Girl, 9, pleaded not to go on trip with dad shortly before she met unimaginable fate, mom tells murder trial

Published: 23:32, 28 July 2026 | Updated: 23:32, 28 July 2026 Nine-year-old Melina Frattolin had pleaded with her father not to take her on a trip just months before she was found dead in upstate New York, the girl's heartbroken mother testified on Tuesday. Kali Galanis told jurors in Essex County, New Jersey that her ex, Luciano Frattolin, 45, wanted to take Melina to his native Ethiopia for two weeks in January 2025, but their daughter protested that 'she didn't want to go,' the New York Post reports.  Galanis also said she had become concerned about Frattolin's plans to travel overseas with Melina, as her lawyer mentioned cases in which estranged spouses take their children to other countries and refuse to return with them. The worried mother also noted there were other 'troubling and alarming things' that the young girl told her that her father said about her unwillingness to travel to the east African nation that Galanis ultimately decided not to allow Melina to go. 'I became uncomfortable,' she explained as Frattolin's murder trial continued. 'I was not OK with that anymore.' But after informing Frattolin of her decision, Galanis said he then suggested that he take Melina on a trip to New York. Galanis then relented, and in July 2025 Frattolin, of Montreal, took Melina on a trip across the Northeast United States. They were then due to return home on July 19. Instead, the young girl's remains were found that night hidden under a log in a remote pond in the town of Ticonderoga. Luciano Frattolin, 45, the founder of organic coffee brand Gambella, is facing charges of second-degree murder and concealment of a human corpse charges Prosecutors said Frattolin brought his nine-year-old daughter, Melina, on a trip to the United States in a ploy to kill her so he could avoid paying child support  Frattolin, the founder of organic coffee brand Gambella, is now facing charges of second-degree murder and concealment of a human corpse.  Prosecutors argue that the trip was just a ploy to kill Melina so that he would no longer have to pay child support. Frattolin also allegedly believed that both Galanis and Melina suffered from mental illness, and had been planning since early 2025 to end her suffering, CBS 6 Albany reports.   The coffee magnate has pleaded not guilty to the charges, as his defense maintains that the young girl was kidnapped that night – just like Frattolin originally claimed. He had called authorities at around 9.30pm on July 19, 2025 from Lake George, New York, claiming Melina was forced into a white van. Frattolin also said he chased the van for 15 to 20 minutes before he decided to stop in Warren County to make the call.  The report sparked a massive manhunt for Melina, as law enforcement officers stopped white vans throughout the region.  Melina's body was found hidden under a log in a remote pond in the town of Ticonderoga, New York on July 19, 2025 At first, prosecutors said Frattolin cooperated with the investigators by allowing them to search his vehicle and cellphone as well as Melina's phone. But Frattolin allegedly changed his story as investigators uncovered new evidence in the case. According to the prosecution, what officers had expected to be a brief drive to the alleged abduction site instead took hours, with Frattolin repeatedly redirecting officers. At one point, he even allegedly told the cops they traveled too far north on Interstate 87 when they approached Exit 28 – though his cellphone and vehicle data placed Frattolin in the area, where he stayed for nearly an hour. When he was then questioned about the stop, Frattolin allegedly told investigators that he and Melina had been looking for a place to hike or swim. Investigators also noted that Frattolin told them he had been unable to access his cellphone immediately after the abduction because it had fallen between the seats of his rental car. Yet prosecutors said there is evidence showing he had texted Galanis that Melina would be home in 10 minutes. By that point, however, Galanis was already becoming worried about her daughter. Prosecutors said Frattolin repeatedly revised his story when law enforcement officers presented him with new evidence  His defense attorney claims Frattolin deeply loved his daughter and painstakingly planned a weeklong vacation in the Northeast US She had been tracking the young girl through her phone, but after Melina and Frattolin stopped at a McDonald's in Saratoga Springs earlier in the night, she lost access. Authorities later discovered that the McDonald's was the last place the nine-year-old girl's phone showed any activity. Video footage from the restaurant also allegedly showed Frattolin wearing different clothes than what he was seen donning after reporting his daughter missing.  Officers later located his wet clothes and shoes in a garbage bag off of I-87. When the coffee guru was then questioned about Melina's disappearance, he admitted it 'would've been easier' to murder the young girl overseas, either in Italy or Ethiopia, New York State Police investigator Daniel Mauro testified on Monday. Frattolin's defense, though, plans to argue that the investigation was hindered by language barriers between the police and Frattolin, who lived in Canada but was a dual citizen of Ethiopia and Italy and carried an Italian passport. Warren County Assigned Counsel Administrator Brian Pilatzke also claimed in his opening statement last week that police waited three and a half hours to issue an Amber Alert, interrogated Frattolin for hours, misled him about the evidence, threatened him with physical violence and failed to seriously investigate any possibility other than the father's guilt. 'Luciano fully cooperated with law enforcement,' he said, describing Frattolin as a loving father. 'Luciano begged them to find his daughter.' He then told the jurors that if the prosecution fails to prove his client murdered his daughter beyond a reasonable doubt, Frattolin must be acquitted.