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*

[LarkBunting]

As someone with sole custody, this is literally my nightmare. My heart breaks for this poor mother and her late baby girl. Rest in peace, little one. You deserved so much better and I wish so much you were still here, home safe and sound with your mama.

 

[tlcya]

Luciano Frattolin is the founder of the Gambella Coffee Company. The business website, which ahas been taken down as of Monday, shared information about Frattolin and his family, with a direct mention of his daughter:

“As the light of his life, she is the inspiration for… well, everything,” the website read. “His pursuits for building a more equitable and just world are deeply guided by his determination that she will not have to endure the same social injustices that he encountered throughout his childhood.”
https://www.news10.com/news/essex-c...ld-girl-found-dead-in-ticonderoga-in-custody/

Frattolin, who was born in Ethiopia, is the founder of a Montreal-based company called Gambella Coffee, according to the company’s website, which has been taken offline in the wake of his arrest.

His corporate bio alluded to a number of hardships he had to overcome, including getting over his “rigid” tendencies, and having to learn to live with Melina’s “messy art projects” and “chaotic” toys because of his obsession for keeping things in “perfect order.”
Melina Frattolin’s father hid 9-year-old’s body under log after killing her in upstate NY: cops

I'm going to guess injustice collector mad at his ex, daughter is property, if I can't have you both then I'll end her. I don't think an accident happened. I think a purposeful murder happened. I think the end of the marriage threatened a need for control. And his act in killing his daughter exerted the only control he had left over his ex.

 

[Marie A]

I don’t think this was premeditated but I think maybe something set him off.
Maybe his ex texted or called him asking him to bring Melina home asap.
Something triggered him to do this hellacious thing to his own flesh and blood daughter.
I can’t imagine it doesn’t involve anger/animosity toward his ex. If this was premeditated I think this would have played out differently. She could have been “washed away” by a wave in the ocean for example.
He doesn’t sound completely stupid but he was dumb enough to backtrack on his way back to Canada after killing Melina- which makes no sense- and to concoct a story that wouldn’t hold water. He likely had his phone on near the pond where he left her because they found her so quickly- he was either tracked that way or through his SAT NAV on his car or through cameras/ license plate readers on the road.
In any case, the police detectives need to be commended for wrapping this up so quickly.
Those things he wrote about the bad thing in 2019 and praising his daughter make him sound like a psycho in reality or an oddball at best. Poor child. IMHO only.

 

[shetalksinstereo]

My parents were divorced, and the custody agreement was that I had to go with my "Dad", who I barely even knew, 1 month each summer. It was beyond horrible. He had no clue about young girls.

I told my Mom I was done and wouldn't do it again, when I was 11. She agreed, he did too. (I think he was relieved).

So, FWIW, maybe he just wasn't used to kids and got frustrated.

dbm

 

[truthfinder2019]

The father of a 9-year-old Canadian girl found dead in upstate New York was arrested and charged in her murder Monday — accused of killing her just before he was supposed to fly her back home to his ex-wife.

Frattolin and his daughter had been traveling across Connecticut and New York as part of a custody visit he arraigned with his ex-wife, with whom he split in 2019, New York State Police revealed at a press conference Monday.

The dad was authorized to travel with his daughter, who lived with her mom full-time, and had no previous criminal history or domestic violence history, cops said.

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

 

[JoeFromLB]

Dear Lord...when will this stop?!

Rest in Peace, Melina. You're in a much better place...

 

[truthfinder2019]

Melina made a call to her mom at 6.30 pm, and sounded fine. He reported her missing just an hour after that.

 

[arielilane]

@WNYT


JUST IN: Video of Luciano Frattolin, 45, who is charged in the death of his 9-year-old daughter, Melina Frattolin.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1947325581193773382

 

[imstilla.grandma]

https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/21/us/luciano-frattolin-melina-lake-george

 

[mickey2942]

Melina made a call to her mom at 6.30 pm, and sounded fine. He reported her missing just an hour after that.

Interesting timing.

 

[SMK777]

I'm going to guess injustice collector mad at his ex, daughter is property, if I can't have you both then I'll end her. I don't think an accident happened. I think a purposeful murder happened. I think the end of the marriage threatened a need for control. And his act in killing his daughter exerted the only control he had left over his ex.

Snipped for emphasis:
It's certainly plausible, but to me this would be premeditated first degree murder, not second degree. Maybe I just don't understand the degrees.

 

[Inthedetails]

Snipped for emphasis:
It's certainly plausible, but to me this would be premeditated first degree murder, not second degree. Maybe I just don't understand the degrees.

Every state has different definitions of crimes. For first-degree murder in NY State, certain criteria have to be met. Here is the law, for those interested in knowing what entails first-degree murder in NY

NYS Open Legislation | NYSenate.gov

www.nysenate.gov

 

[Sunshine99]

Disgustingly, the police will have to wait for autopsy results to apply final criminal charges.

 

[tlcya]

Snipped for emphasis:
It's certainly plausible, but to me this would be premeditated first degree murder, not second degree. Maybe I just don't understand the degrees.

no I think you understand degrees just fine.

