9-year-old Montreal girl found in an upstate New York pond drowned in a homicide
Luciano Frattolin, 45, of Montreal, was charged with murdering and concealing the corpse of his daughter, Melina Frattolin. He pleaded not guilty Monday and was being held in a county jail.
Frattolin called 911 on Saturday night and said his daughter went missing from a parking lot near Lake George, a resort town in the Adirondack region. He later told authorities that two men forced his daughter into a white van, according to New York State Police.
Officials issued an Amber Alert, seeking the public's help in the search. But investigators noticed inconsistencies in the father's account and eventually concluded there was no evidence the girl had been abducted.
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.
Police said the father and daughter had been vacationing since July 11 in the U.S. and were expected back in Montreal that weekend. The girl lived with her mother, who has been estranged from Luciano Frattolin since 2019, police said.
The investigation into the girl's death is continuing.
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Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Daily Mail
Heartbreaking piece of Melina Frattolin 'evidence' dumped in flower bed after nine year-old's murder 'by father'
An electronic tablet believed to have belonged to Melina Frattolin, the nine-year-old girl who was allegedly murdered by her father, was found dumped in a flower bed, a local hotel owner said. Frattolin's lifeless body was found underneath a log in the shallow end of a pond near Ticonderoga Sunday after her father, Luciano Frattolin, reported her missing the day before. Luciano, a Canadian CEO, initially told police his child was abducted by someone in a white van in upstate New York, but now cops claim he misled the investigation after they found her dead. Nearly a week after the little girl's body was discovered, Rob Gregor, the owner of Gregor Hotels in Lake George, said his staff found the device that he believes was Frattolin's in the flowers outside the building just off Exit 22 - the same area Luciano called police to report her missing. 'We looked at a couple other pictures and it looked shockingly similar to, you know, the little girl they were looking for,' Gregor told CBS6. He said objects often get dumped in the town, especially on a Saturday night, but when his staff decided to switch it on they found what appeared to be images of her on the screen. 'She plugged in the tablet and the first photographs look very much like the missing girl at the time. She was missing– We didn't know that she was deceased – So, I ran over to the hotel,' Gregor recalled. After finding the device, Gregor contacted the authorities, prompting a Warren County Sheriff deputy and the New York State Police to respond. A tablet believed to have belonged to Melina Frattolin, the nine-year-old girl who was allegedly murdered by her father, was found dumped in a flower bed outside of a Lake George hotel Rob Gregor, the owner of Gregor Hotels in Lake George, said he found a device that he believes was Frattolin's in the flowers outside the building just off Exit 22 (pictured) - the same area Luciano called police to report her missing 'They took it into evidence. So that's the last I saw of it,' Gregor told the outlet. The authorities are yet to confirm the tablet belonged to the Fratollin. Daily Mail contacted the New York State Police for comment but did not hear back in time for this report. An autopsy ruled that Melina died from asphyxia due to drowning. The manner of death was ruled a homicide. Luciano, who has been arrested in connection to his daughter's suspicious death, was reportedly spotted running by a witness. Ticonderoga resident Rebecca Kulickowski said she had tipped police off after saying she spotted a man sprinting through a hilly section of woodland on Saturday night. She told News10: 'It only caught my eye because as I was driving past the car, I seen a skinny tall guy. And he was running up a hill that he was parked next to and there was wooded area on the bottom of it. 'I just didn't feel right, there was something about him, I don't know, our eyes locked when I drove by, he looked at me.' Luciano (pictured with his late daughter) initially told police his child was abducted by someone in a white van in upstate New York, but now cops claim he misled the investigation after they found her dead Gregor said when his staff powered the tablet on they found images that appeared to look like Frattolin. (Pictured: The flower bed the device was found in) Police released pictures of Luciano's vehicle, a grey 2024 Toyota Prius, as they asked for help in gathering more evidence State Police said they had received over 700 tips from the public after the initial alert was issued. As part of their investigation, they also released pictures of Luciano's vehicle, a grey 2024 Toyota Prius, as they asked for help in gathering more evidence. Captain Robert McConnell with the New York State Police said her father, who lives in Montreal, Canada, killed the girl on Saturday night while they were on vacation close to the picturesque town of Lake George, located in the Adirondacks region of New York. The father and daughter were both in America legally after starting their vacation on July 11. They were due to return to their native Quebec on Sunday. Luciano initially called the local Warren County Sheriff's Office claiming that two men in a white van had abducted his daughter. An AMBER alert was ssued by New York State Police around 10pm, as they advised the public they believed she was in 'imminent danger.' Luciano was charged with second-degree murder on Sunday night. The father remains in custody and has pleaded not guilty Police soon became suspicious of Luciano's story just before locating her body around 2pm Sunday. He was charged with second-degree murder on Sunday night. The father remains in custody and has pleaded not guilty. He is being held at the Essex County Correctional Facility and he was spotted in a white prison jumpsuit and shackles while he was hauled into Ticonderoga Town Court on Monday. The nine-year-old resided full time with her mother and her father visited without limitations. He also had zero criminal record, McConnell said.
