Did Luciano Frattolin murder his 9 year old daughter, Melina Galanis Frattolin? Canadian businessman dad’s abduction claims are false say cops as founder of Gambella Coffee is now center of investigation into the death of girl who her father alleged being ‘snatched’ by a white van less than 24 hours after she was found dead.
##Update: The father of a Canadian girl who turned up dead in Ticonderoga after an Amber Alert Sunday has been arrested.
Luciano Frattolin is being held at the Essex County Jail, according to inmate records available through the MobilePatrol Public Safety app.
Melina Frattolin cause of death ruled to be asphyxiation by drowning (body found hidden underneath log in shallow pond)
Luciano Frattolin owed $200K, couldn’t make child support, blamed daughter
Original story: A Canadian father who claimed his 9 year old daughter was abducted by a ‘white van,’ in upstate NY only for the girl to be found dead less than 24 hours later is now at the center of police investigations as authorities say the man’s claims are full of inconsistencies.
Melina Galanis Frattolin, 9, according to her businessman dad, Luciano Frattolin, 45, was allegedly abducted in the area of Exit 22 in Lake George, just on Saturday circa 10 p.m, according to the Warren County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO).
Of note, both Frattolins are residents of Canada, and had been ‘visiting’ the U.S as tourists, according to the New York State Police.
A frantic search was launched for the missing girl, who was last seen seen around 9:40 p.m. on Saturday, with an Amber Alert issued hours later around 1:30 a.m. Sunday.
Come Sunday afternoon, police called off the Amber Alert, issuing a statement that the missing 9 year old was found deceased, saying that the ‘there was no indication that an abduction occurred.’
Canada dad killed 9 year old daughter cause he was supposed to hand her back to mom
Melina Frattolin father arrested & charged w/ 2nd degree murder
‘The Warren County Sheriff’s Office initially led the investigation,’ NYSP said according to CBS 6 Albany.
‘As the case progressed, law enforcement identified inconsistencies in the father’s account of events and the timeline he provided…
‘Melina was located deceased in Ticonderoga, New York.’
The missing girl’s body was found about an hour south of where she was reported by her father to have last been seen according to syracuse.com.
The nature and cause of Melania’s death was pending an autopsy. Police have not indicated if they suspect a homicide or murder case.
Is Canadian businessman father the prime suspect in his 9 year old daughter’s death?
Police added that ‘there is no indication that an abduction occurred’ and ‘there is no threat to the public’.
Frattolin was described as five feet tall, weighing 100 pounds and being of Indian descent with brown hair and brown eyes.
Luciano Frattolin according to a report by the Times Union is a Canadian businessman with connections to Montreal, according to a biographical page for a coffee company, Gambella Coffee, he founded. The page also makes several references to Melina, who is described as ‘the light of his life.’
States a description on Luciano Frattolin’s LinkedIn page: ‘Result focused entrepreneur with strong communication skills. A reputation for instilling enthusiasm in others and leading teams to achieve shared goals. Owner and founder of 4 ‘small’ companies in 3 continents – strong believer in globalization and sustainable development.’
Luciano Frattolin 2019 event
A biographical write-up on the website for Gambella Coffee, a company Frattolin founded, describe him as ‘an experienced entrepreneur with a proven track record of building diverse, high-performance businesses.’
The page says he found ‘great financial success across numerous ventures, from architecture to real estate, to construction (and) mining’ in addition to his coffee business. The biographical page says he is the son of an Ethiopian mother and an Italian father and that his mixed ethnicity was a source of difficulty as an adolescent. The page claims he was educated in the United States and United Kingdom and that those experiences changed him.
‘He was left reinvigorated and reconciled the difficulties he faced during his youth by embodying the Nietzschean attitude of, ‘That which does not kill him makes him stronger,” the website says.
The page also makes a cryptic reference to an incident in February 2019 in which Frattolin ‘was met with an unfortunate event that severely affected his well-being.’ The page does not explain the event was but describes his ‘road to recovery’ as ‘long and arduous.’
Melina features prominently in his publicly available biography.
‘Seeing the world through her eyes has also helped (Frattolin) 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,’ the website says.
The page also says he ‘currently spends as much time as he can in Montreal, Canada’ with his daughter. Information about Melina’s mother or other relatives was not immediately available Sunday.
Officials plan to hold a news conference Monday to provide more information about the case.
Authorities have asked anyone with any information about the abduction to call Warren County Sheriffs Office at 518-743-2501 or dial 911.
