“Her daughter never came home”: The hours before the death of Melina Frattolin

On a nice day in July 2025, a man and his daughter were nearing the end of their trip to the United States, with the girl set to return home to Montreal that night. She never made it back. Her father reported her missing and her body was found, hours later, in a marsh in rural New York.

On Aug. 10, Luciano Frattolin was found guilty of the murder of his nine-year-old daughter, Melina Frattolin, and of concealment of her corpse.

Here is a timeline of Frattolin’s movements on July 19, 2025, in the last hours of his daughter’s life, based on what the jury heard over the three-week-long trial.

4:30 p.m. — Frattolin and Melina pulled into the parking lot of a McDonald’s in Saratoga Springs N.Y., about 300 kilometres north of New York City. Earlier, Melina had texted her mother, Kali Galanis, to tell her they would be arriving in Montreal around 6:15 p.m. and telling her about plans she had with a friend. As they neared the McDonald’s, Melina sent Galanis a video of herself, playing with her hair and smiling.

Surveillance camera footage showed Melina and her father left the car, Melina skipping across the parking lot. In the car, police would later find notes that mentioned “tak(ing) Melina to end” and “end(ing) her suffering.”

4:35 p.m.— As the two ordered, they appeared to stand comfortably side-by-side, Frattolin playfighting with his daughter for an instant before they sat down to eat. Melina played mobile games as she ate her fries.

Melina was wearing pink shorts and a black-and-white striped shirt: the clothes her body would later be found in.

5:30 p.m. — The pair left McDonald’s and started driving north, towards Montreal.

5:36 p.m. — Melina, whose phone recorded over 8,000 app uses over the trip, used her phone for the last time.

6:30 p.m. — Melina spoke with Galanis on her father’s phone and did not appear to be under duress, police would later report.

6:35 p.m. — Frattolin exited the northbound interstate towards Schroon Lake, a large body of water in the Adirondacks region.

Frattolin drove along the lake and back, returning to the interstate less than 30 minutes later. This time, he was heading south, away from Montreal.

6:50 p.m. — 7:25 p.m. — Frattolin exited and returned to the interstate three more times, changing directions. He drove along bodies of water, sometimes slowing down or stopping.

In trial, Frattolin’s lawyers argued that he was looking for a spot for Melina to swim before the end of their trip.

The prosecution argued he was looking for a place to drown his daughter.

7:25 p.m. — Frattolin left the interstate again and drove east, towards the town of Ticonderoga, N.Y. He stopped in a pull-off near the entrance to a hiking trail, where the car stayed for close to an hour.

Frattolin would later tell police he and Melina hiked around, trying to reach the water, but that houses blocked the access. Investigators pointed out there were no houses in the area.

Officers found Melina’s body the following day, in a marsh near the pull-off. The girl’s body was partially covered by a fallen tree, and a large rock had been placed on her chest. The autopsy found she died from asphyxia due to drowning.

8:42 p.m. — Galanis texted Frattolin. “What time are you arriving?” she asked.

When Frattolin did not answer, she called. Her first two calls got no answer, and Frattolin rejected her third.

8:53 p.m. — Galanis texted Melina, writing “Call me.” Melina’s phone, disconnected from her father’s data connection hotspot, did not receive her mother’s message.

8:54 p.m. — “I’m on my way,” he texted her, adding that he would be arriving 20 minutes later, despite being a two-hour drive from Montreal.

“I’d like to speak to Melina,” said Galanis.

“She’s sleeping,” answered Frattolin.

8:55 p.m. — Just before he drove away from the parking area — and, according to the prosecution and police, from his daughter’s body — Frattolin’s phone recorded a Google Maps search for “Melina.”

9:09 p.m. — Frattolin returned to the interstate and started driving south, away from Montreal.

9:19 p.m. — He slowed down on the shoulder of the highway for a few seconds, in a spot where police would later find a garbage bag containing muddy clothes he had worn earlier in the day.

9:32 p.m. — He came to a halt at a roadside text stop for a few minutes. This is where Frattolin would later claim that Melina was kidnapped by two men who drove off in a white van, and that he quickly got into his car in pursuit.

Speed data from his car shows him driving under the speed limit as he left the text stop.

9:40 p.m. — Galanis, who was asking him for an update on his arrival time, received a text saying “Can’t talk right now, I’m driving.” Frattolin told her he would be there at 10 p.m. and had been delayed by traffic. At this point, he was still over two hours from Montreal.

9:55 p.m. — Frattolin exited the interstate towards the Sheriff’s office before circling around.

Around 10 p.m. — He stopped on the side of the road and he called 911 to report an abduction. A few minutes later, officers came to guide him to the Sheriff’s office.

10:06 p.m. — Galanis tried again to reach Frattolin, sending multiple unanswered texts.

11:27 p.m. — “Is everything okay?” asked Galanis, twice.

1:36 a.m. — Galanis called Frattolin. He did not respond.

1:36 a.m. — Galanis called Melina. Her call did not go through.

“She waited for her daughter to come home all night, looked out the window… Her daughter never came home, and she had to get the call the next day that she was dead in a brook in Essex county, in New York,” said Michael Langey, the Essex County District Attorney, after the trial.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published August 15, 2026.

By Marieke Glorieux-Stryckman | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.