MANKATO, Minn. – A Winona man in a romantic relationship with Maddi Kingsbury in early 2023, Spencer Sullivan, testified that they celebrated his birthday the day before she went missing. The last he heard from her was a good-night text message, Sullivan said. Kingsbury went missing the following day. Weeks later she was found slain in a culvert on a forest trail 40 miles away. Sullivan’s account of his relationship with Kingsbury came in the third week of the murder trial of Adam Fravel, who had been Kingsbury’s live-in companion for seven years. Sullivan, whom police cleared early as a suspect, said he was aware that Kingsbury and Fravel had had been together for seven years and had two children. Sullivan also said he was aware to that Maddi’s relationship with Fravel was breaking up.
Acquaintances from college
Sullivan’s testimony began with a recitation of his background. He joined the Army in 2009 and deployed to Afghanistan and Kuwait. After 12 years in the Army, he studied computer science at Winona State University. He met Maddi Kingsbury on campus but, he said, they never hung out.
Connecting in 2021
Sullivan testified that he encountered Kingsbury again in December 2021 through a dating app but she stopped talking to him within a couple weeks. She wanted to work on her relationship with Fravel, Sullivan said. But by the summer of 2022, they resumed on Instagram. In the early fall Sullivan said he saw Kingsbury in-person once again but they didn’t talk much. Later, he said, they started doing things together — “grabbing a coffee” or “taking a walk around the lake.” Their conversations included Kingsbury’s accounts of trying to patch up her relationship with Fravel, Sullivan said. By the end of 2022, Kingsbury had ended things with Fravel, he said. Sullivan admitted that he felt both sorry for her and excited about exploring a relationship. Yes, he said, he was falling in love. Not long thereafter, as Fravel and Maddi were ending things, he and Maddi became more romantically involved, he said.
The disappearance
On March 31, Sullivan said. Maddi’s friend Katie Kolka texted to ask if he had heard from Maddi. He had not, he said. Once Kingsbury was declared missing, Sullivan said police asked him for tissue samples, including a cheek swab. He cooperated, he said. He also joined several massive citizen searches for Kingsbury over a tri-county area.
Sullivan. A web developer in Winona. In dating relationship with Maddi Kingsbury. Grew up in the south Twin Cities suburb of Rosemount. A Winona State University graduate. Birth name: Spence F. Sullivan. Age 34.