ELIZABETHTOWN — The Canadian espresso entrepreneur charged with drowning his 9-year-old daughter in Lake George final summer time chillingly instructed an investigator the way it “would’ve been simpler” to homicide the younger woman abroad, a jury heard Monday.
Accused killer Lucian Frattolin, 46, made the weird remark to New York State Police investigator Daniel Mauro following hours of grilling the morning after he claimed his daughter Melina had been kidnapped on July 19, 2025.
As the daddy’s story about how Melina was kidnapped started to unravel throughout 4 hours of questioning, Mauro requested Frattolin if he had any cause to kill his personal daughter, the investigator testified through the second week of the dad’s homicide trial in Essex County Courtroom.
Frattolin coolly responded that there’s no means he would do it within the US as a result of “it will have been loads simpler” in his native Ethiopia or Italy — the place he had twin citizenship, Mauro instructed the courtroom.
The roastmaster additionally tried to show the highlight onto his ex-wife and Melina’s mom, Kali Galanis, who he claimed was abusive to their 9-year-old through the red-flag-raising interview within the barracks of a Queensbury jail.
“The entire thing is so sophisticated. Kali was not imagined to be a mom,” Frattolin boldly revealed to investigators in an audio recording of the interrogation.
He additionally wrote that “Kali hit Melina” on a questionnaire he stuffed out within the interrogation room, Mauro testified.
The troubled dad — now dead-broke regardless of beginning Montreal-based espresso firm, Gabella Espresso — had instructed Mauro that he had met his ex-wife 10 years in the past with the objective of getting a child collectively, however issues turned bitter when Galanis allegedly began abusing their little one.
Frattolin mentioned that he needed to report the assault to Canadian police in order that his ex-wife, whom he claimed battles schizophrenia, would “lose custody” of Melina — however didn’t need sole custody of his daughter himself, in response to Mauro.
The finger-pointing comes after Friday’s testimony, which revealed the beginning of Frattolin’s vendetta towards his ex, when he contemplated with investigators whether or not his spouse was behind Melina’s abduction, ABC Information 10 reported.
“If she is behind this, she does this to make me appear to be a nasty particular person,” Frattolin could be heard saying on a recording with investigators.
The alleged killer — carrying a darkish grey swimsuit and a white costume shirt in court docket Monday — sat by testimony as Essex County prosecutors tried to indicate jurors how he “modified his story” each time authorities tried questioning him about his daughter’s disappearance.
Prosecutors have mentioned Frattolin made a bogus kidnapping report after allegedly drowning little Melina whereas on a visit to Lake George as a result of he thought his daughter suffered from psychological sickness and claimed that he needed to finish her life since early 2025.
Warren County Sheriff’s Workplace Investigator Sean Smith testified final week about responding to the scene — the place jurors have been proven footage of the chatty Canadian pelting cops with peculiar, pointed questions like whether or not or not close by interstate had cameras, and whether or not or not an AMBER Alert would attain Canada, ABC reported.
Frattolin’s legal professional, Brian Pilatzke, backed his shopper’s declare that Melina had been kidnapped — and has questioned the prosecution’s case, claiming the proof is weak.
State police final yr mentioned they first noticed inconsistencies within the father’s story after he reported his daughter had been kidnapped earlier than he might return her to her mom in Montreal.
Melina’s physique was discovered hidden beneath a log in a pond close to Brief Swing Path in Ticonderoga.
Authorities have mentioned the 9-year-old’s reason for loss of life was asphyxiation as a result of drowning.
Frattolin is charged with homicide within the second diploma and concealment of a human corpse. He has pleaded not responsible to all counts.
He faces as much as life in jail if convicted of second-degree homicide.
Investigator Mauro is predicted to renew testimony Monday afternoon.
