravel would stay with his parents at first, and she didn’t want to move too far away because she still wanted him in their children’s lives.
“I said I was supportive of her decision and would provide any assistance needed to get settled and started somewhere new,” Hultgren said.
In the days leading up to Maddi’s disappearance, Hultgren said she communicated with her daughter two to three times per day over calls and texts, and that Maddi conveyed she was feeling discomfort around Fravel – and that he was acting jealous and controlling concerning a new man she was seeing, Spencer Sullivan.
“She was telling me that Adam was kind of following her around the house, looming around her, making her feel kind of uncomfortable,” Hultgren told the courtroom. “She did state that if her phone buzzed, if she went to her phone, he would ask ‘Is that Spencer? Did you text Spencer?’”
Then, on the morning of March 30, the day before Maddi disappeared, Hultgren spoke with her daughter for the last time during a FaceTime call.
“She got a little bit teary, and she was putting her makeup on to get ready for the day and was a bit teary, and she said that he was just making her feel really uncomfortable,” Hultgren said. “It was a day she would work from home and I suggested to her perhaps she go work at one of her friend's homes, Katie Kolka.”
“How did she respond?” Prokopowicz asked.
“She said yes, she would probably do that because she felt uncomfortable staying home,” Hultgren said.
During cross-examination, defense attorney Zach Bauer specified that Hultgren never witnessed Fravel hit or push Maddi, or even control her by answering questions for her or interrupting her speech.
“Your relationship with Adam Fravel was very good?” Bauer asked.
“Yes,” Hultgren replied.
“You loved him?” Bauer asked.
“Correct,” Hultgren replied.
“He called you ‘Mom’ on different occasions?” Bauer asked.
“Correct,” Hultgren said.