Luciano Frattolin, the founder of organic coffee brand Gambella, has been convicted of murdering and hiding the body of his daughter Melina's death last year22:35, 10 Aug 2026Updated 22:49, 10 Aug 2026A coffee magnate has been found guilty of drowning his nine-year-old daughter in a shallow swamp to get revenge on his ex-wife.‌Luciano Frattolin, the founder of organic coffee brand Gambella, has been convicted of murdering and hiding the body of his daughter Melina's death last year.‌The 45-year-old from Montreal, Canada, had taken Melina on a trip across the north east of the US in the summer of 2025 in what prosecutors claimed was a ploy to kill his daughter so that he would no longer have to pay child support.‌He then lied to police officers that his daughter had been kidnapped, sparking a massive county-wide manhunt.The young girl's remains were then found on July 19, 2025 hidden under a log in a remote pond in the town of Ticonderoga, New York. Frattolin now faces life in prison after being convicted of second-degree murder and concealment of a body.Melina’s mum, Kali Galanis, had full custody over her after she ended a long distance relationship with Frattolin in 2019. She had allowed Melina to see her dad on trips each year like the one to New York City last year.‌Bizarre notes were left by Frattolin inside his rented car on the night he killed Melina where he spoke of "ending the madness". He talked of a “Luciano Frattolin 2.0,” who was with a “10/10 blonde” and bought a Porsche.“Let God decide. If you want to become famous. God, do not give me money until I end this evil. I mean big money, like two million,” he wrote in a note, reported the New York Post. “Don’t let Melina suffer anymore,” he wrote in another.‌Frattolin initially called police and 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 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 last year. “That lead was thoroughly investigated and disproven.”Surveillance video shows the father and daughter in another nearby resort town, Saratoga Springs. 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 contacted emergency services. Forest rangers found the girl’s body in the shallows of a pond about 30 miles north of Lake George, in Ticonderoga, authorities said.Article continues below