Fate proved to be the trip to New York for the 9 -year -old Greek -Canadian Melina who went on vacation with her father and was found dead near a lake. At the same time new evidence is being released.
The 45 -year -old father Luciano Fratololus accused of the death of his 9 -year -old daughter – whom he characterized ‘The Light of his Life’ – and hide of corpse seems like he didn’t want to be ‘Committed to his daughter’, according to a person who knew him.
The father allegedly murdered his daughter and hiding her body under a log in a remote lake – shortly before returning her to his ex -wife. In fact, she had initially mentioned her disappearance to the authorities.
According to an ex -friend of the 45 -year -old father, his relationship with the child may not have been exactly as he presented her. “From what he said, he really loved Melina”, His friend told Montreal Gazette who asked not to be named.
“She visited her at least once a year. He loved her, but he didn’t like the idea of being committed. His base was not in Montreal but in Ethiopia ‘, added.
On his company’s website he also said he was saying that he was spending “as much time he could” with his “cute daughter” in Montreal.
Authorities now attribute responsibility to her father, 45 -year -old Luciano Fratolol, who was eventually arrested and accused of second -degree murder and concealment of a human carcass.
‘It seemed to me something was not going well’
New testimony comes to shed more light on the odd case. One resident told News10 that he saw a man – who now thinks he was the 45 -year -old – running away from his car on Saturday, the night that Melina was murdered.
As he drove he saw a car stopped on the road. “It caught my attention because, as I was passing by the car, I saw a tall and weak man,” he told News10. “And he was running towards a hill next to which he was parked and at the bottom of which there was a wooded area,” the woman said.
“It just seemed to me that something wasn’t going well, there was something strange to him, I don’t know, our eyes met when I went by car, looked at me.”he said.
The woman said she saw no child with the man at the time, but she immediately contacted the police when she received the Amber Alert for little Melina on Sunday. “We received a warning and I thought, ‘My God, no’. I can’t even describe you what I felt at that time, it was horrible“He said, according to the New York Post.
It is noted that 9 -year -old Melina was found dead on Sunday afternoon (20.07.2025) in a lake near Tikonteroga, Northern New York. The preliminary forensic report showed that her death was due to suffocation due to drowning.
The 45 -year -old father fell into contradictions as he described the events to the police and this was suspected. He was arrested and accused of murder and hiding body.
Mother’s last message
So far The motive of the murder remains unknown, However, more and more details come about the last moments of the little Melina.
According to the New York Post, the 9 -year -old had talked to her mother about an hour before her murder, which is believed to happen between 7:40 and 9:12 last Saturday night.
The mother said that then she didn’t seem to be suspicious. The hours that followed, however When she asked him when the two of them would return to Montreal. Saturday would be the last day of their vacation in the US and after the girl would return to his mom, who also had custody.
International media reports that the 45 -year -old was alleged to have financial problems and owe hundreds of thousands of dollars to creditors, which may be related to his inability to meet nutrition obligations.