Melina Frattolin died drowned and was indeed the victim of a murder, according to the results of a preliminary autopsy unveiled on Tuesday. In the Ticonderoga region, in New York State, where the body of the little Quebecer was found on Sunday, citizens organized two evenings in the candles in her memory.
“Determination [de la cause du décès] And the final report will come after additional laboratory tests, “said New York State police in a statement.
The autopsy was carried out at the Glens Falls hospital by the Dr Michael Sikirica.
Luciano Frattolin, the father of the 9 -year -old Montreal, is accused of murder in 2e degree and have hidden a corpse. He pleaded not guilty on Monday morning at the Ticonderoga courthouse. He is currently detained at the Essex County penitentiary.
Photo provided by New York State police
Melina Frattolin died of asphyxiation by drowning, according to the results of her autopsy.
Two lookouts will take place at 8 p.m. Tuesday evening, the first at Percy Thompson Bicennial Park, in Ticonderoga, and the second in the Dock and Main streets, in Schroon Lake, about thirty kilometers away.
“I woke up today by feeling that I had to do something to honor this sweet girl, Melina Frattolin. So I ask you to join me and other people from our community, to shed light on our light the young life of Melina, who tragically ended, “wrote Bridgette Cruz, organizer of the candlelit vigil in Ticonderoga, on Facebook.
Ticonderoga will forever rest the rest of his soul. I want to honor his life and let him know that we will be his light in this dark period.
Bridgette Cruz, organizer of a candlelit vigil for Melina
The body of Melina Frattolin was found on Sunday July 20 around 1:50 p.m., in the shallow water of a pond, in a wooded of Ticonderoga. This city is approximately 1 hour 30 minutes in the south of the Canadian-American border.
Police ask for public help
Police asked Tuesday public help to get video evidence or find witnesses who would have seen the vehicle of Luciano Frattolin, a Gray Toyota 2024, in which the father and the daughter have traveled certain regions of the United States between July 11 and 19.
“I can say that we have received more than 700 public information,” said Stephanie O’Neil, a public information officer for New York State police. “We continue to follow all the tracks and information received. »»
As for the precise reconstruction of the father’s schedule, “I cannot develop more on the details of the current survey,” added the O’Neil agent.
The police pay particular attention to the information concerning the I-87 motorway between outings 20 and 28, direction Nord, on the evening of Saturday, July 19.
The last traces of Melina go back to that evening, around 6.30 p.m. The little girl spoke with her mother on the phone, told her that she was “along the way to Montreal”. The conversation seemed normal and the mother had to regain custody the same evening.
New York State police believe that Luciano Frattolin would have “killed Melina and left his body in an isolated place” on July 19, between 6:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Frattolin himself pointed out the disappearance of his daughter, near the tourist village of Lake George at 10 p.m. Saturday, claiming that she had been abducted by individuals in a white van. The authorities, finding no evidence for this purpose, did not believe in this version.
The accused, who holds the double Italian and Ethiopian citizenship, visited Canada a few months a year to see his daughter, who lived with his mother in Montreal.
He was heavily in debt, in addition to being involved in a legal dispute with a business partner who threatened to harm him as to his daughter’s guard.