LATHAM, N.Y. (AP) — A man whose 9-year-old daughter was found dead in a wooded pond after he reported that she had been abducted while they were they were vacationing in upstate New York was charged Monday with murder.
Luciano Frattolin, 45, of Montreal is charged with murdering and concealing the corpse of his daughter, Melina Frattolin, according to New York State Police.
A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf at his arraignment Monday, according to court officials. The public defender’s office assigned to defend Frattolin did not immediately respond to phone and email requests for comment from The Associated Press.
Luciano Frattolin called 911 Saturday night and later told authorities his daughter had been abducted from a parking lot near Lake George, a resort town in the Adirondack region, authorities said. That led officials to issue an Amber Alert overnight to enlist the public's help in finding her.
But authorities said there were inconsistencies in the father’s account, and that they concluded there was no evidence she had been taken.
Frattolin initially said he could not find his child after he stepped out of a wooded area at a parking lot near Lake George.
“During a subsequent interview, he then reports two unknown males forced her into a white van,” New York State Police Capt. Robert McConnell said. “That lead was thoroughly investigated and disproven.”
Surveillance video shows the father and daughter in another nearby resort town, Saratoga Springs, at about 5:30 p.m. Saturday. The girl spoke on the phone with her mother about an hour later and did not indicate she was under duress, police said.
Police believe Frattolin killed the girl after the phone call and before he made the 911 call.
Forest rangers found the girl’s body on Sunday afternoon in the shallows of a pond about 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of Lake George, in Ticonderoga, authorities said. The criminal complaint said Frattolin concealed her body under a log.
An autopsy has been scheduled.
Police said the father and daughter had been vacationing since July 11 in the U.S. and were expected back in Montreal that weekend. The girl lived in Montreal with her mother, who has been estranged from Luciano Frattolin since 2019, police said.
Frattolin did not respond to requests for comment sent via LinkedIn, Instagram and his company website over the weekend. He described himself as a “loving father” on his Instagram profile, and on the website of a coffee company said to be founded by him, a post says that his daughter Melina is “the light of his life.”
Police said Frattolin had no prior criminal or domestic violence history.
Associated Press reporter Cedar Attanasio in New York City contributed.
This undated booking photo provided by the New York State Police shows Luciano Frattolin, who is charged with murder and concealing of a corpse in the death of his daughter, Melina Frattolin. (New York State Police via AP)
New York State Police Capt. Robert McConnell speaks at a news conference, Monday, July 21, 2025, in Latham, N.Y., about the arrest of a Canadian man who reported his 9-year-old daughter missing in upstate New York. (Associated Press/Michael Hill)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is meeting with oil executives at the White House on Friday in hopes of securing $100 billion in investments to revive Venezuela’s ability to fully tap into its expansive reserves of petroleum — a plan that rides on their comfort in making commitments in a country plagued by instability, inflation and uncertainty.
Since the U.S. military raid to capture former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, Trump has quickly pivoted to portraying the move as a newfound economic opportunity for the U.S., seizing tankers carrying Venezuelan oil, saying the U.S. is taking over the sales of 30 million to 50 million barrels of previously sanctioned Venezuelan oil and will be controlling sales worldwide indefinitely.
On Friday, U.S. forces seized their fifth tanker over the past month that has been linked to Venezuelan oil. The action reflected the determination of the U.S. to fully control the exporting, refining and production of Venezuelan petroleum, a sign of the Trump administration's plans for ongoing involvement in the sector as it seeks commitments from private companies.
It's all part of a broader push by Trump to keep gasoline prices low. At a time when many Americans are concerned about affordability, the incursion in Venezuela melds Trump’s assertive use of presidential powers with an optical spectacle meant to convince Americans that he can bring down energy prices.
The meeting, set for 2:30 p.m. EST, will be open to the news media, according to an update to the president's daily schedule. “At least 100 Billion Dollars will be invested by BIG OIL, all of whom I will be meeting with today at The White House,” Trump said Friday in a pre-dawn social media post.
Trump is set to meet with executives from 17 oil companies, according to the White House. Among the companies attending are Chevron, which still operates in Venezuela, and ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, which both had oil projects in the country that were lost as part of a 2007 nationalization of private businesses under Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez.
The president is meeting with a wide swath of domestic and international companies with interests ranging from construction to the commodity markets. Other companies slated to be at the meeting include Halliburton, Valero, Marathon, Shell, Singapore-based Trafigura, Italy-based Eni and Spain-based Repsol.
Large U.S. oil companies have so far largely refrained from affirming investments in Venezuela as contracts and guarantees need to be in place. Trump has suggested on social media that America would help to backstop any investments.
Venezuela’s oil production has slumped below one million barrels a day. Part of Trump's challenge to turn that around will be to convince oil companies that his administration has a stable relationship with Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez, as well as protections for companies entering the market.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum are slated to attend the oil executives meeting, according to the White House.
Meanwhile, the United States and Venezuelan governments said Friday they were exploring the possibility of r estoring diplomatic relations between the two countries, and that a delegation from the Trump administration arrived to the South American nation on Friday.
The small team of U.S. diplomats and diplomatic security officials traveled to Venezuela to make a preliminary assessment about the potential re-opening of the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, the State Department said in a statement.
Trump also announced on Friday he’d meet with President Gustavo Petro in early February, but called on the Colombian leader to make quick progress on stemming flow of cocaine into the U.S.
Trump, following the ouster of Maduro, had made vague threats to take similar action against Petro. Trump abruptly changed his tone Wednesday about his Colombian counterpart after a friendly phone call in which he invited Petro to visit the White House.
President Donald Trump waves as he walks off stage after speaking to House Republican lawmakers during their annual policy retreat, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