Scottish Sun
5 days ago
- Scottish Sun
Chilling signs of ‘siblicide' as experts warn of dangerous rise… after teen smothered toddlers to ‘save them from Satan'
Experts fear cases of siblicide - where one sibling is killed by another - could soar amid a mental health crisis among Brit youngsters, with sex crime cases involving brothers and sisters already on the rise BLOODIED BONDS Chilling signs of 'siblicide' as experts warn of dangerous rise… after teen smothered toddlers to 'save them from Satan' BRITISH schoolgirl Amber Gibson was just 16 when she was stripped naked, sexually assaulted, beaten over the head, and strangled in a horrific woodland killing. The beast behind the murder? Not a depraved stranger or a serial killer, but Amber's big brother, Connor Gibson - the boy who was supposed to love and protect her the most. Advertisement 20 Amber Gibson, 16, was subjected to a harrowing attack before being strangled by her brother Credit: Refer to Caption 20 Evil Connor Gibson was described as 'beneath contempt' by a detective 20 Gibson was seen leading sister Amber away before returning without her Credit: PA 'The last person she saw alive was you, her brother, strangling the life out of her after having beaten her up and tried to rape her,' a judge told Gibson following the 2021 murder. Amber - who suffered another harrowing fate in death, when the stranger who found her body further violated it - is a victim of siblicide, where one sibling is killed by another. Advertisement Though common among animals - particularly birds, in competition for food - this type of homicide is rare in humans, whose longest-lasting relationships are often with their siblings. When it does happen, it sends shockwaves through families - with the heartbroken mum of one killer who stabbed his four-year-old sister 17 times revealing: 'I lost both of my children.' And worryingly, experts warn that cases of sororicide (killing one's sister) and fratricide (killing one's brother) could soar amid a mental health crisis among Britain's youngsters. 'Recent siblicide cases appear to indicate that mental ill health is a major factor,' UK criminal defence lawyer Marcus Johnstone, who specialises in sex crime, tells The Sun. A recent NHS survey reveals one in four young people in England have a common mental health condition - a 47 per cent increase on 2007 figures. Advertisement Meanwhile, Marcus says sex crime cases involving siblings are rising - with the 'easy availability of extreme porn sites' feared to be contributing to such vile attacks. 'My concern is the ever-increasing number of children and young adults who have mental health problems,' adds Marcus, of Cheshire-based PCD Solicitors. 'If we get to the stage where a psychotic disorder is combined with drug and porn addiction, and an underlying sibling rivalry or dispute, this may escalate to siblicide.' Amber Gibson's evil brother Connor jailed for life for murdering & sexually assaulting his teen sister 20 Gibson, 20, was jailed for a minimum of 22 years Credit: PA 20 The family were 'heartbroken' beyond words by Amber's death Advertisement For most siblings their bond forms at an early age. They grow up together - navigating family dynamics, sibling rivalry and hurdles in their own lives while under the same roof. It is during this shared childhood that criminologists say the roots of siblicide can form. 'Siblings should be our first teachers in sharing, emotional regulation, and conflict resolution,' behavioural criminologist Alex Iszatt tells us. 'But for some, the home becomes a training ground for violence instead. "Who hasn't shouted, 'I hate you,' at the top of your lungs to a brother or sister? Yet that rage rarely turns deadly.' Advertisement If we get to the stage where a psychotic disorder is combined with drug and porn addiction, and an underlying sibling rivalry or dispute, this may escalate to siblicide Marcus Johnstone In the Gibsons' case the siblings, born into a troubled family, had gone into foster care when Amber was three. At the time, her brother, then five, had declared: 'We are safe.' But these three words would prove untrue for Amber when Gibson - by then a 19-year-old man - savagely attacked her in Hamilton in South Lanarkshire, Scotland in November 2021. The fiend battered his little sister, broke her nose, tore off her clothing and sexually assaulted her with the intention of raping her, before strangling her with his hands. Jailing Gibson for life at the High Court in Livingston two years later, Lord Mulholland told the merciless killer that Amber 'would have looked to you, as her big brother, for support'. 