A Montreal girl likely drowned, initial autopsy shows
Police say a preliminary autopsy indicates that nine-year-old Melina Fratlin likely died from drowning. Her father is charged with second-degree murder.
CBC English
Melina Fratlin, a 9-year-old Canadian girl whose father was murdered in upstate New York, was drowned and died, an autopsy revealed.
New York State Police announced on July 22 that Flatlin had died of suffocation due to drowsiness. The way of death was ruled and murder.
The results of the autopsy conducted at Glens Falls Hospital are preliminary. The final decision and reporting are pending further laboratory testing, according to the NYSP.
It was discovered that Fratlin died in Ticonderoga on July 20, hours after her father Luciano Fratlin reported her acquiescence. He was arrested and charged with two degrees of murder in her death and cover-up of a human body. It is unknown if he has a lawyer.
What happened to Melina Fratlin?
Luciano and Melina Fratlin of Montreal were enrolled in the United States on July 11 for holidays and were due to return to Canada on July 20, police said at a July 21 press conference.
On July 19, at around 5:30pm, Laciano and Melina Flatlin were seen during video surveillance at Saratoga Springs. An hour later, the girl spoke to her mother over the phone and said she and her father were on the route back to Canada, police said.
Luciano Fratlin reported that her daughter had disappeared that night around 10pm local time. He told authorities he was driving on I-87 on Lake George when he stopped the car to urinate in a wooded area. When he returned to the car, his daughter was missing, he said.
The next morning, police activate the Amber Alert for the missing girl. Police later said there was “no indication that abortion had occurred.”
At about 5pm on July 20th, police announced that melinaflatrin had been found dead in Ticonderoga, New York, about 100 miles north of Albany, on the Vermont border. Her body was found in a shallow portion of a pond in an area with forests, police said.
Who is Luciano Fratlin?
Luciano Frattolin has been estranged from her daughter’s mother since 2019. Melinaflatlin lived in Canada full time with her mother, police said.
According to his LinkedIn, Luciano Frattolin is an entrepreneur.
According to an archived website, he owned a coffee company before his arrest. According to an Ethiopian newspaper, he also owned a mining company. According to his website Bio, he is Ethiopian and Italian.
On the website depicted him, Luciano Fratlin called his daughter “the light of his life.”
“Melina also taught Luciano to let go of his strict tendencies in order to keep everything in “perfect order.” Melina’s messy art projects and a chaotic ensemble of toys rely on her meticulous love for a clean home,” the website said.
Melina Kahn is a national trending reporter for USA Today. She can be contacted at melina.khan@usatoday.com.
(This story has been updated to include a video.)
