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Madeline Kingsbury’s parents are fighting to protect their grandchildren from the children’s father, who is being held on $1 million bond after allegedly killing their daughter.
Adam Fravel, 29, was charged with two counts of second-degree murder for allegedly murdering Kingsbury on March 31 and dumping her body in a taped, fitted sheet along a Minnesota highway, according to court documents.
“It is fully expected that a new petition will be filed against Mr. Fravel to terminate his parental rights,” Anna Tobia, the attorney for Kingsbury’s parents, wrote Monday in the freedom-fighting lawsuit with Fravel.
Fravel currently faces 40 years in prison if convicted of the charges. He is a flight risk and based on his actions when Winona County Health and Human Services first gained custody of the children, there is every reason to believe to assume that he would run away with the children.”
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Mother Madeline Kingsbury of Minnesota disappeared on March 31 and was later found dead along a highway. (Madeline Kingsbury/Facebook)
Madeline’s parents – David and Cathy Kingsbury – referenced Fravel’s alleged April 4 standoff with Winona social workers and police, who attempted to gain custody of the 2- and 5-year-old children after Madeline, 26, went missing.
“At one point (Fravel) took the youngest child to the residence and locked the door, despite being told the children were in the care of Winona County,” the petition filed by Winona County Health and Human said. Services, which was acquired by Fox News Digital.
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“While (Fravel) was home with the youngest child, a social worker could hear (Fravel) yelling expletives.”
When Fravel finally came out, he allegedly argued with social workers as he put them in the wrong car seats and refused to give social workers and police the children’s belongings.
Adam Fravel is charged with the murder of Madeline Kingsbury, the mother of his children. (Adam Fravel/Facebook)
Fravel had no custodial rights when Kingsbury disappeared and is fighting his ex-girlfriend’s parents in court.
As it stands, the children are in the care of Kingsbury’s parents, but Fravel has supervised visitation rights in a secure location, which is how his lawyers want it to stay.
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Thomas Braun, who represents Fravel in the freedom struggle, said the Kingsbury’s motion was “arguable” and “misguided” at a time when Fravel is behind bars, according to Tuesday’s reply letter to the judge.
“The opposing side’s efforts to adjudicate the facts pertaining to the criminal proceedings in this CHiPS (Child in Need of Help or Protection) case are misguided,” Braun wrote. “There is still no need for the county to litigate this matter given the temporary arrangements made. Accordingly, Mr. Fravel objects to any amendment to the current court order.”
Megan Kingsbury and her brother after hearing about Madeline’s ‘suspicious disappearance’. (Megan Kingsbury)
Monday’s lawsuit, which was obtained by Fox News Digital, is the first motion in custody since Fravel was formally charged with Kingsbury’s murder.
Fravel has been hostile to law enforcement, including making lewd remarks, exposing himself and actively trying to divert their attention while they searched for Madeline Kingsbury,” the attorney for Kingsbury’s family wrote in the filing.
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READ THE ENTIRE MOTION OF KINGSBURYS
“He is suspected of being the one who snatched the mother of these children and forced them to live a life without her presence. It is absolutely not appropriate nor in the best interest of the children for Mr. Fravel to have access to them, even unsupervised.”
Any interaction between Fravel and the children puts them in danger, the Kingsbury’s lawyer argued.
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Fravel and Kingsbury had an on-again, off-again relationship with several cases of alleged physical abuse, according to the criminal indictment obtained by Fox News Digital.
Kingsbury was missing for 69 days until a detective found her body on Highway 43 near the Iowa state line with a knotted towel around her neck, the indictment said.
Adam Fravel (Winona County Detention Center)
Kingsbury worked as a research coordinator at the Mayo Clinic and sent Fravel electronic money to pay the household bills, the complaint said. Fravel worked as a software engineer.
She then “suspiciously” and “involuntarily” disappeared on March 31, according to police, at a time when the couple was in the process of separating and Fravel was moving out of the house, according to the indictment.
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Fravel released one public statement through his lawyer during the 69-day search for Kingsbury.
On Day 12 of her disappearance, Fravel said he had “nothing to do with Maddi’s disappearance”, and that he and his family were “subject to numerous allegations related to (Maddi’s) disappearance”.
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The Kingsbury family said in a statement following Fravel’s arrest last Wednesday that “the right person is in custody”.
“We’re glad he’s in custody,” her sister Megan said. “He’s not walking around like a free man anymore.”
Chris Eberhart is a crime and American news reporter for Fox News Digital. Email tips to chris.eberhart@fox.com or on twitter @ChrisEberhart48
