{"id":20629,"date":"2026-07-29T05:36:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T00:36:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=20629"},"modified":"2026-07-29T05:36:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T00:36:28","slug":"melina-frattolins-father-refuses-to-look-at-photos-of-her-body-at-murder-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=20629","title":{"rendered":"Melina Frattolin&#8217;s father refuses to look at photos of her body at murder trial"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div xmlns:default=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n<p>ELIZABETHTOWN, New York \u2013 Little Melina Frattolin drowned to death in fetid water \u2014 her lungs, airway and stomach filled with mud, debits and plants, a forensics expert testified Tuesday as her father faces trial for her murder.<\/p>\n<p>Jurors were forced to look at gruesome photos of Melina\u2019s corpse. <\/p>\n<p>However, Luciano Frattolin \u2014 who is on trial for murdering her \u2014 refused to look and shielded his gaze from the screens in the courtroom as he wrote on a legal pad.<\/p>\n<p>The 9-year-old Montreal girl was found covered in a \u201clarge amount of mud\u201d in a knee-deep stream a few miles from Lake George, Dr. Michael Sikirica, said telling the courtroom \u201cthis case is definitely a drowning case.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><button class=\"button button--modal-trigger\" aria-label=\"Open the image in a modal.\" data-modal-image=\"40116484\"><br \/>\n\t<default:svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"icon-plus\" fill=\"#fff\" viewbox=\"0 0 1033 1000\" width=\"1em\" height=\"1em\"><default:path d=\"M380 364V0h273v355h380v290H653v355H380V645H0V355h380v9z\"\/><\/default:svg><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<img style=\"aspect-ratio:0.74133333;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"40116484\" width=\"437\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/melina-galanis-frattolin-ny-cops-135785032_37beda.jpg\" alt=\"Photograph of Melina Galanis Frattolin.\" class=\"wp-image-40116484\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/melina-galanis-frattolin-ny-cops-135785032_37beda.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 556w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/melina-galanis-frattolin-ny-cops-135785032_37beda.jpg?resize=222,300&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 222w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/melina-galanis-frattolin-ny-cops-135785032_37beda.jpg?resize=445,600&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 445w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/melina-galanis-frattolin-ny-cops-135785032_37beda.jpg?resize=437,589&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 437w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/melina-galanis-frattolin-ny-cops-135785032_37beda.jpg?resize=368,496&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 368w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/melina-galanis-frattolin-ny-cops-135785032_37beda.jpg?resize=477,644&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 477w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/melina-galanis-frattolin-ny-cops-135785032_37beda.jpg?resize=364,491&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 364w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/melina-galanis-frattolin-ny-cops-135785032_37beda.jpg?resize=209,282&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 209w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/melina-galanis-frattolin-ny-cops-135785032_37beda.jpg?resize=153,206&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 153w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/melina-galanis-frattolin-ny-cops-135785032_37beda.jpg?resize=53,71&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 53w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/melina-galanis-frattolin-ny-cops-135785032_37beda.jpg?resize=30,40&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 30w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/melina-galanis-frattolin-ny-cops-135785032_37beda.jpg?resize=52,70&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 52w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/melina-galanis-frattolin-ny-cops-135785032_37beda.jpg?resize=40,54&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 40w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/melina-galanis-frattolin-ny-cops-135785032_37beda.jpg?resize=148,200&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 148w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/melina-galanis-frattolin-ny-cops-135785032_37beda.jpg?resize=231,312&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 231w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/melina-galanis-frattolin-ny-cops-135785032_37beda.jpg?resize=322,434&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 322w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/melina-galanis-frattolin-ny-cops-135785032_37beda.jpg?resize=300,405&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 300w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/melina-galanis-frattolin-ny-cops-135785032_37beda.jpg?resize=327,441&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 327w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/melina-galanis-frattolin-ny-cops-135785032_37beda.jpg?resize=44,60&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 44w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/melina-galanis-frattolin-ny-cops-135785032_37beda.jpg?resize=59,80&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 59w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/melina-galanis-frattolin-ny-cops-135785032_37beda.jpg?resize=43,58&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 43w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/melina-galanis-frattolin-ny-cops-135785032_37beda.jpg?resize=116,156&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 116w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/melina-galanis-frattolin-ny-cops-135785032_37beda.jpg?resize=37,50&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 37w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 437px) 100vw, 437px\"\/><figcaption>Kali Galanis, Melina\u2019s mother, testified that she sent her this picture Saturday, hours before she was supposed to be returned to Montreal by her Father, Luciano Frattolin. <span class=\"credit\">New York State Police<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThe lungs were just full of black material, basically mud and plant debris,\u201d Sikirica testified.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>As he spoke, the courtroom was shown the first sickening photos of her pale lifeless body as it was recovered from Paragon Brook, near Eagle Lake in Essex County on on July 20, 2025.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was obvious quickly that her lungs were hyper expanded,\u201d the seasoned medical examiner said, noting that tissue samples showed black plant material deep within her lungs, a sign her airway was blocked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere was a stone placed on her body in the water,\u201d Sikirica confirmed, noting the large scratch on her stomach as well as some small bruises on her neck and shoulder.<\/p>\n<p>Luciano Frattolin is <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/07\/27\/us-news\/accused-killer-dad-lucian-frattolin-made-chilling-claim-about-how-it-wouldve-been-easier-to-murder-daughter-melina-9-overseas-testimony\/\">accused of killing her<\/a> and trying to cover up the sick crime by reporting her kidnapped near Lake George as the pair drove home to Montreal.