A Montreal man found guilty of drowning his daughter in a creek in Upstate New York is set to be sentenced today in Essex County Court.
On Aug. 10, a jury in Elizabethtown, N.Y., found Luciano Frattolin guilty of second-degree murder and concealment of a human corpse in the death of nine-year-old Melina Frattolin.
The jury spent an hour deliberating before concluding that Frattolin had drowned the Montreal girl in a marsh in a rural area of New York.
Judge Tatiana Coffinger is also expected to rule on a motion to set aside the guilty verdict.
During the trial, the defence tried to argue that local police had not adequately investigated Frattolin’s claims that his daughter was kidnapped.
The prosecution called several police officers and experts over the trial who used car location data, cellphone data and surveillance camera footage to recreate Frattolin’s movements on the day Melina died and prove his story was false.
District Attorney Michael Langey has said Frattolin could face a life sentence for the murder charge with eligibility for parole after a minimum of either 15 or 25 years.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2026.
By Marieke Glorieux-Stryckman | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.