New York State Police have charged 45-year-old Luciano Frattolin with second-degree murder and concealment of a human corpse following the tragic death of his 9-year-old daughter, Melina Frattolin. Her body was discovered on July 20 in a shallow pond in Ticonderoga, New York, one day after she was reported missing.

Frattolin, who lived in Montreal with Melina, initially told police she had vanished during a roadside stop and suggested she may have been abducted. An AMBER Alert was issued, but investigators quickly uncovered inconsistencies in his account.

Surveillance footage showed Melina at a restaurant just hours before her disappearance, and she had a calm phone call with her mother around 6:30 p.m. Authorities now believe Frattolin killed her shortly afterward and hid her body under a log in a remote area.

Frattolin pleaded not guilty and is being held at the Essex County Jail. The cause of death has not been released, and a felony hearing is set for July 25.

The case has drawn widespread grief and outrage online, with many calling for justice. Frattolin, a coffee entrepreneur with no prior criminal record, was seen publicly as a devoted father — making the charges even more shocking.

What began as a report of a missing child has now become a heartbreaking homicide case.