'What you did was truly evil,' Lord Mulholland added. Advertisement The judge also slammed Stephen Corrigan - a stranger who inappropriately touched Amber's body, then concealed it, after discovering her - for his 'despicable conduct'. 'Any decent human being, on coming across the naked body of a young girl who was unconscious or possibly dead, would immediately call the emergency services,' he said. 'Golden child' jealousy While Gibson's motive for Amber's murder remains unclear, experts say perpetrators of siblicide might be driven by greed, trauma, psychosis, or decades of 'unresolved' rage. In some cases, 'small micro-traumas - persistent emotional or physical wounds - build up over time like a simmering pot until they erupt in pure rage,' says Alex. Other killers act on jealousy; they feel resentful of their parents' perceived favouritism of a 'golden child', or the bond shared between their sibling and other family members. Advertisement 'Psychologists call this 'sibling displacement rage', where anger aimed at parents, trauma, or even personal failure is redirected onto a brother or sister,' adds Alex. 'The 'chosen one' becomes the lightning rod - not because they caused the pain, but because they represent everything the angry sibling feels deprived of. 'Over the years, this resentment festers and can turn violently lethal.' 'Cold and calculated' 20 Liz Edwards and her daughter Katie (pictured together) were stabbed as they slept by Liz's older daughter, Kim Credit: SWNS:South West News Service 20 The knife Kim Edwards and Lucas Markham used in the killing Credit: SWNS:South West News Service Advertisement 20 The 15-year-olds are believed to be Britain's youngest double murderers Credit: SWNS:South West News Service In 2016, Kim Edwards and her boyfriend Lucas Markham, both 14, became the UK's youngest double murderers when they slaughtered Edwards's mum and 13-year-old sister. Prosecutors said 'cold and calculated' Edwards had held a grudge against her mother, Liz Edwards, 49, before the double stabbing at the family's home in Spalding, Lincolnshire. She'd also felt resentful of her mum's close bond with her younger sister, Katie. 'I was not killing my sister out of anger, and I miss her, but I was excited about killing my mother and I was looking forward to it,' Edwards later chillingly told a psychiatrist. Advertisement After murdering the pair as they slept, Edwards - who also confessed to being 'jealous' of Katie - had sex with Markham, feasted on ice cream, and watched the Twilight films. Nearly 5,000 miles away, in Texas, another teen - psychopath Paris Bennett - beat and murdered his four-year-old sister in a sick bid to hurt his mum 'in the worst possible way'. 20 Twisted Paris Bennett murdered his sister Ella, four, while their mum was at work 20 Bennett with his young sister before he killed her in 2007 Credit: facebook 20 Charity Lee managed to forgive her son Credit: Facebook/ Charity Lee Advertisement Bennett, then 13, crept into little Ella's bedroom after convincing their babysitter to go home. He punched and tried to strangle the defenceless youngster, before knifing her 17 times. He also sexually attacked Ella, having browsed graphic porn like 'S&M', 'bondage' and 'sadism', and even searched for snuff films in the hours leading up to her murder. 'I had always known, as a child, that the most devastating thing to my mother would be the loss of one of her children,' Bennett, now rotting in jail, later told TV host Piers Morgan. 'And I found a way to take away both her children in one fell swoop.' Advertisement He showed zero empathy, his sister hid under a table, begging for her life before he shot her Criminologist Alex Iszatt The siblings' mum, Charity Lee, fainted when police told her that Ella had been killed. When she came to, she asked if her son was okay - only to find out that he was the murderer. Incredibly, despite Bennett's heinous actions, Charity managed to forgive her son. 