Father receives life sentence in New York for murder of Montreal girl

ELIZABETHTOWN — Luciano Frattolin’s face remained expressionless on Wednesday as a judge sentenced him to life in prison for killing his daughter and leaving her in a marsh in rural New York.

Wearing a rumpled black suit and large black glasses, he shook his head slightly as Judge Tatiana Coffinger described the second crime he was convicted of — concealing the nine-year-old girl’s body.

“I hope, at some point in your life, you realize what you have done, what you have done to a family, and moreover, how you let down your daughter. Nothing brings her back, and we will all live with this,” said Coffinger, moments before Frattolin was led out of the courtroom, chained and in handcuffs.

In the back of the room, the girl’s mother, grandparents, and other relatives and loved ones had been watching intently. Some wiped their eyes after the judge announced her ruling in the Essex County Court.

“We continue to suffer deeply since the day Melina was brutally murdered,” the family said in a statement read outside the courthouse by District Attorney Michael Langey after the hearing.

“Nothing can bring Melina back, but we are relieved that this chapter is over. We are sincerely grateful to everyone who worked on the case. Your dedication and persistence, your efforts helped bring a measure of justice for our family.”

The sentence comes two months after a jury convicted Luciano Frattolin of second degree murder and concealment of a human corpse in the death of Melina Frattolin.

Judge Tatiana Coffinger delivered the sentence after rejecting a defence motion to set aside the guilty verdict. Frattolin would not be eligible for parole before 25 years and is expected to serve his sentence in New York.

He was also sentenced to one to three years for the charge of concealing a human corpse and was fined $5000.

“We will never know exactly what happened on the evening of July 19, 2025. We do know that at a moment (when) Melina needed her father the most, he was not her protector,” said Coffinger.

The defence issued a notice of appeal following the sentence.

“Mr. Frattolin maintains his innocence,” Brian Pilatzke, Frattolin’s lawyer, told the judge in court before she announced the sentence.

Melina Frattolin had been living in Montreal with her mother and had gone on a road trip to the United States with her father in July 2025.

On the night they were scheduled to return home, Luciano Frattolin called 911, reporting she had been kidnapped after he had stopped the car he was driving on the side of the road.

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 his daughter died.

The data showed Frattolin’s car and phone were stopped for close to an hour in the area where Melina’s body was later found. Police also found a bag of muddy clothing Frattolin had been wearing on the side of the road.

During the hearing, Coffinger accused Frattolin of having lied in his statements to police and likened his kidnapping story to “a Hollywood script.”

“Mr. Frattolin, you live in a world of self-made delusion of wealth and image,” she said. “When the greatest accomplishment of your life would have been to be a great father, that is not what you are going to be remembered for.”

Coffinger also granted a protective order for Melina’s mother, Kali Galanis, meaning Frattolin will be forbidden from contacting her in any way.

Outside the courthouse, Langey said he was satisfied with the sentence.

“Hopefully the parole board doesn’t parole him, and he does serve most of his life in prison,” he added.

Asked about Frattolin’s possible motive, Langey said he believed the Montreal man had wanted a life of wealth and success.

“He had an obsession and hatred of Melina’s mom, Kali, and he wanted a different life,” he said.

During the three-week-long trial, the defence had tried to argue that local police had not adequately investigated Frattolin’s claims that his daughter was kidnapped.

The jury spent an hour deliberating on Aug. 10 at the end of the trial, before concluding that Frattolin was guilty.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2026.

Marieke Glorieux-Stryckman, The Canadian Press