The father of the missing nine-year-old girl who was found dead in New York has been charged with second-degree murder and concealment of human remains.
On Saturday, Warren County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a man claiming his daughter had been abducted from the area near Exit 22 of Highway I-87 in Lake George.
Officials identified the missing child as Melina Frottolin and the father as Luciano Frattolin, both of whom were from Montreal.
According to the Captain of the Criminal Investigation Unit, Robert McConnell, the father and daughter duo had been vacationing in the U.S. since July 11.
Melina lived with her mother full time and her father would occasionally visit when he was in Canada. Police confirmed that her parents had been estranged for several years.
McConnell said the mother was aware of the trip and had no worries about Melina traveling with her father.
Melina and her father were expected to return to Canada on July 19, at which time she would go back to her mother’s house in Montreal.
Video surveillance footage showed the pair in Saratoga Springs, New York, at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.
At approximately 6:30 pm., Melina talked to her mother on the phone and said they were returning to Canada.
According to her mother, Melina seemed to be in good health and spirits at the time.
Sometime after she talked to her mother, the man allegedly murdered his daughter and left her body in a shallow pond.
She was found dead in Ticonderoga, New York, approximately 50 kilometers away from Lake George, on Sunday.
The charges against the man allege he purposely hid her remains under a log.
The investigation was initially carried out by the Warren County Sheriff’s Office but was later transferred to the New York State Police.
As investigators worked on the case, they noticed inconsistencies in the father’s story and the timeline of his daughter’s disappearance.
Refuting His Initial Abduction Account
McConnell said the man had told police his daughter disappeared when he stopped the car near Exit 22 in Lake George to relieve himself.
He told police about a white van that was seen fleeing the area. He later added during a subsequent interview that he saw two men forcing his daughter into the vehicle.
After a thorough investigation, the lead was disproven.
The police later determined that the man had fabricated the entire report of the abduction.
The official cause of death has not yet been determined, as the autopsy is scheduled for later this evening.
Frattolin, who owns a coffee shop, described his daughter as “the light of his life” and “inspiration for everything” on the company website.
As of Monday morning, however, the website link is no longer active.
