WINONA, Minn. — A Winona County judge has suspended Adam Fravel's ability to visit his children while he sits in jail on murder charges but declined to permanently terminate his parental rights, saying to do so would be "putting the cart before the horse."
The rulings were made during a Zoom CHIPS (child protection) hearing Wednesday to decide on matters regarding Fravel and the two children he shared with Maddi Kingsbury, who Fravel is accused of murdering.
Fravel's attorney Thomas Braun argued that Winona County is guilty of a conflict of interest in trying to determine a child welfare matter while prosecuting one of the parties for murder. Winona County's Rebecca Church told the court that the county will be filing to permanently terminate Fravel's parental rights by week's end, citing "a significant change in circumstances" since the last CHIPS hearing
At that time Fravel had not yet been charged with Kingsbury's murder.
Anna Tobia, attorney for Kingsbury's parents, who are fostering their 2 and 5-year-old grandchildren, requested that Fravel's visitation and contact rights be suspended immediately.
While Judge Mary Caroll Leahy agreed that Fravel being in jail is a good reason to suspend visitation rights, she maintains that Family Court, and not a CHIPS hearing, is the right venue to discuss the issue of terminating parental rights.
"Your rush to judgment is misplaced in these proceedings," Judge Leahy told the county. "Quit putting the cart before the horse and get this taken care of in family court."
Braun asked the judge to keep the option for supervised visitation open in the event Fravel does bail out. For now, that option remains but the situation could change in the family court case.
For his part, Fravel did not speak, but he appeared on camera from the Winona County Jail with what appeared to be an unsettling smirk on his face. He is currently being held on $2 million bail without conditions, and $1 million with. Those conditions include not making contact with the Kingsbury family, remaining drug and alcohol-free and not possessing weapons.
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11's newscasts. You'll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
- Add KARE 11+ on Roku here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Roku Channel Store.
- Add KARE 11+ on Fire TV here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Amazon App Store.
- Learn more about the KARE 11+ app for Apple TV in the Apple App Store.
- Learn more about KARE 11+ here.
Watch more local news:
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities and across Minnesota in our YouTube playlist: