New York trial of man accused of killing daughter enters fourth week

The trial of a man accused of killing his nine-year-old daughter last summer during a trip to New York is entering its fourth week. 

Luciano Frattolin is on trial in Elizabethtown, N.Y., facing charges of second-degree murder and concealment of a human corpse in the death of Montreal resident Melina Frattolin.

The 46-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to both charges and has been held without bail since his arrest in July 2025.

The prosecution wrapped up its case last week with a five-hour video recreating the route Frattolin may have taken in the hours before he reported Melina missing.

The defence also called its first witness on Friday, but it remained unclear whether Frattolin would take the stand.

The nine-year-old girl’s body was found in a marsh in a rural area of New York, and an autopsy determined her cause of death to be drowning.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 10, 2026.

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