(NEW YORK ) — A father accused of killing his 9-year-old daughter in upstate New York and then falsely claiming she was kidnapped pleaded not guilty on Wednesday.

Luciano Frattolin, of Montreal, was arraigned in Essex County on an indictment charging him with second-degree murder and the concealment of a human corpse.

A judge ordered him held without bail. His next court appearance has been scheduled for Aug. 19, with a jury trial set to begin in January 2026.

Frattolin is accused of killing his daughter, Melina Galanis Frattolin, during a vacation to the U.S., concealing her body and fabricating a story that she was abducted.

Melina was found dead in a shallow pond in a remote area near Ticonderoga on July 20, a day after he reported that she was abducted when he pulled over to go int

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