A nine year old Montreal girl found in a pond near the New York Vermont border drowned, and her father is accused of killing her, state police said Tuesday evening.Preliminary autopsy results show Melina Frattolin died of asphyxia from drowning. The Essex County coroner called the death a homicide, though toxicology tests are pending..Parks Canada revokes permit for MAGA supporting Christian artist's concert over ‘safety’ concerns.Her father, Luciano Frattolin, 45, was arrested on July 21 and charged with second degree murder and concealment of a human corpse. A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf the same morning.The child’s body was pulled on July 20 from shallow water in Ticonderoga, about 50 kilometres northeast of Lake George. .Police have not offered a motive and say Frattolin had no record of crime or domestic violence.State Police Captain Robert McConnell said the father crossed the border for a holiday on July 11 and was to return on July 20, the day the body was found. The father and daughter travelled around Connecticut and New York, including visiting New York City..Vancouver nurse files human rights complaints, alleging political discrimination over gender identity beliefs.Frattolin called 911 about 10 pm EST on Saturday, alleging two men forced Melina into a white van while he stopped near a Lake George parking lot. McConnell said the detectives soon found his story “lacked credibility.”.Investigators are now seeking dash cam footage and witnesses who saw a grey 2024 Toyota Prius on Interstate 87 between exits 28 and 20 on the evening of July 19. State Police also released surveillance pictures of the vehicle on Tuesday afternoon and urged anyone with information to phone their tip line.Residents held a candlelight vigil on Tuesday night, praying for Melina’s mother and classmates. “We are crushed in spirit,” one woman told the crowd.Melina lived with her mother in Montreal’s Saint-Leonard area and was on her first extended visit with her father since the couple separated in 2019..A former friend says the accused murderer felt "tied down" by his young daughter Melina, who he sometimes saw only once a year after cheating on her mother. The ex-associate told the Montreal Gazette that Frattolin spent most of his time in Ethiopia, his birth country, involved in mining and hotel projects. "He loved his daughter, but he didn’t like the idea of being tied down," said the anonymous associate. The source said Frattolin's main tie to Montreal was his family.
