CEO accused of murdering daughter, 9, had 'condoms and confession' in car

CEO accused of murdering daughter, 9, had 'condoms and confession' in car Prosecutors allege Luciano Frattolin, 45, murdered his nine-year-old daughter Melina in New York on the day she was due to return home to his ex-wife in Canada A coffee CEO accused of murdering his nine-year-old daughter had condoms and a series of disturbing notes in his car, including one titled "confession", a trial heard. Luciano Frattolin, 45, told police the youngster had been kidnapped by men in a white van before she was found dead in the shallow water of a pond in Ticonderoga, New York, last July. Prosecutors allege the businessman, who is the head of Canadian coffee company Gambella, dumped Melina Frattolin's body in a muddy swamp in the Adirondacks before detectives found inconsistencies in his account. Authorities previously said the father and daughter travelled through Connecticut and New York before Melina was scheduled to return home to her mum in Quebec. A court heard the father had multiple condoms stashed inside bags in a rental car he was using on the trip. State police investigator Jacalyn Sommer told Essex County Court jurors on Thursday that two stained pairs of underpants belonging to Melina showed signs of "seminal fluid". A shirt and shorts belonging to Frattolin allegedly had signs of the same fluid, the court heard. Prosecutors allege that on the day Melina was supposed to return home, Frattolin staged her disappearance to cover up her death. He has been charged with second-degree murder and concealing a human corpse in connection to the death. A document titled "closure/confession" was found in the grey Toyota Prius that Frattolin had rented, jurors were told on Thursday. The note appeared to be a draft press release directed at Canadian media in which Frattolin labelled his ex-wife Kali Galanis "the queen of evil". "You were not supposed to be a mother for a reason," Frattolin said in the letter, which was reportedly written in the case that he was able to secure custody of Melina. "Death is better than living with you," he wrote. "Your Dad is the only one who can control you." Frattolin added: "The problem was never me [...] It was always your mental illness". Prosecutors claim the businessman also penned a "father's report" with details spanning 10 years. The document, which was discovered in the vehicle's glovebox, included notes for a "Plan A" and "Plan B". Frattolin also had photos of his ex-wife, Galanis, as well as baby pictures of Melina. Among his belongings were user manuals for a Porsche, authorities said. New York State police said Frattolin's smartphone had recorded more than 200,000 location data points as part of their investigation into Melina's death. Galanis previously told the court that Frattolin wanted to take Melina to his native Ethiopia for two weeks in January 2025, but that the child "didn't want to go". The mum said she had grown worried about these plans as her lawyer had mentioned cases involving estranged spouses who took their children to other countries and failed to return. Galanis noted that Melina had revealed "other troubling and alarming things" about her father. "I became uncomfortable," Galanis testified. "I was not OK with that anymore." The trial continues.