Story provided by WDIO sister station, KAAL.

On Friday, November 1, the defense concluded its case in the murder trial of Adam Fravel. The defense called five witnesses to the stand to testify, including two law enforcement officers, Fravel’s brother, the neighbor at the home Kingsbury and Fravel shared, and the neighbor at Fravel’s parents’ residence.

Lt. Steven Garrett testified that he participated in searches of Kingsbury on April 2, 2023, and April 3, 2023, both on foot and by ATV. On April 3, 2023, he searched four dead-end roads on ATVs, including the road where Kingsbury’s body was later found. When given a map of the area, he said he hadn’t searched everything because he came to a gate he believed was private property. He testified that he saw nothing out of the ordinary in the ditches and culverts along the road, adding that at times the overgrowth made things less visible.

Raymond Curtis lived two doors down from Kingsbury and Fravel in Winona and testified for the defense on Friday. On March 31, 2023, Curtis was outside his own home when he saw a man outside his home, walking around the blue van in the driveway. Curtis described the man as “thin” and had never seen him before.

Curtis could not remember the time of day this event occurred and the court went into recess so the defense could remind him of his earlier testimony at the Fravel grand jury hearing. When the court returned, Curtis testified that it was late in the morning when he saw the man. He also claimed that the man was greeting him. Prosecutors questioned whether Curtis actually remembered the incidents he testified about, and he said he remembered some of the events, but not all.

Fravel’s brother, Ryan Fravel, took the stand Friday and testified that Kingsbury and Fravel had ups and downs in their relationship, but he never saw any bruises on Kingsbury or heard screaming between the two. He previously told investigators that his brother was an “emotional guy,” but he never saw him get angry.

Fravel waived his right to testify in his own defense on Friday.

Closing arguments are currently scheduled for Wednesday, November 6. Closing arguments were originally scheduled for Monday, but were rescheduled to allow the jury to vote. Jury instructions and deliberations will follow directly after closing arguments.