NY - Melina Frattolin, 9, Abducted, seen 9:40pm in a white van traveling south on I-87 near exit 22, Lake George, 19 Jul 2025 *arrest*

[Seattle1]

Cause of Death Revealed for Melina Frattolin, 9, as Father Faces Charges

The cause of death for a 9-year-old girl who was found dead over the weekend in upstate New York after she was falsely reported missing by her father has been revealed.

people.com

7/22/25

 

[Seattle1]

Tragic Melina Frattolin’s dad charged with murder after he reported her missing, as new details hint at possible motive

Luciano Frattolin — a 45-year-old debt-riddled neat-freak — was charged with second-degree murder and unlawful disposal of a corpse after the tragic child was found dead in a shallow waterway outsi…

nypost.com

7/21/25

TICONDEROGA — A Canadian coffee entrepreneur killed his 9-year-old daughter during a trip to upstate New York, stashing her body under a log in a remote pond — just before he was supposed to return her to his ex-wife, cops said Monday.

Luciano Frattolin — a 45-year-old debt-riddled neat-freak — was charged with second-degree murder and unlawful disposal of a corpse after the tragic child was found dead in a shallow waterway outside Ticonderoga on the northern end of Lake George on Sunday afternoon.




A map of where Melina Frattolin was found dead in upstate New York.

The child was last seen alive at a Saratoga Springs restaurant with her father around 5:30 p.m. Saturday, police said, citing surveillance video.

She was killed between 7:40 and 9:12 that night, according to the court complaint.

Frattolin, the Ethiopian-born founder of a Montreal-based company called Gambella Coffee, was hauled to the upstate Essex County Jail at 2 a.m. Monday.

[..]

A not-guilty plea was entered on Frattolin’s behalf in court, the Times Union reported.
He spoke only to tell Judge Richard Carpenter that the Montreal address listed for him was incorrect.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

A team led by state forest rangers found the girl's body on Sunday afternoon in the shallow part of a pond in the woods of Ticonderoga, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of Lake George. The criminal complaint said Frattolin concealed her body under a log.

The preliminary autopsy results said the cause of death was "asphyxia due to drowning" and classified it as a homicide, according to state police. Final autopsy results are pending

9-year-old Montreal girl found in an upstate New York pond drowned in a homicide

Authorities say a 9-year-old Canadian girl found dead in a New York pond was drowned.

abc7ny.com

 

[Seattle1]

Neat-freak alleged Lake George killer dad Luciano Frattolin admitted he struggled with daughter’s ‘messy art,’ ‘chaotic’ toys

Alleged Lake George killer dad Luciano Frattolin once admitted he had to learn to live with his slain daughter’s “messy art projects’’ and “chaotic’’ toys because of his obsession with keeping “per…

nypost.com

7/21/25

 

[Seattle1]

7/21/25

 

[Seattle1]

7/22/25

Cause of Death Just Released for Girl Allegedly Killed by Dad on Vacation​

 

[Woolly]

I wonder where he was when he called 911. Presumably he was at the place where he claims the abduction happened near Lake George, which would mean he drove from Saratoga Springs, where they were seen having dinner, north to Ticonderoga, and then an hour back south to Lake George to make the 911 call. That seems strange. He could have kept going north and called 911 from another town.

Unless he called from Ticonderoga, which would explain why they were able to narrow in on that area so quickly.

 

[Seattle1]

7/22/25

SICKENING TWIST: MELINA VANISHES ON VACATION​

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Melina Frattolin’s cause of death revealed after preliminary autopsy as dad faces murder charges

The Montreal girl’s body was discovered under a log in a shallow pond in Ticonderoga.

nypost.com

• Tragic Melina Frattolin’s dad charged with murder after he reported her missing, as new details hint at possible motive
• Melina Frattolin’s father hid 9-year-old’s body under log after killing her in upstate NY: cops
• Neat-freak alleged Lake George killer dad Luciano Frattolin admitted he struggled with daughter’s ‘messy art,’ ‘chaotic’ toys
• Luciano Frattolin may have been struggling to pay child support while over $200,000 in debt: reports

 

[legalmomma]

Was it his phone or could this iPad be the digital evidence that led LE to M?

EXCLUSIVE: Hotel owner finds discarded tablet possibly linked to slain 9-year-old

A Lake George hotel owner believes he may have stumbled upon a crucial piece of evidence in the case of 9-year-old Melina Frattolin —

cbs6albany.com

“The tablet was found just off Exit 22 in Lake George — the same area where Melina’s father, 45-year-old Luciano Frattolin, called police to report his daughter missing.”

