Latest news with #Melina
New York Post
5 hours ago
- New York Post
Melina Frattolin, 9, mourned by upstate NY community where she was visiting when murdered: ‘She will be one of us'
TICONDEROGA, NY — Hundreds of locals from the close-knit upstate community where 9-year-old Melina Frattolin was allegedly murdered by her father mourned the little girl in a heartbreaking vigil Tuesday. 'If this is going to be the resting place where he left her, this is going to be her community now,' Bridgette Cruz, a mom and local business owner who organized a vigil in Ticonderoga told a crowd of a few hundred people. 'She will be one of us,' Cruz added. 7 Community members attend a vigil for Melina Frattolin at Percy Bicentennial Park in Ticonderoga, NY on July 22, 2025. Hans Pennink Little Melina, a Canadian tourist, was found in a shallow pond on the western end of Eagle Lake, about 10 miles away near the edge of town, where authorities allege her father, Luciuano Frattolin, drowned her before placing a bogus 911 call claiming she was kidnapped. 'As a mother, my heart has ached and stomach has churned since 1:30 that morning when that amber alert hit,' Cruz said. She's not alone. 'It really does kind of take the wind out of us, right? That's why we're so glad to be able to participate in something like this,' said Adam Dubuque, an army vet who moved to the area in 2011 to get away. 'My faith has been a big building block for my life post-service. It's really cool to see the area start to embrace it and have us do things like this, show unity amongst the community, especially when things are kind of divided right now,' Dubuque added. 7 Melina Frattolin and her alleged killer father Luciano Frattolin before her death in New York. Instagram/Luciano Frattolin 7 A couple mourns the 9-year-old girl during the candlelight vigil. Hans Pennink 7 Hundreds of community members came together to mourn the girl killed in their community while on a trip with her father. Hans Pennink Tabitha Farmer described the murder as 'heartbreaking' and said she stayed up listening to the police scanner Saturday night when Melina's dad reported her missing. Farmer and her husband, Jason, drove 45 minutes from Minerva, New York, to light a candle for Melina. 'Something like this is just unheard of around here,' her husband said. 7 Melina Frattolin was found in a shallow pond on the western end of Eagle Lake, about 10 miles away near the edge of town. New York State Police 7 Luciano Frattolin was charged with Melina's father was charged with her murder and concealment of a corpse on July 21, 2025. Essex County Sheriff's Office A separate memorial was held in Schroon Lake on Tuesday evening. 'Number one, as a parent, you cannot believe that a parent would actually do that to their own child,' Tonya LaFrance, a lifelong Ticonderoga resident, told The Post. 'And secondly, it's a very, very tight knit, close community, most of the people here, everybody knows everybody,' she added. She said the murder brings a level of 'terror' to the community and a sense of frustration that its reputation should be marred by such a disgusting tragedy. 'That is very very hard for everybody to swallow right now,' she said.
Vancouver Sun
8 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
Montreal girl drowned in New York state, autopsy shows. Father charged with murder
MONTREAL — A nine-year-old Montreal girl whose body was found in a shallow pond in Upstate New York on the weekend died from asphyxia due to drowning, New York State Police said Tuesday as they continued their homicide investigation. Police released autopsy results for Melina Frattolin after a forensic pathologist at Glens Falls Hospital in Glens Falls, N.Y., determined the manner of death was homicide. Her father, Luciano Frattolin, 45, a resident of Montreal, is facing charges in New York state of second-degree murder and the concealment of a human corpse. A not-guilty plea was entered on his behalf during an initial court appearance on Monday. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Police said the body of his daughter was found on Sunday in Ticonderoga, N.Y., about 50 kilometres northeast of Lake George near the New York-Vermont boundary. Police have said the motive for the girl's death is under investigation. They have also said Frattolin has no criminal or domestic violence history. Frattolin and Melina's mother had been estranged since 2019. Melina lived full time with her mother, who had not expressed concerns about letting her daughter spend time with her father, police said. On Tuesday, they asked the public for help in the case, releasing photos of a grey 2024 Toyota Prius used by Frattolin and his daughter during their stay in the United States. Police specifically were looking for video or eyewitness accounts on the evening of July 19. Melina spoke with her mother over the phone at about 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, and did not appear to be under duress, police said. About three and a half hours later, Frattolin called 911 and reported his nine-year-old daughter missing and possibly abducted. Police determined the father's version was not true and a search by several agencies on Sunday afternoon turned up her body. Frattolin has operated businesses that have been mired in several legal proceedings in Montreal since the beginning of 2025. In one case, documents reviewed by The Canadian Press show that Scotiabank was suing Frattolin to recover more than $150,000 in unpaid credit card bills. Frattolin also filed a lawsuit against a man hired to manage a property in a trendy Montreal borough he was operating as a short-term rental. His lawyers said they were launching the case after Frattolin learned, last August, that his landlord had terminated a lease due to 10 months of unpaid rent, adding up to more than $26,000. Frattolin accused the property manager of failing to do his job and pay the rent. The court documents said Frattolin was living in Canada part time and using the short-term rental business to pay for his daughter's monthly child support and his expenses. But he did not receive the revenues anticipated and instead was 'left with considerable sums to pay the arrears of rent, interests penalties and charges related to the property,' the filing reads. 