'Only once I understood what Paris is - a predator - was I able to forgive him,' the grieving mum, who founded the ELLA foundation to help others impacted by violence, mental illness and the criminal justice system, wrote in an article for Good Housekeeping. She added: 'If I was swimming in a beautiful ocean, enjoying myself, and a shark came up and bit my leg off, hopefully I would not spend the rest of my life hating that shark. Advertisement 'Hopefully, I would understand that sharks are what they are. And, for better or worse, Paris is a shark.' Infamy hungry 20 Teen killer Nicholas Prosper holding a plank of wood as a mock gun Credit: PA 20 Prosper killed siblings Giselle, 13, and Kyle, 16, and mum Juliana, 48 Credit: PA 20 A teddy bear shot by Prosper prior to him killing his mother and two siblings While some siblings kill out of jealousy or revenge, others crave notoriety. Advertisement In March this year, a sadistic teen who dreamed of becoming Britain's worst mass killer was caged for life after shooting dead his brother, sister and mother at their Luton home. Nicholas Prosper - who had plotted a school shooting to make him 'globally notorious' - slaughtered Kyle, 16, and Giselle Prosper, 13, and Juliana Falcon, 48, last September. Then aged 18, a court heard he had sought to 'emulate and outdo' Sandy Hook shooting monster Adam Lanza - with his family becoming 'collateral damage' in his failed plot. '[Prosper] showed zero empathy,' says Alex. "His sister hid under a table, begging for her life before he shot her.' She adds that Prosper - who was 'deeply fascinated' by both high-profile murderers and rapists - displayed narcissistic psychopathy, a chilling detachment from human emotion. Advertisement 'Hitman inquiry' While most cases of siblicide in the news involve teenagers, an American criminologist reveals that many perpetrators are actually adults who are acting 'in the moment'. 'The perpetrators are often adults, and the act is due to a heated argument influenced by drugs or alcohol, and is done in their own home due to easy access to weapons,' says Dr Angelo Brown, an assistant professor of criminology at Arkansas State University. He adds: 'Siblicides done by youth are rarer but often are more likely to make the news.' Typically, perpetrators of siblicide are male, with killer sisters 'much less common'. But just last month a woman appeared in court accused of knifing her sister to death before she was arrested allegedly with the victim's missing diamond Rolex. Advertisement Nancy Pexton, 69, is accused of murdering film director Jennifer Abbott Dauward, known as Sarah Steinberg, at her flat in Camden, North London. In 2016, a 26-year-old woman - Sabah Khan, also from Luton - knifed her own sister 68 times in a ferocious hallway attack because she wanted to steal her husband. Khan - whose internet history included "hiring a hitman for £200" - had become consumed by jealousy after starting an ill-fated affair with sister Saima's husband, Hafeez Rehman. 20 Nancy Pexton, left, with her sister Jennifer Abbott Credit: Central News 20 Saima Khas was stabbed to death by her sibling Sabah Khan (pictured) in 2017 Credit: PA:Press Association Advertisement 20 The flat where Khan lured her sister before slitting her throat and hacking off her hand Credit: SWNS:South West News Service Desiring Hafeez for herself, she delved into gruesome methods for murdering 34-year-old Saima - including paying a 'black magic priest' in Pakistan £5,000 to 'remotely' kill her. Eventually, she settled on butchering the mother-of-four with a knife bought from Tesco, as her victim's eldest daughter called down the stairs, "Auntie, are you killing a mouse?' Khan was later locked up for life, with a minimum of 22 years, after pleading guilty to murder. According to Alex, affairs are not the only type of family 'betrayal' that can spark siblicide. Advertisement 'Financial betrayal is another trigger,' she tells us. 'Siblings who grow up competing for resources — whether love, attention, or inheritance — can reach a point where murder seems like the only way out.' Siblings who grow up competing for resources — whether love, attention, or inheritance — can reach a point where murder seems like the only way out Alex Iszatt Sometimes, a supposedly 'betrayed' sibling wishes to 'completely erase' the other. 