Man accused of drowning his nine-year-old daughter in New York makes court appearance

The lawyer representing a father charged with murdering his nine-year-old Canadian daughter in Upstate New York said his client will ask for bail.

Luciano Frattolin appeared Tuesday in Essex County court in Elizabethtown, N.Y., for a hearing to provide updates on his upcoming murder trial.

Assistant public defender Eric Weyand told Judge Tatiana Coffinger that he intends to file a written bail application on Frattolin’s behalf.

Frattolin appeared in court in a grey suit and striped tie, and nodded and answered “yes” to confirm his name.

Frattolin has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and the concealment of a human corpse in the death of his nine-year-old daughter Melina, whose body was found in a shallow pond on July 20 in Ticonderoga, N.Y.

New York State Police have said Frattolin, 45, originally reported his daughter missing and potentially abducted, but officers determined the story to be false and arrested him.

Frattolin previously asked for bail in July but was denied.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 19, 2025.

The Canadian Press