Accused killer dad made chilling claim about how it wouldve been easier to murder daughter Melina Frattolin, 9, overseas

ELIZABETHTOWN — The Canadian coffee entrepreneur charged with drowning his 9-year-old daughter in Lake George last summer chillingly told an investigator how it “would’ve been easier” to murder the young girl overseas, a jury heard Monday.Accused killer Lucian Frattolin, 46, made the bizarre comment 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 father’s story about how Melina was abducted began to unravel during four hours of questioning, Mauro asked Frattolin if he had any reason to kill his own daughter, the investigator testified during the second week of the dad’s murder trial in Essex County Court.

Frattolin coolly responded that there’s no way he would do it in the US because “it would have been a lot easier” in his native Ethiopia or Italy — where he had dual citizenship, Mauro told the courtroom.The roastmaster also tried to turn the spotlight onto his ex-wife and Melina’s mother, Kali Galanis, who he claimed was abusive to their 9-year-old during the red-flag-raising interview in the barracks of a Queensbury jail.“The whole thing is so complicated.Kali was not supposed to be a mother,” Frattolin boldly revealed to investigators in an audio recording of the interrogation.He also wrote that “Kali hit Melina” on a questionnaire he filled out in the interrogation room, Mauro testified.

The troubled dad — now dead-broke despite starting Montreal-based coffee company, Gabella Coffee — had told Mauro that he had met his ex-wife 10 years ago with the goal of having a kid together, but things turned sour when Galanis allegedly started abusing their child.Frattolin said that he wanted to report the assault to Canadian police so that his ex-wife, whom he claimed battles schizophrenia, would “lose custody” of Melina — but didn’t want sole custody of his daughter himself, according to Mauro.The finger-...