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Police say the body of Montreal resident Melina Frattolin was found on Sunday in Ticonderoga, N.Y., about 50 kilometres northeast of Lake George near the New York-Vermont boundary.

A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf at his arraignment Monday, according to court officials.

On Monday, New York State Police Cpt. Robert McConnell told reporters Melina and her father entered the United States on July 11 for a vacation and were due back in Montreal on Sunday.

Melina spoke with her mother over the phone at about 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, and did not appear to be under duress, he said. About three-and-a-half hours later, Frattolin called 911 and reported his nine-year-old daughter missing and possibly abducted.

McConnell said police determined the father's version of events was untrue.

"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," McConnell told a news conference.

He said police quickly found "inconsistencies" in the father's account, explaining that Frattolin allegedly told police that he had pulled off the highway and stepped into the woods to urinate, and later saw a white van fleeing the scene. After, he allegedly told police two unknown males forced his daughter into a white van, the officer said.

Police say the motive for the girl's murder is under investigation, and her cause of death will be determined by autopsy.

The suspect has no criminal or domestic violence history, McConnell said. 

He said 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.

A man with the name Luciano Frattolin is listed on Quebec’s business registry as the head of a coffee importing and distribution company in Montreal. A biography on Gambella Coffee's website describes him as the son of an Ethiopian mother and an Italian father, and as a successful entrepreneur who has been involved in multiple business ventures.

The biography says 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."  

A person who answered the phone at a business with an address associated to Frattolin called him a "monster" and said he hadn't had contact with him in one year. "It's very sad, we knew them both," said the man, who added that he was grieving and asked that his name not be published in order to avoid being connected to Frattolin.

This report by ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø was first published July 21, 2025.

— With a file from The Associated Press