A Canadian man who claimed his 9-year-old daughter was kidnapped on Saturday during a trip in New York has been charged with her murder.

State Police believe Luciano Frattolin killed Melina Frattolin shortly after she spoke to her mother on the phone. Police Captain Robert McConnell said the father “fabricated” a story about two men in a van abducting his daughter while he urinated on the side of the road, according to the Times Union.

Luciano Frattolin called 911 about three hours after his daughter spoke with her mother on the phone. He is believed to have killed his daughter and left her body in the shallow end of a pond in Ticonderoga — where it was found on Sunday.

The Frattolins were expected to return to Montreal on Sunday. Police said Melina Frattolin lived with her mother as her parents have been estranged since 2019, according to the New York Post.

Melina Frattolin’s cause of death is undisclosed. Her father is charged with second-degree murder and unlawful disposal of a body.

[Feature Photo: Essex County Jail ]