Luciano Frattolin, 46, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison Wednesday for murdering his 9-year-old daughter Melina in upstate New York.
The Canadian father was convicted in August by a jury of second-degree murder for drowning the girl in a swamp in the Adirondacks during a July 2025 vacation, then hiding her body near Ticonderoga. He initially claimed Melina had been kidnapped, triggering an Amber Alert and a sweeping manhunt across the mountainous region before the truth emerged.
Judge Tatiana Coffinger delivered a blistering rebuke from the bench in Elizabethtown, condemning Frattolin’s priorities and squandered potential. “You live in a world of self made delusion of wealth and image when the greatest accomplishment in your life could’ve been as a great father,” she said.
The jurist pressed further on his capacity for remorse. “I hope at some point in your life you will realize what you have done,” she continued.
Prosecutors had argued at trial that Frattolin’s motive stemmed from his bitter animosity toward Melina’s mother, Kali Galanis. Galanis had won full custody of the girl after splitting from Frattolin in 2019, and authorities contended he carried out the killing as a twisted act of revenge against his ex-wife.
Frattolin, described in court as a failed coffee entrepreneur, maintained his innocence even as he faced sentencing for the crime.
Coffinger imposed additional punishment beyond the life term. She tacked on one to three years for concealment of the body, a sentence that will run consecutive to the murder conviction rather than concurrently.
The case had drawn intense attention across the Adirondacks and into Canada after Frattolin’s fabricated kidnapping report set off the emergency alert. The search operation spanned the rugged terrain before investigators determined Melina had never been abducted and instead uncovered evidence leading to her father’s prosecution.
The killing occurred during what was presented as a father-daughter vacation, a context that amplified the betrayal at the heart of the crime. Frattolin’s attempt to shift blame to unknown kidnappers collapsed under scrutiny, leaving him to face a jury that returned a guilty verdict after hearing the evidence against him.
Wednesday’s sentencing brought a formal conclusion to the criminal case, though Coffinger’s words underscored the permanent nature of the loss. The consecutive sentence for hiding the body ensures Frattolin will serve additional time even if he were ever to become eligible for parole on the murder charge.
Frattolin will serve his sentence in New York state prison.