Cause of Death Revealed for Girl Whose Dad Is Charged

The Canadian girl allegedly killed by her father in upstate New York over the weekend was drowned, according to an autopsy conducted Monday. Preliminary findings released Tuesday indicate 9-year-old Melina Frattolin of Montreal died from asphyxia due to drowning and her death was a homicide, per the CBC. Her father, 45-year-old Luciano Frattolin, who was vacationing with the daughter of whom he did not have custody, has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder and concealing a corpse, per the New York Times. Authorities say he falsely reported Melina had been abducted at Lake George on Saturday evening. Her body was ultimately found hidden under a log in a pond in Ticonderoga, about 30 miles east of Lake George, according to court documents.

Investigators believe Melina was killed between 6:30pm Saturday, when she spoke to her mother on the phone, and 10pm, when her father reported her missing. The pair had been vacationing in New York and Connecticut since entering the US on July 11. New York State Police are now asking for the public's help in tracing the pair's movements. They've requested accounts and video from anyone who might have seen the father and daughter on Saturday evening along the section of Interstate 87 connecting Lake George and Ticonderoga. Frattolin was driving a 2024 gray Toyota Prius. The CBC reports he was $110,000 in debt related to his coffee business, and was suing his Airbnb business partners, seeking more than $85,000 in damages.