Jurors in the murder trial of Luciano Frattolin heard testimony Thursday that included the final video message 9-year-old Melina Frattolin sent to her mother and surveillance footage of the father and daughter's last meal together.
Prosecutors allege Frattolin drowned his daughter on July 19, 2025, during what had begun as a court-approved vacation. He has pleaded not guilty. The girl's body was allegedly dumped in a shallow pond near Ticonderoga, and Frattolin then concocted a phony kidnapping story that prompted a large-scale search across the Adirondacks.
The roughly 10-second video, recovered from Melina's cellphone, was sent to her mother, Kali Galanis, at 4:27 p.m. on the day of her death. In the muted clip, Melina smiles into the camera, appearing to show her mother that she had removed two braids Galanis had done before the trip. Cell records indicate Melina and her father were on their way to a McDonald's in Saratoga when she recorded the video. Later that evening, at 8:53 p.m., Galanis texted her daughter, "Call me."
Jurors also viewed call logs showing Galanis repeatedly attempted to contact both Melina's cellphone and Frattolin's phone throughout the night of July 19 and into the early morning hours of July 20. As the video was played, Frattolin, 45, removed his glasses and looked down.
Surveillance video from a McDonald's in Wilton, recorded on July 19, 2025, showed Frattolin and Melina arriving in a gray Toyota Prius. The footage captured the pair ordering at a self-service kiosk, where Melina appeared engaged with the touchscreen, and her father stood beside her. They carried their food to a table, and Melina later moved to another. During their approximately hour-long visit, Frattolin twice left the table for several minutes. The video concluded with Frattolin taking a final sip of a drink, stretching, and leaving the restaurant with his daughter.
Prosecutors contend that Frattolin spent the subsequent hours driving a circuitous route through the Adirondacks before drowning Melina and abandoning her body in the pond.