<\/p>\n<p>Melina\u2019s body was found by New York Forest Rangers the day after her father was reported her missing, claiming she had been taken a stranger.<\/p>\n<p>She was submerged in knee deep water, her colorless legs seen perturbing out from under a log with the boulder sitting atop her torso.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><button class=\"button button--modal-trigger\" aria-label=\"Open the image in a modal.\" data-modal-image=\"40116490\"><br \/>\n\t<default:svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"icon-plus\" fill=\"#fff\" viewbox=\"0 0 1033 1000\" width=\"1em\" height=\"1em\"><default:path d=\"M380 364V0h273v355h380v290H653v355H380V645H0V355h380v9z\"\/><\/default:svg><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.53984962;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"40116490\" width=\"909\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/2025-elizabethtown-n-y-frattolin-108974854_493109.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Luciano Frattolin in a courtroom, facing charges in connection with his daughter's death.\" class=\"wp-image-40116490\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/2025-elizabethtown-n-y-frattolin-108974854_493109.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 3550w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/2025-elizabethtown-n-y-frattolin-108974854_493109.jpg?resize=300,195&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 300w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/2025-elizabethtown-n-y-frattolin-108974854_493109.jpg?resize=768,499&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 768w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/2025-elizabethtown-n-y-frattolin-108974854_493109.jpg?resize=1024,665&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/2025-elizabethtown-n-y-frattolin-108974854_493109.jpg?resize=1536,997&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/2025-elizabethtown-n-y-frattolin-108974854_493109.jpg?resize=2048,1330&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 2048w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/2025-elizabethtown-n-y-frattolin-108974854_493109.jpg?resize=600,390&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 600w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/2025-elizabethtown-n-y-frattolin-108974854_493109.jpg?resize=878,570&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 878w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/2025-elizabethtown-n-y-frattolin-108974854_493109.jpg?resize=744,483&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 744w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/2025-elizabethtown-n-y-frattolin-108974854_493109.jpg?resize=576,374&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 576w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/2025-elizabethtown-n-y-frattolin-108974854_493109.jpg?resize=440,286&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 440w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/2025-elizabethtown-n-y-frattolin-108974854_493109.jpg?resize=424,275&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 424w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/2025-elizabethtown-n-y-frattolin-108974854_493109.jpg?resize=180,117&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 180w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/2025-elizabethtown-n-y-frattolin-108974854_493109.jpg?resize=107,69&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 107w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/2025-elizabethtown-n-y-frattolin-108974854_493109.jpg?resize=84,56&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 84w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/2025-elizabethtown-n-y-frattolin-108974854_493109.jpg?resize=62,40&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 62w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/2025-elizabethtown-n-y-frattolin-108974854_493109.jpg?resize=108,70&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 108w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/2025-elizabethtown-n-y-frattolin-108974854_493109.jpg?resize=83,54&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 83w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/2025-elizabethtown-n-y-frattolin-108974854_493109.jpg?resize=200,130&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 200w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/2025-elizabethtown-n-y-frattolin-108974854_493109.jpg?resize=231,150&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 231w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/2025-elizabethtown-n-y-frattolin-108974854_493109.jpg?resize=322,209&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 322w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/2025-elizabethtown-n-y-frattolin-108974854_493109.jpg?resize=664,431&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 664w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/2025-elizabethtown-n-y-frattolin-108974854_493109.jpg?resize=92,60&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 92w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/2025-elizabethtown-n-y-frattolin-108974854_493109.jpg?resize=123,80&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 123w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/2025-elizabethtown-n-y-frattolin-108974854_493109.jpg?resize=1200,779&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 1200w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/2025-elizabethtown-n-y-frattolin-108974854_493109.jpg?resize=87,56&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 87w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/2025-elizabethtown-n-y-frattolin-108974854_493109.jpg?resize=234,152&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 234w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/2025-elizabethtown-n-y-frattolin-108974854_493109.jpg?resize=50,32&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 909px) 100vw, 909px\"\/><figcaption>Luciano Frattolin has pleaded not guilty to charges that he murdered his daughter, Melina, in the Adirondacks last July. <span class=\"credit\">Hans Pennink<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Melina\u2019s mom, Kali Galanis, took the stand earlier Tuesday where she <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/07\/28\/us-news\/melina-frattolins-mom-reveals-daughter-was-afraid-to-take-trip-with-dad-before-she-was-killed\/\">told jurors<\/a> that her nine-year-old \u201cdidn\u2019t want to go\u201d with her dad on an trip to his native Ethiopia as he\u2019d originally wanted earlier that year.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors are expected to continue calling witnesses when the trial resumes Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ELIZABETHTOWN, New York \u2013 Little Melina Frattolin drowned to death in fetid water \u2014 her lungs, airway and stomach filled with mud, debits and plants, a forensics expert testified Tuesday as her father faces trial for her murder. Jurors were forced to look at gruesome photos of Melina\u2019s corpse. However, Luciano Frattolin \u2014 who is&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20630,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/newspress-collage-wuo2c8yb0-1785285024031.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&1785270675&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20629\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}