New York State Police believed Melina Galanis Frattolin, the 9-year-old Canadian girl, who was found dead in Ticonderoga, was killed by her father Luciano Frattolin, a cafe owner in Canada. Luciano was charged with second-degree murder and also with unlawful disposal of the body, reports said. The father-daughter duo was in the US on a vacation and was supposed to return to Montreal Sunday. Police said Melina’s mother and father got divorced in 2019 and the mother got full custody of the daughter. But the mother did not believe her ex-husband posed any danger to their daughter.Melina even spoke to her mother earlier during the trip and was in good health. Frattolin told the police that two men in a van abducted his daughter when he stopped his car to urinate by the side of the road. Captain Robert McConnel said that the abduction story was fully fabricated; Frattolin killed his daughter and left her in the shallow end of a pond in Ticonderoga.Frattolin reported his daughter missing just before 10 pm Saturday near the Northway’s Exit 22 in Lake George. The child’s body was found on Sunday. As the investigation unfolded, police said Frattolin gave inconsistent statements. “The child appeared to be in good health and did not indicate she was under any duress,” McConnell said. “The investigation has determined sometime after Melina’s phone call with her mother, and before Mr. Frattolin’s 911 call, he allegedly murdered Melina and left her body in a remote area where she was later discovered by law enforcement.”“This is certainly a difficult case and a heartbreaking investigation,” McConnell said. “The best we can do is provide some measure of justice to the family.”According to police records, the father-daughter duo entered the US legally on July 11 for vacation and were due to return to Montreal on July 20, the date when Melina was supposed to return to her mother’s custody.
