An autopsy discovered that a nine -year -old Montreal girl allegedly murdered by her father during the weekend drowned.
The preliminary findings of the autopsy, which were thrown on Tuesday by the New York State Police, found that Melina Frattolin died from suffocation due to drowning and her death was a homicide.
The results must be confirmed by new laboratory tests.
Melina’s body was found in the shallow waters of a pond on Sunday in Ticonderoga, New York, about 50 kilometers east of Lake George, near the New York-Vermont border.
His father, Montrealer Luciano Frattolin, 45, was accused on second degree murder Monday and concealment of a human body.
The police also asked the public for help in the case. They launched images of a Toyota Prius Gris 2024, the car in which the father and daughter traveled, and urged anyone who has seen him contact the authorities by calling 518-873-2750 or sending an email to crimetip@tropers.ny.gov.
They said they were specifically looking for people who could have met him in the areas of the North I-87 between departures 28 and 20 on Saturday night.
Frattolin first reported his daughter’s disappearance to the local police around 10 pm on Saturday while traveling through the United States. An amber alert was activated.
He told the Police that he had left his car to urinate in a wooded area and that his daughter was gone when she returned. A white van reported from the scene to the south. In a later interview, he mentioned two unknown men who forced Melina to the white truck.
The New York State Police confirmed on Monday that the father had “manufactured the initial report of the kidnapping.”
Frattolin appeared in the court of the city of Ticonderoga on Monday. According to court officials, a declaration of non -guilt was presented in their name in their reading.
The details of the Frattolin financial situation began to emerge on Monday.
Frattolin owes more than $ 150,000 to Scotiabank, according to two separate judicial cases. The bank alleges that it held credit agreements between 2023 and 2024 related to its business, Gambella Coffee.
Frattolin is also looking for more than $ 115,000 in damage to commercial partners who, according to him, confided that directing an Airbnb in Bernard Street in Montreal in 2022, according to judicial documents.
Police have said that investigation has not yet discovered a possible reason for the alleged murder.
‘We do not know her, but we are going to celebrate her life’
The community in the north of the state of New York will meet Tuesday night to honor Melina’s life.
Bridgette Cruz, resident of Ticonderoga and organizer of the vigil tonight, says that all in the small community are shocked.
“Not only in the United States, Canadians too,” he said.
Cruz explained that he was celebrating the vigil to honor a lost young life, highlighting that all were afflicted as parents, individuals and countries.
“This is your people. This might not be our people, but now it will be one of us, since this is the resting place of their eternal soul,” he said.
The vigil will take place in the Centennial Park of Percy Thompson in Ticonderoga at 8 pm and will include a prayer, music, candle lighting and speech.
“We don’t know her, but we’re going to celebrate her life tonight,” Cruz said.
“I feel we need a little closing here in this city for her. And she needs it.”
