Jurors in the murder trial of Luciano Frattolin heard a heartbreaking final message from his alleged victim, his 9-year-old daughter Melina. A roughly 10-second video, recovered from Melina's cellphone and sent to her mother, Kali Galanis, at 4:27 p.m. on July 19, 2025, was played in court Thursday. The clip shows the smiling girl in the back seat of a car, appearing to show her mother that she had removed braids done before the trip.
Prosecutors allege Luciano Frattolin drowned his daughter later that evening during what had begun as a court-approved vacation. He has pleaded not guilty. Cell records indicate Melina and her father were en route to a McDonald's in Saratoga when she recorded the video. Galanis texted her daughter at 8:53 p.m. on July 19, asking her to call, during the timeframe prosecutors claim the girl was killed. Galanis repeatedly attempted to contact both Melina's and Frattolin's phones throughout the night and into the early morning of July 20.
Frattolin, 45, watched the video from the defense table, removing his glasses and looking down as it concluded. Earlier on Thursday, jurors were shown surveillance footage from a McDonald's in Wilton on July 19, 2025. The video depicted Frattolin and Melina arriving in a gray Toyota Prius and ordering food. Melina appeared engaged while using a self-service kiosk, tapping the touchscreen as her father stood nearby. The pair sat at a table for about an hour, during which Frattolin reportedly left the table twice for several minutes before returning. The footage shows them leaving together after Frattolin took a final sip of a drink.
Prosecutors contend that following their meal, Frattolin drove a circuitous route through the Adirondacks before allegedly drowning Melina and disposing of her body in a shallow pond near Ticonderoga. He then allegedly fabricated a kidnapping story that initiated a large-scale search across the region.