The trial of a Canadian coffee entrepreneur accused of drowning his 9-year-old daughter in an upstate New York pond kicked off Thursday with prosecutors outlining a disturbing timeline — while the defense insisted the case is “entirely circumstantial.”

Luciano Frattolin, 46, of Montreal is accused of making a bogus kidnapping report after allegedly killing the little girl, Melina, while on a trip to the Lake George area last July.

In opening statements,  prosecutor Carrie Daly described how Frattolin allegedly “changed his story” every time authorities fact-checked him — and was seen at a McDonald’s suspiciously changing his clothes following the alleged drowning, according to The Montreal Gazette.

Luciano Frattolin is led into Essex County Court in Elizabethtown, NY on July 23, 2026. Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP Frattolin was charged with second-degree murder for allegedly downing his daughter in a pond. Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP

Frattolin’s wet clothing and shoes were later found in a garbage bag dumped in the woods off highway I-87 upstate, Daly said in Essex County criminal court in Elizabethtown Thursday morning.

Prosecutors said Frattolin believed his daughter suffered from mental illness and claimed he had been planning to end her life since early 2025,  according to CBS 6 Albany.

“The People intend to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that this defendant drowned her. After the murder, the defendant concealed [Melina’s] body by placing a large rock on it,” Daly said.

The accused killer dad’s defense attorney Brian Pilatzke, meanwhile, insisted Melina had in fact been kidnapped — and slammed the case as riddled with weak evidence.

Luciano Frattolin seen leaving Essex County Courthouse on Thursday. Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP Frattolin appeared to flash a smile after the first day of his murder trial. Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP

“This is a tragedy,” Pilatzke said in his opening statement to the jury. “A young child is gone. Your duty is to decide whether Mr. Frattolin is guilty.”

“This case is based entirely on circumstantial evidence. Melina was kidnapped. When he called 911, the operator couldn’t understand his English,” Pilatzke said of Frattolin, who is a dual citizen of Ethiopia and Italy.

“Luciano fully cooperated with law enforcement,” Pilatzke said. “Luciano begged them to find his daughter.”

Frattolin with his daughter Melina. Instagram/Luciano Frattolin

State police last year said they found inconsistencies in the father’s story after he reported his daughter had been abducted before he could return her to her mother in Montreal.

They later found her body hidden under a log in a remote pond near Ticonderoga. Her cause of death was asphyxiation by drowning.

Luciano Frattolin is accused of drowning Melina Galanis Frattolin in an upstate pond. New York State Police

Frattolin was charged with second-degree murder and concealment of a human corpse, and has pleaded not guilty to both charges.

Frattolin, who was born in Ethiopia, previously claimed to have a high-flying lifestyle as a coffee company owner but told a judge last summer he was broke and couldn’t afford a lawyer.

Frattolin had gushed about Melina on his corporate bio page for his Montreal-based java company, Gabella Coffee, calling her “beautiful” and “the light of his life.’’