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New York Post
24-07-2025
- New York Post
Grandma who saw accused killer dad Luciano Frattolin tormented by thought she could have saved his daughter
A New York grandmother who believes she spotted accused killer dad Luciano Frattolin is tormented by the thought she should have saved his 9-year-old daughter, Melina, she told The Post. 'This is really bothering me,' Rebecca Kulickowski said of driving past a 'skinny, tall guy' around the same time and location as Frattolin is accused of drowning his daughter in Ticonderoga on Saturday. 'I've kept playing that moment back in my head, asking why we didn't stop?' Kulickowski said — saying is plagued by wondering, 'If we had, she'd still be alive.' 4 Luciano Frattolin has been accused of drowning his daughter after reporting a hoax kidnapping. Essex County Sheriff's Office Lulickowski previously revealed how she had been driving through Ticonderoga toward Schroon Lake on Saturday when she saw a Toyota Prius stopped in the road. 'It only caught my eye because as I was driving past the car, I seen a skinny, tall guy,' she told News 10. 'And he was running up a hill that he was parked next to and there was a wooded area on the bottom of it,' she said. 'I just didn't feel right, there was something about him, I don't know, our eyes locked when I drove by, he looked at me,' she said. 4 Rebecca Kulickowski told The Post she keeps replaying the moment she saw him in her head. WTEN The next day, Kulickowski got an Amber Alert about little Melina and immediately contacted police. 'We got an alert and I was like, 'God no.' I can't even tell you what I felt in that moment, it was horrible,' she said. 4 Little Melina Frattolin's body was found in Eagle Lake pinned under a log on Sunday. Instagram/Luciano Frattolin The alert was triggered by the girl's dad claiming she'd been kidnapped, which officials later said appeared to be a hoax. The alert was called off when Melina's body was discovered pinned under a log in Eagle Lake, between Ticonderoga and Schroon Lake, close to where Kulickowski saw the suspicious man. Frattolin, who had custody of his daughter for the week, was charged on Monday with second-degree murder and concealment of a human corpse. 4 Frattolin appeared in court on Monday charged with murder and concealment of a corpse. Wnyt13 He is alleged to have strangled his daughter to death around an hour after she spoke to her mother, and some two and a half hours before he called in a missing persons report at around 10 p.m. Saturday. Frattolin was arrested early on Monday morning and appeared in court later that day, when he pleaded not guilty. He is due back in court again on Friday.
New York Post
23-07-2025
- New York Post
Alleged killer dad Luciano Frattolin didn't like ‘being tied down' by daughter, former friend says
Alleged killer dad Luciano Frattolin didn't like being 'tied down' by his young daughter, whom he sometimes only saw once a year, according to a former friend. Frattolin, 45, who is charged with murdering his 9-year-old daughter Melina while on vacation in New York last week, spent most of his time in his birth country of Ethiopia, where he has stakes in a mine and hotel construction, the ex-associate told the Montreal Gazette. 'He loved his daughter, but he didn't like the idea of being tied down,' said the friend, who knew Frattolin when they both lived in Ethiopia. Advertisement 3 Police arrested Luciano Frattolin after he claimed his daughter Melina had been abducted. Essex County Sheriff's Office Melina lived in Canada with her mom, who split with Frattolin when he cheated, according to the former pal, who also fell out with him over a deal where 'some of the funds disappeared.' Frattolin was said to live in Canada but his 'real connection to Montreal was his daughter and his ex-partner, but he didn't have any real connections to Montreal,' said the insider, who asked not to remain anonymous. Advertisement 'From what [Frattolin] said, he truly loved [Melina]. He would visit at least once a year,' the friend said. 3 New York police released an image of Frattolin driving with his daughter on I-87. NYS Police Frattolin is a 'prominent' businessman in Ethiopia, where he was born to an Ethiopian mother and Italian father, the friend said. He founded an iron ore mine there in 2019 along with a Chinese-based company and secured a 20-year contract, according to a report published online and seen by the Montreal Gazette. But tragedy struck that same year when he was assaulted and suffered permanent damage to one of his eyes, the former friend claimed. Advertisement Melina's mother came to visit him in Ethiopia while he was recovering — and found he was seeing another woman, according to the pal. 'That is why they separated,' he said. 3 Melina Frattolin was found dead in a shallow pond after her father reported her missing. Instagram/Luciano Frattolin Frattolin hinted in a since-deleted bio that an 'unfortunate event' in 2019 that he said 'severely affected his well-being' and required a 'long and arduous' road to recovery. Advertisement The friend claimed Frattolin had money woes that forced him to leave Ethiopia for long stretches at a time, often traveling to Italy. 'He had a lot of bills, so any time things were about to blow up, he would travel, and go back [to Ethiopia] once things cooled down,' he said. Follow The Post's coverage on Melina Frattolin Frattolin maintained a luxury lifestyle and was 'very image conscious,' wearing expensive clothes and watches and never flying coach, as evidenced on his Instagram account, the former friend said. 'He was one of the first people to bring a Porsche into Ethiopia. He also had a Land Cruiser, the friend said. 'He had two [luxury] cars, so in Ethiopia, he would be considered a very well-off person.' Frattolin shared a video of his Porsche on his Instagram showing him driving the luxury car over the dirt roads of the East African country alongside an Ethiopian tribesperson. Frattolin pleaded not guilty to murder at a court in Ticonderoga, upstate New York, on Monday. He is due back in court on Friday.
