WINONA, Minn. — The judge overseeing the murder trial for Adam Fravel — the man accused of killing Maddi Kingsbury — has granted the motion to move the trial out of Winona County.
Judge Nancy Buytendorp signed off on the change Wednesday after Fravel's attorneys continually claimed that he couldn't receive a fair trial within the county lines.
"It is evident to this Court that a fair trial cannot be ensured within this county. Therefore, it falls upon this Court to determine which county within the state can best ensure the impartiality necessary for a fair trial," the order reads. "To facilitate this process, this Court will collaborate closely with both district and state court administration to identify a suitable county capable of accommodating this Winona County case."
The ruling comes just days after Fravel's defense team filed a motion saying that there would be a "reasonable likelihood that a fair trial cannot be had," due to the vast amount of media coverage and a public opinion survey.
Fravel is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Kingsbury, his former partner who was also the mother of the couple's two children.
Kingsbury disappeared on March 31, 2023, and her body was discovered weeks later in a remote wooded area just north of Mabel, Fravel's hometown. He was quickly arrested and charged with second-degree murder, but that was elevated to first-degree murder after Fravel was indicted by a Winona County grand jury.
The order signed Wednesday points to numerous items of media coverage, as well as a survey that showed "74% of those who have accessed a news story have formed an opinion about who is responsible for the death of Ms. Kingsbury."
"Public opinion surveys stand as a recognized method for demonstrating how the dissemination of prejudicial material to the public can reasonably undermine the possibility of a fair trial without a change of venue," the order reads. "... The results of the public opinion survey conducted in this case are particularly revealing.
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