A Canadian man who claimed his 9-year-old daughter was kidnapped on Saturday during a trip in New York has been charged with her murder.

State Police suspect that Luciano Frattolin was responsible for the death of Melina Frattolin soon after she had a phone conversation with her mother. Police Captain Robert McConnell mentioned that the father invented a story claiming that two men in a van had kidnapped his daughter while he was relieving himself by the roadside, as reported by the Times Union.

Luciano Frattolin contacted 911 approximately three hours after his daughter’s call with her mother. He is suspected of killing her and leaving her body in a pond’s shallow area in Ticonderoga, where it was discovered on Sunday.

The Frattolins were scheduled to go back to Montreal on Sunday. According to the New York Post, Melina Frattolin resided with her mother since her parents had been separated since 2019.

Melina Frattolin’s cause of death is undisclosed. Her father is charged with second-degree murder and unlawful disposal of a body.

[Feature Photo: Essex County Jail ]