'Furthermore, Frattolin stored some of his personal belongings and his daughters' winter clothes and toys before leaving the country,' the filing reads, adding he is unable to access the property to recover those items. His lawyer also alleged that the property manager had accused Frattolin of emptying the business bank account and fleeing to Italy. But the lawyer denied this in a letter. 'He did not return to Italy to evade anything,' the lawyer's letter read. Frattolin also alleged in the filing, which has not been tested in court, that the property manager threatened to work with the mother of his child to prevent him from entering the province of Quebec due to the business's unpaid taxes. In two other cases, Frattolin filed motions against various telecommunications giants, seeking an order compelling them to disclose the identity of someone who allegedly accessed his email account over several months. Frattolin described himself a loving father, traveller and coffee lover on his Instagram page. He is the owner of a coffee importing and distribution business, and an online biography that has since been removed described him as the son of an Ethiopian mother and Italian father with a varied business background. The biography said Frattolin has been living in Montreal in order to spend more time with 'his beautiful daughter Melina,' who is the 'light of his life.' The biography also alludes to personal struggles: his mixed ethnicity led to 'incidences of racism and feelings of isolation,' and his father died when Frattolin was 17. It also refers to a period of time in which he 'lost his passion for the art of life,' and an 'unfortunate event' in February 2019 that 'severely affected his well-being.' Police say 2019 was the year he separated from Melina's mother. Frattolin is due back in court on Friday in Ticonderoga. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
Edmonton Journal
8 hours ago
- Edmonton Journal
Montreal girl drowned in New York state, autopsy shows. Father charged with murder
Article content MONTREAL — A nine-year-old Montreal girl whose body was found in a shallow pond in Upstate New York on the weekend died from asphyxia due to drowning, New York State Police said Tuesday as they continued their homicide investigation. Article content Police released autopsy results for Melina Frattolin after a forensic pathologist at Glens Falls Hospital in Glens Falls, N.Y., determined the manner of death was homicide. Article content Article content Article content Her father, Luciano Frattolin, 45, a resident of Montreal, is facing charges in New York state of second-degree murder and the concealment of a human corpse. A not-guilty plea was entered on his behalf during an initial court appearance on Monday. Article content Article content Police have said the motive for the girl's death is under investigation. They have also said Frattolin has no criminal or domestic violence history. Frattolin and Melina's mother had been estranged since 2019. Melina lived full time with her mother, who had not expressed concerns about letting her daughter spend time with her father, police said. Article content On Tuesday, they asked the public for help in the case, releasing photos of a grey 2024 Toyota Prius used by Frattolin and his daughter during their stay in the United States. Police specifically were looking for video or eyewitness accounts on the evening of July 19. Article content Article content Melina spoke with her mother over the phone at about 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, and did not appear to be under duress, police said. About three and a half hours later, Frattolin called 911 and reported his nine-year-old daughter missing and possibly abducted. Article content Police determined the father's version was not true and a search by several agencies on Sunday afternoon turned up her body. Article content Frattolin has operated businesses that have been mired in several legal proceedings in Montreal since the beginning of 2025. Article content In one case, documents reviewed by The Canadian Press show that Scotiabank was suing Frattolin to recover more than $150,000 in unpaid credit card bills. Article content Frattolin also filed a lawsuit against a man hired to manage a property in a trendy Montreal borough he was operating as a short-term rental. Article content His lawyers said they were launching the case after Frattolin learned, last August, that his landlord had terminated a lease due to 10 months of unpaid rent, adding up to more than $26,000. Frattolin accused the property manager of failing to do his job and pay the rent.
Vancouver Sun
15 hours ago
- Business
- Vancouver Sun
Who is Luciano Frattolin, the Montreal father accused of murdering his daughter?
