She had not wanted to be there in case Frattolin testified, said Langey. Melina Frattolin’s body was found last year in a marsh in a rural area of New York, partially covered by a fallen tree with a large rock on her chest. The girl and her father were nearing the end of a weeklong trip in the United States when Frattolin reported his daughter missing on July 19, 2025. Frattolin reported his daughter had been kidnapped by two men who drove off in a white van, but investigators later arrested him for the child’s murder. He added the police did not do enough to track the van when Frattolin reported the abduction, instead turning immediately to him as their suspect, and that they overlooked key evidence.