CBC Lite Sections News • Canada • Montreal Montreal father's phone location led police to daughter's body, jury in New York trial hears Erika Morris | The Canadian Press | Posted: July 23, 2026 1:02 PM | Last Updated: July 24 Luciano Frattolin charged with 2nd-degree murder and concealment of a human corpse Image | Cda-US-Child-Death 20260723 Caption: Luciano Frattolin is brought into Essex County Court in Elizabethtown, N.Y., on Thursday, July 23, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press) (BUTTON) Load image Open image in new tab A New York jury heard that police found the body of a nine-year-old girl from Montreal in a marsh after investigators reviewed her father's cellphone location history. Luciano Frattolin, 46, is charged with second-degree murder and concealment of a human corpse in the death of his daughter, Melina Frattolin. The child's body was found in the shallow part of a pond in the woods of Ticonderoga in a rural area of New York on July 20, 2025. Frattolin has pleaded not guilty to both charges and has been held without bail since his arrest soon after his daughter's body was found. Lt. Robert Smith of the Warren County Sheriff's Department testified on Thursday afternoon that he made his way to Ticonderoga in the morning after spending the night trying to locate the missing girl. The jury heard a recording of a 911 call by Frattolin to the Warren Country Sheriff's Department around 10 p.m. on July 19. In the recording, Frattolin told an operator his daughter was kidnapped by suspects who drove off in a white van. * Jury hears tape from police search at trial of Montreal man accused of killing his daughter Officers met with Frattolin and brought him to the sheriff's office to get information and put out an Amber Alert. Smith obtained Frattolin's consent to search his car as well as his and his daughter's cellphones. "I told him that maybe [searching] the phones would help," Smith told the jury. "Ultimately, it did." WATCH | Montreal man accused of killing his 9-year-old daughter: Media Video | The National : Caption: Lawyers made opening statements in the murder trial of Montreal man Luciano Fattolin, who is accused of killing his nine-year-old daughter during a trip to New York state in 2025. Open full embed in new tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage than loading CBC Lite story pages. The court was shown footage of Smith's interactions with Frattolin in the interrogation room. Smith described Frattolin as "co-operative, friendly, calm and composed." The Amber Alert went out around 1 a.m. and Smith told the court that officers had spent the night stopping white vans. By the next morning, Smith said police had noted discrepancies in Frattolin's reported location and data on his phone. Smith said he made his way to Ticonderoga after police learned Frattolin had been there with his daughter the previous day. * Trial postponed until July for Montreal father accused of killing 9-year-old daughter in N.Y. * Father accused of killing 9-year-old daughter in Upstate New York denied bail Smith noticed a white van with Florida plates was parked near a hiking trail near where the girl's body was found. He told the court he noted the plate numbers and sent the information to New York State Police. Though police had new leads, he said he felt it was important to follow up on the white van. Smith testified after Carrie Daly, first assistant district attorney for Essex County, presented her opening statements in the case, alleging Frattolin had tried to mislead authorities when he shared his account of the kidnapping. Frattolin allegedly changed clothes The prosecution also said Frattolin had changed his clothes during the day and that his old clothes and shoes were found in a bag near the body. Frattolin was assigned public defenders to represent him in the case, Eric Weyand and Brian Pilatzke. During the defence's opening statement, Pilatzke alleged that police had failed to investigate evidence about a kidnapping after assuming Frattolin was guilty. The defence also argued New York police couldn't properly understand Frattolin as English is his third language. * Father of Montreal girl who was found dead in N.Y. charged with 2nd-degree murder In addition, Pilatzke said Frattolin had suffered a head injury in the past, which would explain the inconsistencies in his retelling of the events. The prosecution also introduced body camera footage from the patrol officer who first met with Frattolin on a roadside. "She's gone," Frattolin told the officer before handing him the girl's passport. Trial to resume Friday Frattolin was then brought to the sheriff's office to answer some questions and prepare the Amber Alert. Footage from the interrogation room was shown to the jury. While answering questions, Frattolin also voiced dissatisfaction with the custody agreement he had with his former partner and made accusations against her. * Montreal girl allegedly killed by father was drowned, initial autopsy finds The trial will resume Friday morning and the girl's mother is on a list of potential witnesses who could testify in the case. Judge Tatiana Coffinger is presiding over the case with a jury of 12 people and three replacement members. More Stories Like This The related links below are generated automatically based on the story you’ve just read. Loading... CBC Lite is a low-bandwidth website. To see what's new, check out our release notes. For high quality images, media, comments, and other additional features visit the full version of this story. 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