TICONDEROGA, NY – Police in upstate New York shared new insight into the investigation of a 9-year-old Canadian girl who was killed earlier in July while visiting New York, with authorities having arrested the young girl’s father with respect to her untimely passing.
On July 20th, 9-year-old Melina Galanis Frattolin, a Canadian citizen visiting New York with her father, was found dead in a pond approximately 30 miles from Lake George in the upstate hamlet of Ticonderoga.
Prior to the discovery of the young girl’s body, authorities had issued an Amber Alert in response to a report made by the girl’s father, 45-year-old Luciano Frattolin, claiming she’d been abducted by someone driving a white van.
Frattolin contacted the Warren County Sheriff’s Office at approximately 9:58 p.m. on July 19th with the abduction claims, asserting the incident occurred roughly two hours earlier that evening.
New York State Police noted in a statement that authorities began to notice “inconsistencies in the father’s account of events and the timeline he provided,” eventually determining that no such abduction occurred.
Two days after the alleged false abduction report and subsequent discovery of the young girl’s body, Frattolin was arrested under charges of second-degree murder and unlawful disposal of a corpse.
Authorities have yet to determine a cause of death or motive in the suspected killing, but an autopsy report is expected to be concluded sometime on July 21st.
Frattolin, who is currently being housed at the Essex County Jail, had reportedly been travelling with his daughter through Connecticut and New York over the weekend during a prearranged custody visit reached with Frattolin’s ex-wife.
The young girl and her father were slated to fly back to Quebec shortly after Frattolin’s ex-wife had a seemingly normal phone call with the 9-year-old girl at around 6:30 p.m. on July 19th, roughly an hour before the abduction report was made by Frattolin to police.
Officials say Frattolin had zero criminal history prior to the July 21st arrest, nor were there any red flags suggesting domestic violence between the suspect and his ex-wife.
Furthermore, the victim’s mother also confirmed she had zero worries about her daughter’s safety while under the care of Frattolin abroad.
The Ethiopian expat turned Montreal business owner seemed to bear all the hallmarks of a decent father, even boasting on the company bio of his now-defunct website for his business Gambella Coffee of how his daughter was his “inspiration” and “the light of his life.”
The investigation into the matter is still ongoing.
On July 20th, 9-year-old Melina Galanis Frattolin, a Canadian citizen visiting New York with her father, was found dead in a pond approximately 30 miles from Lake George in the upstate hamlet of Ticonderoga.
Prior to the discovery of the young girl’s body, authorities had issued an Amber Alert in response to a report made by the girl’s father, 45-year-old Luciano Frattolin, claiming she’d been abducted by someone driving a white van.
Frattolin contacted the Warren County Sheriff’s Office at approximately 9:58 p.m. on July 19th with the abduction claims, asserting the incident occurred roughly two hours earlier that evening.
New York State Police noted in a statement that authorities began to notice “inconsistencies in the father’s account of events and the timeline he provided,” eventually determining that no such abduction occurred.
Two days after the alleged false abduction report and subsequent discovery of the young girl’s body, Frattolin was arrested under charges of second-degree murder and unlawful disposal of a corpse.
Authorities have yet to determine a cause of death or motive in the suspected killing, but an autopsy report is expected to be concluded sometime on July 21st.
Frattolin, who is currently being housed at the Essex County Jail, had reportedly been travelling with his daughter through Connecticut and New York over the weekend during a prearranged custody visit reached with Frattolin’s ex-wife.
The young girl and her father were slated to fly back to Quebec shortly after Frattolin’s ex-wife had a seemingly normal phone call with the 9-year-old girl at around 6:30 p.m. on July 19th, roughly an hour before the abduction report was made by Frattolin to police.
Officials say Frattolin had zero criminal history prior to the July 21st arrest, nor were there any red flags suggesting domestic violence between the suspect and his ex-wife.
Furthermore, the victim’s mother also confirmed she had zero worries about her daughter’s safety while under the care of Frattolin abroad.
The Ethiopian expat turned Montreal business owner seemed to bear all the hallmarks of a decent father, even boasting on the company bio of his now-defunct website for his business Gambella Coffee of how his daughter was his “inspiration” and “the light of his life.”
The investigation into the matter is still ongoing.
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