WINONA, Minn. – A judge denied Winona murderer Adam Fravel custody his 7-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son. The children will remain with their maternal grandparents, Judge Dwight Luhmann ruled. Fravel was brought out of prison, where he’s serving a life sentence, for the custody hearing. Afterward he was taken back. The children, Elliana and Noah, have lived with the grandparents in Farmington, 100 miles away, since Fravel became a suspect in the murder of their mother Madeline Kingsbury in 2023. Judge Luhmann’s decision clears the way for the grandparents to adopt the children formally.
Verbatim
Grandparents, in their court filing, called Favel a “palpably unfit” parent. They said he was “substantially, continuously or repeatedly refused or neglected to comply with the duties imposed upon him by the parent and child relationship. The children experience egregious harm in his care that is of a nature, duration or chronicity that indicates a lack of regard for the children’s wellbeing.”