 

[Woolly]

Another thing that is strange is that, if they were on their way back to Canada that night, there would be no reason to be near Ticonderoga at all. From Saratoga Springs to Montreal is a straight shot on 87 to the border. The whole trip takes about three hours. Ticonderoga is a 45 minute detour.

I had assumed that he had snapped and killed her out of anger near Lake George and that he then drove to Ticonderoga to hide her body. But given that she likely drowned in the same lake where she was found, he had already made the detour before killing her. Why?

 

[Snoopster]

Another thing that is strange is that, if they were on their way back to Canada that night, there would be no reason to be near Ticonderoga at all. From Saratoga Springs to Montreal is a straight shot on 87 to the border. The whole trip takes about three hours. Ticonderoga is a 45 minute detour.

I had assumed that he had snapped and killed her out of anger near Lake George and that he then drove to Ticonderoga to hide her body. But given that she likely drowned in the same lake where she was found, he had already made the detour before killing her. Why?

I believe Melina's body was found just half way between 87 and Ticonderoga. Did he kill her somewhere south of there along 87? Or did he do a detour onto 74, finding a pull-off spot, where something happened?

ETA: it doesn't matter how it happened. What matters is that it DID happen. I'm going to step back from this thread since I just feel like I'm fanning flames, and I don't think this helps LE nor does it help Melina's family. Hugs to all.

 

[Seattle1]

7/21/25

Luciano Frattolin charged with murder in daughter Melina's death​

 

[katydid23]

This very much has the feel of those fathers who take out their whole family rather than admit that the bank is foreclosing on the house.

Yes, I remember cases like that. And also college kids, who pretend to be about to graduate from college , and days before the supposed graduation ceremony, they kill their parents to prevent them from knowing their kid slept all day and never really went to school. It is such an oddly sick way to behave.

 

[Seattle1]

7/22/25

Community remembers Melina Frattolin at vigil​

A vigil was held in Ticonderoga in memory of Melina Frattolin, the 9-year-old girl who investigators say was murdered by her father over the weekend.

 

[Curious Me]

Neat-freak alleged Lake George killer dad Luciano Frattolin admitted he struggled with daughter’s ‘messy art,’ ‘chaotic’ toys

Alleged Lake George killer dad Luciano Frattolin once admitted he had to learn to live with his slain daughter’s “messy art projects’’ and “chaotic’’ toys because of his obsession with keeping “per…

nypost.com

...a worker at the studio commissioned for the project told the outlet, “There was nothing unusual about him, and he adored his daughter.

“She was so charming,” the employee recalled of Melina. ​

_________________________________

Melina Frattolin’s cause of death revealed after preliminary autopsy as dad faces murder charges

The Montreal girl’s body was discovered under a log in a shallow pond in Ticonderoga.

nypost.com

Melina was determined to have died by “asphyxia due to drowning,” according to the preliminary autopsy conducted at Glens Falls Hospital, and reported by New York State Police on Tuesday afternoon.

​

 

[katydid23]

Neat-freak alleged Lake George killer dad Luciano Frattolin admitted he struggled with daughter’s ‘messy art,’ ‘chaotic’ toys

Alleged Lake George killer dad Luciano Frattolin once admitted he had to learn to live with his slain daughter’s “messy art projects’’ and “chaotic’’ toys because of his obsession with keeping “per…

nypost.com

...a worker at the studio commissioned for the project told the outlet, “There was nothing unusual about him, and he adored his daughter.

“She was so charming,” the employee recalled of Melina. ​

_________________________________

Melina Frattolin’s cause of death revealed after preliminary autopsy as dad faces murder charges

The Montreal girl’s body was discovered under a log in a shallow pond in Ticonderoga.

nypost.com

Melina was determined to have died by “asphyxia due to drowning,” according to the preliminary autopsy conducted at Glens Falls Hospital, and reported by New York State Police on Tuesday afternoon.

​

UGH...did he actually hold her head underwater, forcefully, until she died? I just can't understand how someone could do that to their young child...one has to be extremely unhinged, imo.

 

[Lisbeth_S]

I wonder what details of the autopsy have not been made public that make the drowning a homicide.

 

[katydid23]

I wonder what details of the autopsy have not been made public that make the drowning a homicide.

I'm wondering if it might be the log, was one potential clue? If it was placed on top of her, as opposed to her floating and ending up underneath?

 

[Seattle1]

7/22/25

Police release autopsy of girl found dead in NY State | CTV National News at​