Judge rules on testimony regarding domestic violence, injuries, Gabby Petito and ‘Adam did it’ statements
Adam Fravel / Olmsted County ADC
(ABC 6 News) – On Oct. 2, Judge Nancy L. Buytendorp filed several rulings about the evidence, appearance, and conduct of witnesses during Adam Fravel’s trial in the death of Winona mother Madeline Kingsbury.
While the prosecution sought to present “hearsay” evidence of a history of domestic violence in Fravel and Kingsbury’s relationship, Fravel’s attorneys sought to block virtually all testimony about alleged violent incidents from Kingsbury’s family and friends.
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Inadmissible testimony
According to a 23-page memorandum, Buytendorp concluded that while the evidence of alleged domestic violence is generally admissible in court, there are some exceptions in Fravel’s case.
Comments made by Spencer Sullivan, a man Kingsbury dated shortly before her death, were disallowed in part because of the time lapse between the alleged violent incident and comments Sullivan said Kingsbury made much later.
The court will not allow generic statements that Fravel pushed, choked, mentally abused, and otherwise acted violent and controlling toward Kingsbury.
“These statements lack specificity and detail and do not possess the circumstantial guarantees of trustworthiness necessary to be deemed admissible,” Buytendorp concluded.
Buytendorp also disallowed comments Kingsbury allegedly made about mental distress shortly before her disappearance, stating that Kingsbury’s state of mind does not indicate another party’s guilt.
Attestations that shortly before Kingsbury died, she told an associate that if something happened to her, ‘Adam did it’ are also unfairly prejudicial, Buytendorp said.
Vague statements that suggest, but do not confirm Fravel may have been abusive toward Kingsbury around their children, or that he may have gained access to her phone, will not be admitted.
Admissible testimony
Kingsbury’s friends and family will be allowed to describe specific injuries they saw on Kingsbury in the years before her death, as well as the time they noted them, and the explanations Kingsbury allegedly gave, according to court filings.
Buytendorp concluded that testimony that Fravel referenced Gabby Petito, a high-profile victim of domestic violence, was also specific and relevant to the proceedings.
She allowed testimony about Fravel’s apparent failure to help around the house, concluding that it demonstrated a strained relationship between the two, as well as testimony that Kingsbury planned to break up with Fravel permanently and worried about his reaction.
She also allowed statements about Fravel’s actions and text messages to Kingsbury shortly before her disappearance.
A friend of Kingsbury will be allowed to testify that she heard Fravel make demeaning comments to Kingsbury, as Buytendorp concluded that the jury should understand the relationship between Fravel and Kingsbury.
Buytendorp also noted that with multiple witnesses speaking about Fravel and Kingsbury’s relationship, “appropriate objections regarding the potential redundancy of the evidence will be entertained
during the witnesses’ testimonies.”
Other courtroom procedure
Separately, Buytendorp ruled that witnesses and spectators may not wear clothing, jewelry, or other “displays” like buttons or ribbons referencing Madeline Kingsbury, “Justice for Maddi,” or violence against women.
She added that witnesses in the trial would be sequestered, or separated from one another, during proceedings.
The court order stated that it is “utterly reasonable” to prevent witnesses from accessing print, audio, or TV coverage of the trial to avoid any possibility of influencing each other’s testimony.
Fravel’s first-degree murder trial begins in Blue Earth County Oct. 7.