'This can develop into a psychological obsession,' explains Alex. 'There have been cases where perpetrators don't just want what their sibling has - they want to be them.' Advertisement Such killers might mirror their sibling's behaviour, or copy their appearance. 'The violence is more than physical; it's psychological annihilation,' says Alex. 'By killing their sibling, the perpetrator attempts to claim their identity.' The warning signs of siblicide Siblicide involves the killing of one sibling by another. It might present as sororicide (killing one's sister) or fratricide (killing one's brother). Experts tell The Sun that 'red flags' for siblicide include obsessive grudges, violent fantasies, sudden emotional detachment, and extreme bullying beyond typical sibling rivalry. 'Spotting warning signs early can save lives,' says behavioural criminologist Alex Iszatt (pictured left). 'Therapy and intervention help, but only if they come before homicidal planning starts.' Criminal defence lawyer Marcus Johnstone (pictured right), who specialises in sex crime, adds: 'Such killings are extremely rare in the UK but, where it does arise, they are often linked to family arguments, jealousy or financial problems spanning many years, for example, the inheritance of a property. 'Siblicide which also involves a sexual assault is often linked to severe mental illness and drug abuse.' Some experts believe that 'full siblings' are less likely to be involved in siblicide. 'Research has indicated that there are differences between full-blood siblings, half-siblings, [and] step-siblings, as full siblings seem less likely to kill each other,' says Dr Brown. Advertisement 'This is explained by evolutionary theories that we are more likely to protect those with whom we share DNA.' In 2022, a teen from Indiana, US, was jailed after smothering his 23-month-old half-sister, Desiree McCartney, and 11-month-old stepbrother, Nathaniel Ritz, to death. Nickalas Kedrowitz, who was just 13 at the time of the 2017 killings, reportedly wanted to free the toddler and baby 'from Satan and hell'. He was caged for 100 years. Whatever the motives, genetics and 'betrayals' behind siblicide, there is no doubt that the violent crime destroys the lives of more than the two siblings involved. Advertisement "We now have one daughter buried in Larkhall Cemetery and another child in prison,' said Amber's devastated foster parents after her brother was convicted of her murder. "We really miss Amber - life will never be the same." And Bennett's mother Charity admitted: 'While I've learned to forgive Paris, you don't ever fully heal from something like that. You learn to live with it.' 20 Nickalas James Kedrowitz smothered step-brother Nathaniel, 11 months Credit: Fox 20 His sister Desiree McCartney, 23 months, was also killed by Kedrowitz Credit: Fox Advertisement
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Daily Mail
Shocking statement 'Killer dad' Luciano Frattolin made about daughter as money troubles, infidelity is revealed
The man accused of drowning his nine-year-old daughter and leaving her lifeless body beneath a log in a murky pond once confessed he didn't like being 'tied down' by the little girl. Luciano Frattolin, 45, a Canadian businessman now facing second-degree murder charges, allegedly fabricated a story about his daughter Melina being abducted by men in a white van, but police say the truth was far worse. Melina was found drowned in a remote section of forest in upstate New York on Sunday afternoon, her body partially concealed, after her father himself called 911 the night before to report her missing. Now, a portrait is emerging of a man whose once-polished public image including that of a doting father masked a troubling private life marked by debt, deception, and emotional detachment from the child he claimed to cherish. 