‘Her daughter never came home’: The hours before the death of Melina Frattolin

MONTREAL — On a nice day in July 2025, a man and his daughter were nearing the end of their trip to the United States, with the girl set to return home to Montreal that night. Her father reported her missing and her body was found, hours later, in a marsh in rural New York. 10, Luciano Frattolin was found guilty of the murder of his nine-year-old daughter, Melina Frattolin, and of concealment of her corpse.

Here is a timeline of Frattolin’s movements on July 19, 2025, in the last hours of his daughter’s life, based on what the jury heard over the three-week-long trial. — Frattolin and Melina pulled into the parking lot of a McDonald’s in Saratoga Springs N.Y., about 300 kilometres north of New York City. Earlier, Melina had texted her mother, Kali Galanis, to tell her they would be arriving in Montreal around 6:15 p.m.

and telling her about plans she had with a friend. As they neared the McDonald’s, Melina sent Galanis a video of herself, playing with her hair and smiling. Surveillance camera footage showed Melina and her father left the car, Melina skipping across the parking lot.

In the car, police would later find notes that mentioned “tak(ing) Melina to end” and “end(ing) her suffering.” 4:35 p.m.— As the two ordered, they appeared to stand comfortably side-by-side, Frattolin playfighting with his daughter for an instant before they sat down to eat. Melina played mobile games as she ate her fries. Melina was wearing pink shorts and a black-and-white striped shirt: the clothes her body would later be found in.

— The pair left McDonald’s and started driving north, towards Montreal. — Melina, whose phone recorded over 8,000 app uses over the trip, used her phone for the last time. — Melina spoke with Galanis on her father’s phone and did not appear to be under duress, police would later report.

— Frattolin exited the northbound interstate towards Schroon Lake, a large body of water in the Adirondacks region. Frattolin drove along the lake and back, returning to the interstate less than 30 minutes later. This time, he was heading south, away from Montreal.