A Montreal businessman has been charged with second-degree murder and the concealment of a corpse after the body of his nine-year daughter, Melina, was found over the weekend in New York state, where the two were are vacation. Here's what to know. Luciano Frattolin, 45, is the founder of Gambella Coffee, a company based in Montreal and named after a coffee-growing region in Ethiopia where he was born. The website for the company appears to have been taken down, but an archived version of the site includes a biography of the founder. It calls Frattolin 'an experienced entrepreneur with a proven track record of building diverse, high-performance businesses. With a background in the humanities and social sciences, his formal education, together with his pragmatic understanding about the complexities of life, motivates him to maintain an understanding of the world grounded in a distinct cross-cultural ethos.' Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The site adds that he is the son of an Ethiopian mother and an Italian father, and that he spent his childhood 'running between rows of crimson coffee buds on the Ethiopian family plantation, and the neoclassical architecture of his father's Milano.' It says that his father died when Frattolin was just 17, and that he 'reconciled the difficulties he faced during his youth by embodying the Nietzschean attitude of, 'That which does not kill him makes him stronger.'' The company's Instagram account remains active, as does an account for Frattolin . New York State Police said Frattolin has dual citizenship in Ethiopia and Italy and a Canadian visa. It does, referring to her as 'the light of his life' and 'the inspiration for … well, everything.' It adds: ' Seeing the world through her eyes has also helped Luciano look for creative ways to reinforce and empower Melina to know, feel, and understand her own unique individual beauty and intellect, while also teaching her to celebrate those same virtues inherent in the world's diversity. On a lighter note, Melina has also taught Luciano to let go of his rigid tendencies to keep everything in 'perfect order' — his love for Melina's messy art projects and chaotic ensemble of toys supersedes his love for a meticulously spotless home.' According to the Montreal Gazette , Frattolin and Melina's mother have been estranged since 2019, and the child resided full-time with her mother. The paper quotes a police investigation that found that Frattolin and his daughter legally entered the United States on July 11 for the purpose of a vacation and were expected to return on July 19, when Melina was to have been returned to the custody of her mother. According to the Gazette and other sources, a police investigation found that Melina was killed between 7:40 p.m. and 9:12 p.m. on Saturday. The felony complaint filed against Frattolin on Monday at a courthouse in Ticonderoga, N.Y., alleges he concealed her body by 'positioning her under a log in a waterway.' 'On Saturday, July 19, at approximately 10 p.m., Warren County 911 received a call from a man reporting his daughter missing, with a possible abduction,' New York State Police Capt. Robert McConnell said at a press conference, per the Gazette. The next day, they conducted a search in Ticonderoga, 'in an area Mr. Frattolin was suspected of having visited. During that search detail, at approximately (1:50 p.m.), members of the New York State Police Forest Rangers located Melina deceased in the shallow portion of a pond.' According to local reports , authorities initially treated the case as a potential abduction, issuing an AMBER Alert and launching a multi-agency search. But as the investigation unfolded, inconsistencies in Frattolin's account raised concerns; police say they determined the abduction story was fabricated and that Frattolin had deliberately misled investigators. Reports say that when Frattolin was arraigned Monday morning in court, a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf before he was returned to the Essex County jail. He spoke only briefly in court, telling Judge Richard Carpenter that the address listed for him in Montreal was incorrect, and that he could not afford an attorney. According to the Gazette, the last address for Frattolin is a bed and breakfast on Bernard Street in Montreal's Mile End neighbourhood. There was mail piled on the staircase inside the entrance's doorway, and no answer when journalists knocked at the door. Two people told the Gazette he is no longer involved with the business at the address, which is listed as a five-room hotel. The paper also found that the address listed for Gambella Coffee in downtown Montreal seemed to be either incorrect or outdated, the suite being the site of a law office. Neither he nor the company were listed in the building's directory, and an employee at the front desk did not know Frattolin or many details about the company, it noted. McConnell of the New York State Police said the cause of Melina's death is currently unknown and that Frattolin has no criminal record or any history of domestic violence. The Gazette reports that, according to provincial and municipal court records, Frattolin does not have a criminal record. He is currently involved in five lawsuits that were all filed this year, four as the plaintiff and one as the defendant, in which he is being sued by the Bank of Nova Scotia for around $83,000 on Dépanneur Café, a coffee shop he once owned. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
Edmonton Journal
16 hours ago
- Edmonton Journal
Who is Luciano Frattolin, the Montreal father accused of murdering his daughter?
Article content A Montreal businessman has been charged with second-degree murder and the concealment of a corpse after the body of his nine-year daughter, Melina, was found over the weekend in New York state, where the two were are vacation. Here's what to know. Article content Who is the accused? Article content Luciano Frattolin, 45, is the founder of Gambella Coffee, a company based in Montreal and named after a coffee-growing region in Ethiopia where he was born. Article content Article content The website for the company appears to have been taken down, but an archived version of the site includes a biography of the founder. It calls Frattolin 'an experienced entrepreneur with a proven track record of building diverse, high-performance businesses. With a background in the humanities and social sciences, his formal education, together with his pragmatic understanding about the complexities of life, motivates him to maintain an understanding of the world grounded in a distinct cross-cultural ethos.' Article content Article content The site adds that he is the son of an Ethiopian mother and an Italian father, and that he spent his childhood 'running between rows of crimson coffee buds on the Ethiopian family plantation, and the neoclassical architecture of his father's Milano.' It says that his father died when Frattolin was just 17, and that he 'reconciled the difficulties he faced during his youth by embodying the Nietzschean attitude of, 'That which does not kill him makes him stronger.'' Article content Article content The company's Instagram account remains active, as does an account for Frattolin. Article content Article content New York State Police said Frattolin has dual citizenship in Ethiopia and Italy and a Canadian visa. Article content Does the site mention his daughter? Article content It does, referring to her as 'the light of his life' and 'the inspiration for … well, everything.' It adds: ' Seeing the world through her eyes has also helped Luciano look for creative ways to reinforce and empower Melina to know, feel, and understand her own unique individual beauty and intellect, while also teaching her to celebrate those same virtues inherent in the world's diversity. On a lighter note, Melina has also taught Luciano to let go of his rigid tendencies to keep everything in 'perfect order' — his love for Melina's messy art projects and chaotic ensemble of toys supersedes his love for a meticulously spotless home.'