I am thinking 2nd is what the state feels more confident of proving than first. Doesn't mean first didn't happen if you follow me.

 

[vls12345]

The dad was authorized to travel with his daughter, who lived with her mom full-time, and had no previous criminal history or domestic violence history, cops said.

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

RSBM.

Even though they say there is no previous criminal history or DV history, it just means not on record. A lot of DV goes unreported, imo. So, I wonder, was that a factor in the earlier marriage? Or with Melina? MOO. (Physical abuse? Emotional abuse? Etc.?)

I get the feeling it's aimed at his ex too, like some others have posited.

 

[snideremarks]

Found on his Instagram @lucianofrattolin with the caption "How I met your mother " in a series of Instagram stories with Melina. Could one of these women (they look like sisters) be Melina's mom? His Instagram has lots of pictures of Melina growing up but there are no photos of Melina with her mother in his story- I assume Melina's mother must have been out of the picture ever since Melina was a toddler and Luciano was raising her on his own. Makes sens why he'd use a crying emoji when referring to how he met her mother...

Reposting because the mods deleted my post saying there was "no link" even though I included his Instagram tag... here's the source once again: America = @lucianofrattolin

View attachment 602956

The lady to the left of Luciano in this photo (his right side) is Melina's mom!

 

[SMK777]

Every state has different definitions of crimes. For first-degree murder in NY State, certain criteria have to be met. Here is the law, for those interested in knowing what entails first-degree murder in NY

NYS Open Legislation | NYSenate.gov

www.nysenate.gov

Thank you.

 

[snideremarks]

Luciano also ran other business that weren't doing well.

Luciano Frattolin had been struggling financially for a year. In the spring, a bank sued him for more than $150,000 for unpaid credit card balances in his businesses. He was also embroiled in a legal dispute with a business partner who threatened to jeopardize his daughter's custody.

Luciano Frattolin had been operating a bed and breakfast (listed on AirBnB) on Bernard Street in Montreal for years. He claims in a short document that his business allowed him to pay his daughter's child support. He also stored his daughter's clothes and toys in the building.

However, he no longer had access to his daughter's belongings this spring because the building's owner had barred him from accessing them. Luciano Frattolin's debts were piling up: he owed $26,000 in rent and $33,000 on his bed and breakfast credit card.

In a lawsuit filed last April, Luciano Frattolin claims he was defrauded from start to finish by his business partner, who operated the bed and breakfast. He accuses him of using the company's credit card to renovate the building and then illegally operating the bed and breakfast under another name for his own benefit.

Mr. Frattolin reportedly sold Gîte Bernard [a bed and breakfast] in Mile End six months ago, according to Jeremy Gravelle of the Dépanneur Café (in the same building). According to him, Mr. Frattolin lived between Italy and Canada. "I've seen him for 18 months. I met him two or three times. He was very reserved," says Jeremy Gravelle.

"It's really a ghost business. You see people coming and going with their suitcases. It looks more like an AirBnB than a bed and breakfast. I've never seen the owner once," says Guy Lavoie, an employee of Phonopolis, a vinyl store just across the street from Gîte Bernard.

Some of Luciano Frattolin's businesses have experienced financial problems in recent months. A bank is claiming over $150,000 in unpaid credit card balances from two businesses on Bernard Street, Café Gambella and Dépanneur Café (which he no longer owns). Luciano Frattolin personally guaranteed these credit cards.

Source (in French) | Google Translate Version

Sounds like his finances were unraveling, and with custody of his daughter at risk, he may have felt he had nothing to lose.

 

[Sunshine99]

I don’t think this was premeditated but I think maybe something set him off.
Maybe his ex texted or called him asking him to bring Melina home asap.
Something triggered him to do this hellacious thing to his own flesh and blood daughter.
I can’t imagine it doesn’t involve anger/animosity toward his ex. If this was premeditated I think this would have played out differently. She could have been “washed away” by a wave in the ocean for example.
He doesn’t sound completely stupid but he was dumb enough to backtrack on his way back to Canada after killing Melina- which makes no sense- and to concoct a story that wouldn’t hold water. He likely had his phone on near the pond where he left her because they found her so quickly- he was either tracked that way or through his SAT NAV on his car or through cameras/ license plate readers on the road.
In any case, the police detectives need to be commended for wrapping this up so quickly.
Those things he wrote about the bad thing in 2019 and praising his daughter make him sound like a psycho in reality or an oddball at best. Poor child. IMHO only.

I think premeditated because of the placing the dead body in water. Police criminal complaint states the body was "under a log in a pond", completely submerged. If left in water long enough, dna evidence would be destroyed. Although it would work better on evidence in a car,or evidence by unknown persons, the police found the body by cell phone signal mapping, they know he did it, the only thing to be destroyed is rape evidence.

 

[SMK777]

no I think you understand degrees just fine.

I am thinking 2nd is what the state feels more confident of proving than first. Doesn't mean first didn't happen if you follow me.

Yes, that may very well be what they're starting with. On that assumption the charges might be upgraded upon further investigation and evidence?