Father now charged with murder after claiming his daughter had been abducted.
Preliminary autopsy results for Melina Frattolin, the 9-year-old girl found dead in the shallow end of a pond after her father reported her missing, say she died from asphyxia by drowning and her manner of death was homicide.
New York State Police are also asking for information from the public about the vehicle the girl and her father, 45-year-old Luciano Frattolin, were traveling in since they left their native Canada on a vacation into New York on July 11.
Luciano Frattolin, who has been estranged from Melina’s mother since 2019, was charged with murder and concealment of corpse after investigators uncovered discrepancies in his story that his daughter was abducted in Lake George, New York, on Saturday.
Frattolin and his daughter had been expected to return home on Saturday, at which time Melina would be returned to the custody of her mother, with whom she lived full time. But Frattolin called 911 at about 10 p.m. on and reported his daughter missing, allegedly abducted by someone in a white van.
Investigators learned that Melina had spoken with her mother by phone at about 6:30 p.m. on Saturday. Police believe that sometime after that phone call, Frattolin killed his daughter and left her body in the shallow water of a pond in Ticonderoga, where she was found on Sunday.
State police said the final autopsy report will be issued on the completion of lab tests.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Featured image: Luciano Frattolin Essex County Jail and Melina Frattolin/police handout]