New York Post
23-07-2025
- 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.
New York Post
22-07-2025
- New York Post
Melina Frattolin's cause of death revealed after preliminary autopsy as dad faces murder charges
Nine-year-old Melina Frattolin died by drowning, according to a preliminary autopsy on the little Canadian tourist allegedly killed by her dad in upstate New York. The Montreal girl's body was discovered under a log in a shallow pond in Ticonderoga on Sunday afternoon, fewer than 24 hours after her father, Luciano Frattolin, reported she had been abducted. Melina was determined to have died by 'asphyxia due to drowning,' according to the preliminary autopsy conducted at Glens Falls Hospital, and reported by New York State Police on Tuesday afternoon. Advertisement 3 Police arrested Luciano Frattolin after he claimed his daughter Melina had been abducted. Essex County Sheriff's Office 3 New York police released an image of Frattolin driving with his daughter on I-87. NYS Police Her death was determined to be a homicide. Advertisement Follow The Post's coverage on Melina Frattolin Pictures of Frattolin's car, a 2024 gray Toyota Prius, were shared by state police Tuesday as they asked for help from the public to determine the route of the vehicle. 3 Melina Frattolin was found dead in a shallow pond after her father reported her missing. Instagram/Luciano Frattolin Frattolin is believed to have driven along the I-87 Northway between Exits 28 and 20 during the early hours of Saturday evening. Advertisement Melina's father was charged with her murder on Monday, as well as with abuse of a corpse.
Montreal Gazette
21-07-2025
- Montreal Gazette
Timeline of events in the death of Melina Frattolin
Montreal businessman Luciano Frattolin has been charged with the murder of his nine-year-old daughter, Melina, after he claimed that she was kidnapped while on vacation in New York state. Here is a timeline of the events leading up to his arrest. Friday, July 11, 2025 According to New York State Police investigators, Luciano Frattolin and his nine-year-old daughter Melina, both residents of Montreal, legally entered the United States for the purpose of a vacation. They were expected to return to Canada on Saturday, July 19, at which point Melina would be returned to the custody of her mother in Montreal. Police said the mother and Frattolin had been estranged since 2019. Saturday, July 19, 2025 5:30 p.m.: Frattolin and his daughter are seen on video surveillance cameras in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. 6:30 p.m.: Authorities say Melina called her mother to say they were returning to Canada. 10 p.m.: The Warren County 911 call centre receives a call from Frattolin reporting his daughter as missing and claiming the disappearance may have involved an abduction at Exit 22 of the I-87 Highway. Frattolin said he had pulled over to urinate in a wooded area and when he returned his daughter was gone. An investigation is immediately launched and an Amber alert issued. The Amber alert said the girl was last seen at about 9:40 p.m. Saturday in a white van and includes her physical description. Sunday, July 20, 2025 The Warren County Sheriff's Office initially led the investigation, with law enforcement reporting inconsistencies in the father's account of events and the timeline he provided. Police would say later that while Frattolin initially claimed he saw a white van heading south after his daughter disappeared, he later said he saw two men forcing her into a van. On Sunday morning, the Essex County Sheriff's Office, Ticonderoga Police Department, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, New York State Forest Rangers, and New York State Police K9 and Aviation units, undertake a search in the town of Ticonderoga 'in an area Mr. Frattolin was suspected of having visited.' At about 10:50 a.m., searchers found the girl's body in shallow pond. An autopsy is scheduled to be performed Monday. The case is handed over the New York State Police. It was established there was no indication that an abduction occurred. By the end of the day Frattolin is taken into custody pending a court appearance Monday morning. Monday, July 21, 2025 Frattolin is charged with second degree murder as well as concealing a body in connection with his daughter's death. The website of a coffee company Frattolin is affiliated with, Gambella Coffee, is made inaccessible.
