ELIZABETHTOWN, NY (WRGB) — A Canadian man accused of killing his 9-year-old daughter and dumping her body in a pond in Ticonderoga pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and concealment of a human corpse in Essex County Court on Wednesday.
Luciano Frattolin, 45, was arraigned in front of a grand jury. Prosecutors say Frattolin, who was visiting the United States at the time, killed his daughter Melina and left her body in a pond during what began as a family vacation.
Frattolin, who resides in Canada, is a dual citizen of Ethiopia and Italy. Legal experts say that international background may make the case more complex — and may have played a role in the judge’s decision to deny him bail.
“The judge decided not to release him because he has no ties to New York State or the community,” said Paul DerOhannesian, a criminal defense attorney based in Albany. “He’s a foreign citizen, and the problems of getting someone back if they flee are complicated.”
DerOhannesian also noted that cross-border elements of the case — including gathering information from outside the U.S. — may delay the trial process.
“You can’t just subpoena records in a foreign country,” he said. “Getting information, getting witnesses is s going to become more difficult and time consuming.”
The trial is currently scheduled for January, but both prosecution and defense attorneys say that timeline could shift depending on the volume of evidence and legal motions ahead.
“Most cases like this involve a lot of evidence and are complex,” DerOhannesian said. “The defense needs as much time as possible and the judge setting a trial date in this case doesn’t necessarily mean that’s when the trail is going to be.”
In small communities like Elizabethtown and Ticonderoga, attorneys say finding an impartial jury could prove difficult — though a change of venue is considered unlikely.
“From the defense perspective, it’s very important to try to weed through and find someone who actually has no idea about the case,” said Matt Winchell, an associate attorney at Tully Rinckey PLLC.
However, DerOhannesian added that media coverage and the widespread Amber Alert issued at the time of the incident could make moving the trial ineffective.
“Nowadays, the internet overrides everything,” he said. “It’s hard to find a place where people haven’t heard about a case like this.”
While a plea deal remains a possibility, attorneys believe it’s still early in the process.
“There’s likely to be a lot of discovery in the case,” Winchell said. “And he could plead based on a mental health defense.”