'He loved his daughter, but he didn't like the idea of being tied down,' a former associate of Frattolin told the Montreal Gazette, speaking on condition of anonymity. The friend, who knew Frattolin during his time in Ethiopia, where the accused had investments in mining and hotel construction, said that while Frattolin visited his daughter at least once a year, he remained mostly distant from her day-to-day life in Montreal. That emotional distance was laid bare in eerie writings Frattolin posted to his now-deleted coffee business website. There, the accused father reflected on his obsession with maintaining 'perfect order' in his home and how his daughter's 'messy artwork' and 'chaotic toys' disrupted his sense of control. Yet, in a disturbing contradiction, he also wrote that 'she is the light of my life… the inspiration for everything.' Frattolin pleaded not guilty in Ticonderoga Town Court on Monday while shackled in a white prison jumpsuit. At the arraignment, he revealed he was more than $200,000 in debt, citing the collapse of his business empire in Canada, claiming he could not afford a lawyer. His next court appearance is scheduled for Friday. The horror began on Saturday night, when Frattolin called 911 and claimed that two men had forced his daughter into a white van near Lake George while he was urinating in the woods. New York State Police quickly issued an Amber Alert, but soon began to suspect that his account didn't add up. 'There was no evidence of an abduction,' said Captain Robert McConnell of the New York State Police, who confirmed the cause of death was drowning and classified the case as a homicide. Adding to the unraveling lies, a local woman named Rebecca Kulickowski told News10 she spotted a man she believes was Frattolin running frantically up a wooded hill the same night Melina vanished. 'It only caught my eye because as I was driving past the car, I seen a skinny tall guy,' she said. 'He was running up a hill that he was parked next to… I just didn't feel right… our eyes locked when I drove by.' By Sunday afternoon, police found Melina's body in a shallow, muddy pond about 30 miles north of Lake George, partially hidden beneath a log. Surveillance footage from earlier that evening showed Melina with her father in Saratoga Springs, and at 6:30pm, she called her mother in Montreal and said they were on their way home. 'She appeared to be in good health and did not indicate she was under any duress,' said Capt. McConnell. 'The investigation has determined that sometime after Melina's phone call with her mother, and before Mr. Frattolin's 911 call, he allegedly murdered Melina and left her body in a remote area where she was later discovered by law enforcement,' said Capt. McConnell. Authorities believe the murder occurred just hours before Melina was due to be returned to her mother, who has had full custody since 2019, when she split with Frattolin after discovering he was seeing another woman during a visit to Ethiopia. 'She came to visit him while he was recovering from an assault,' said the former friend, referring to a 2019 incident that left Frattolin with permanent eye damage. 'And she found him with someone else. That's why they separated.' Since then, Frattolin maintained sporadic contact with his daughter and struggled to stay afloat financially. He had fallen $26,000 behind in rent on a Montreal property he sublet as an Airbnb, which he used to help pay Melina's child support and is currently suing two property managers for over $115,000, accusing them of mismanaging payments. In a court filing, the Bank of Nova Scotia said Frattolin owed $83,000 on a shuttered café and an additional $97,000 in credit card debt. His company, Café Gambella, which marketed ethically sourced Ethiopian coffee, has collapsed. Despite the unraveling finances and fractured family ties, Frattolin tried to present himself online as a man of vision and virtue. His Instagram was filled with photos of father-daughter trips, Thanksgiving celebrations, and exotic vacations to Ethiopia and Italy. One particularly unsettling YouTube video showed him frolicking in the snow with Melina, set to a lullaby: 'Now hush, little baby, don't you cry. Everything's gonna be alright… Daddy's here to hold you through the night.' But behind the camera, friends say, he was 'image-obsessed,' dressing in designer clothes and refusing to fly coach. 'He was one of the first people to bring a Porsche into Ethiopia,' the former associate said. 'He had a Land Cruiser, too. In Ethiopia, that's wealth.' At the same time, his online biography alluded cryptically to an 'unfortunate event' in 2019 that required a 'long and arduous recovery', hinting at the physical and emotional damage he suffered in the assault.
