Luciano Frattolin convicted in New York in death of his nine-year-old daughter Melina
Luciano Frattolin convicted in New York for the 2025 drowning of his nine-year-old daughter Melina; jury reached verdict in under an hour. Sentencing pending.
A jury in Elizabethtown, New York, on Monday, August 10, 2026, found Montreal resident Luciano Frattolin guilty of second-degree murder in the death of his nine-year-old daughter, Melina. The jury also convicted him of concealing the child’s body after deliberating for less than an hour. The verdict closes a high-profile cross-border case that began with the girl’s disappearance in July 2025.
Guilty verdict and charges
The jury returned guilty verdicts on second-degree murder and a related count for concealment of a body, according to court proceedings in Elizabethtown. Prosecutors said evidence presented at trial established Frattolin’s role in his daughter’s death and her subsequent concealment.
Frattolin, 46, had pleaded not guilty and told investigators that his daughter was abducted by two men in a white van, a story the prosecution rejected during the trial. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled and will be set by the judge in the coming weeks.
Timeline of the July 2025 trip
Authorities say Frattolin and his daughter entered the United States legally on July 11, 2025, for what was described as a short vacation. They were due to return to Montreal on Saturday, July 19, 2025, when Melina was expected to reunite with her mother; the couple had been separated since 2019.
Melina’s disappearance was reported after the planned return date, and her body was discovered on July 20, 2025, in a marshy area near Ticonderoga, New York. Officials confirmed two days after the discovery that the child had died by drowning and that the death was being treated as a homicide.
Evidence laid out at trial
Prosecutors presented forensic evidence tying Frattolin to the area where Melina’s body was found, including DNA and traces from the accused’s vehicle near the marsh. Those findings were described as central to the case against him and were highlighted repeatedly during testimony.
The defence sought to challenge that evidence and to advance Frattolin’s account of an abduction, but jurors ultimately found the prosecution’s reconstruction more persuasive. The speed of the jury’s deliberation suggested they concluded the forensic links and witness testimony proved the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
Investigation and public alerts
An Amber Alert was issued after Melina was reported missing, mobilizing local and regional law enforcement and community volunteers in the search for the child. The search focused on rural terrain east of Lake George near the New York–Vermont border, where Ticonderoga is located.
The body was located in a marshy pond in a sparsely populated area approximately 50 kilometres east of Lake George, authorities said. Investigators worked with forensic teams to confirm the cause of death and to collect physical evidence that later became critical at trial.
Legal proceedings and next steps
The trial opened on July 20, 2026, exactly one year after the discovery of Melina’s body, and moved through witness testimony, forensic exhibits, and cross-examination over the following weeks. Prosecutors framed their case around the physical evidence linking Frattolin to the scene and the inconsistencies in his account to police.
With the jury’s guilty verdict, Frattolin faces the prospect of a lengthy prison term under New York law. Defense counsel may seek to appeal the conviction after sentencing, and the judge will determine the appropriate penalty at a future hearing.
Family members and local officials have been notified and briefed by authorities, and the case has attracted attention in both New York and Montreal due to the cross-border nature of the trip and the nationality of the accused. The matter underscored the cooperation between Canadian and U.S. investigators during the search and subsequent prosecution.
The conviction of Luciano Frattolin brings formal resolution to a case that began with an Amber Alert and ended with the recovery of a child’s body in rural New York, leaving questions about motive and circumstances that only the court record and any post-conviction filings may further clarify.
