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National Post
22-07-2025
- National Post
Who is Luciano Frattolin, the Montreal father accused of murdering his daughter?
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Photo of Melina Frattolin (left) and her father, Luciano Frattolin, a Montreal businessman who is charged with second-degree murder in her death. Photo by New York State Police 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. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS Enjoy the latest local, national and international news. Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events. Unlimited online access to National Post. National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE ARTICLES Enjoy the latest local, national and international news. Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events. Unlimited online access to National Post. National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors 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 The website for the company appears to have been taken down, but an archived version of the site includes a biography of the founder.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.' Get a dash of perspective along with the trending news of the day in a very readable format. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again 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. This advertisement has not loaded yet. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 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.
CBC
22-07-2025
- CBC
Montreal father charged with murdering daughter in New York state
A Montreal man has been charged with second-degree murder and concealment of a human corpse, after his nine-year-old daughter was found dead. Police say Luciano Frattolin had initially reported Melina Frattolin missing and possibly abducted.
CBS News
12-06-2025
- CBS News
Pennsylvania mom helps teen daughter get at-home abortion and bury remains in yard, authorities said
A Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, mother is accused of helping her teenage daughter get an at-home abortion and bury the remains in the backyard last year. In a news release on Thursday, the Susquehanna Regional Police Department said Shannon Jones and her now 18-year-old daughter have been charged. The daughter, who was 17 at the time of the alleged crime, is not being identified by law enforcement because her case is being handled in the juvenile system. Susquehanna police said after the baby boy was born in May 2024, the teen kept him in a box under a bed "for at least 37 hours" before she and her mom buried his body in the backyard of their home in East Donegal Township to hide the pregnancy. Authorities said an examination of the remains could not determine if the baby was born alive. The autopsy of the newborn's remains estimated his gestational age to be around 20 weeks. Police added that Jones bought abortion medication online for her daughter "against recommended instructions and without medical supervision." Police said Jones was charged with endangering the welfare of children, corruption of minors and criminal conspiracy to conceal the death of a child. Her daughter will be charged with concealing the death of a child and abuse of corpse, police added. "I want to be abundantly clear that these defendants are not being charged with performing an abortion – as the law prevents us from doing – but for their actions after the abortion," Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams said in the news release. The news release said Jones told her daughter she was afraid of being caught, texting her that she was "paranoid" people would find out. "We're either going to get arrested or I'm gonna get divorced," the mom texted her daughter, according to police. Officials explain charges against mom and daughter The district attorney said the two were not charged with criminal homicide because officials could not determine if the baby was born alive. "This was due to the state of the baby's decomposition owing to the amount of time between its birth and the recovery of its corpse, which primarily consisted of skeletal remains," the news release said. The news release added that the mom and daughter could not be charged with crimes against an unborn child, as the law exempts criminal liability for both parties. The daughter was not charged with any violation of the Abortion Control Act because it exempts criminal penalties for any woman who "perform[s] or induce[s] an abortion upon herself." Police began investigating in March 2025 after a witness provided police with pictures of the baby that the daughter had sent them. The photos, according to police, showed the baby shortly after birth with the umbilical cord still attached and lying inside a trash bag. "The juvenile defendant had sent pictures accompanied by text messages saying she was afraid to touch the newborn because he would still move on his own," the news release said. A judge released Jones on her own recognize during her preliminary hearing on Thursday, authorities said.
Daily Mail
20-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Man cleared of preventing burial of two babies after their bodies were found at house on quiet street
A man has been cleared of hiding the deaths of two babies who were found dead at a home. Zilvinas Ledovskis, 50, of Phoebe Road in Swansea, south Wales, was held with his ex-partner, Egle Zilinskaite, 30, over the grim discovery of the babies in their former home. The van driver was due to face trial later this year charged with two counts of concealing the birth of a child and two counts of preventing the lawful and decent burial of a dead body. Following a review of the evidence, the van driver was found not guilty at a hearing before Cardiff Crown Court today, after the prosecution said it would be presenting no evidence against him. Zilinskaite, 31, of Crwys Road, Cardiff, pleaded guilty to the charges in April last year and is due to be sentenced later this year. Addressing Mr Ledovskis, Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke, the Recorder of Cardiff, said: 'The prosecution has offered no evidence against you and accordingly I direct not guilty verdicts to be entered. 'That concludes the proceedings so far as you are concerned.' The charges relate to the discovery of two babies at an end-of-terrace home in Maes-Y-Felin, Wildmill, Bridgend, in November 2022. The two children, previously referred to as Baby A and Baby B in court, died some time between January 1 2017 and November 26 2022.
