9-year-old Canadian girl died by drowning in NY, spoke to mother an hour before; cops seek arrested father's footage
Melina Galanis Frattolin, the 9-year-old Canadian girl who was found dead after her father complained that she was kidnapped, died by drowning, the autopsy report revealed Tuesday afternoon.
The cops are now seeking additional footage of the father, Luciano Frattolin -- arrested and charged with murder -- from the night that he called police to report a kidnapping.
Melina's cause of death was asphyxia due to drowning, though it is not known whether she drowned in the same waterbody where she was found dead or whether her body was placed there under a log by her father. Luciano pleaded not guilty to the second-degree murder charge and the concealment of human corpse and is now in jail.
The father raised suspicion as police said he concocted the story of a car abducting his daughter. When he called 911, he had already killed his daughter, disposed of the body, as police found no car, as the father mentioned. The father said when he stopped his car to urinate, his daughter was kidnapped by two men.
The cops are now seeking additional video evidence or eyewitness accounts of Luciano's car, a grey 2024 Toyota Prius travelling on Interstate 87 between Ticonderoga and Lake George, specifically from Exit 28 to Exit 20.
Melina spoke to her mother an hour before death
Melina and her father were seen at a restaurant in Saratoga Springs around 5.30 pm Saturday. Almost an hour later, Melina called her mother and she seemed fine. Police said Melina's mother had the full custody of the daughter though Luciano was authorized to take her on a vacation and the mother did not believe he posed any threat to the daughter.
Then the father called 911 just before 10 pm. Investigators are hunting for footage of the car between this time as they believe Melina was killed in this time frame.
The body was found the next day when the father-daughter duo were supposed to go back to Montreal.
Father has no criminal record, involved in five lawsuits
The father, a cafe owner, has no criminal record or any history of domestic violence. He is currently involved in five lawsuits that were all filed this year. Frattolin is the plaintiff in four of the lawsuits. In the one in which he is the defendant, he is being sued for more than $83,000 by a bank.
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