Melina Frattolin, 9, was found dead in Upstate New York on July 20 after her father, Luciano Frattolin, 45, claimed she had been abducted by two men in a white van.
Following his report, authorities issued an AMBER Alert, but soon realized the father had fabricated the story. “Mr. Frattolin reported that he had stopped in a parking lot near Exit 22 on I‑87 in Lake George to urinate,” New York State Police Capt. Robert McConnell told reporters Monday. “He initially said he walked away from his vehicle, and when he returned, his child was gone. He reported a suspicious white vehicle near the scene, along with two men inside. This theory was thoroughly investigated and refuted.”
Melina’s body was later found in the shallow area of a pond near the town of Ticonderoga on Sunday, just hours after her father reported the alleged abduction, The Mail reported.
Luciano was subsequently arrested for killing his daughter and taken to Ticonderoga Town Court on Monday, where he pleaded not guilty to Melina’s murder.
Authorities believe the crime occurred while he was traveling back home to Montreal, Canada, from New York, where they had been on vacation. He now faces charges of second‑degree murder and concealment of a corpse.
Luciano and Melina’s mother had been estranged since 2019, and she had full custody of their daughter. He is the founder of an organic coffee brand called Gambella. “Luciano Frattolin is an experienced entrepreneur with a proven track record of building diverse, high‑performance businesses,” the company’s website states.
“With a background in the humanities and social sciences, his formal education, combined with his pragmatic understanding of life’s complexities, motivates him to maintain a worldview grounded in a distinct cross‑cultural ethos.
“The son of an Ethiopian mother and an Italian father, Luciano was born in the small, remote village of Gambella.
“With a childhood spent running between rows of crimson coffee buds on the Ethiopian family plantation and the neoclassical architecture of his father’s Milano, his vision of the world and his pursuits reflect these hyphenated cultures.” Luciano told the court he could not afford a lawyer, despite his social media showing him living a luxurious lifestyle, traveling abroad, and driving expensive cars.
According to The New York Post, the motive behind the alleged killing of 9‑year‑old Melina has not yet been determined, but Montreal news outlets report that Luciano struggled to pay child support and owed hundreds of thousands of dollars to creditors.
On his company’s website, he referred to his daughter as “the light of his life” and his “inspiration.”
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