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N.Y. police reviewed phone data showing over 200,000 locations in murder probe
Investigators used licence-plate cameras and AI to trace the rented Prius, but found no evidence linking white vans to the girl’s disappearance.
On Thursday, New York State Police investigator Ryan Munks told a jury that authorities compiled over 200,000 location data points from Luciano Frattolin's phone during the investigation into nine-year-old Melina Frattolin's death, calling the dataset uniquely large.
Analyst Andrew Munson testified that data showed Frattolin's phone remained stationary beside a country road for about an hour before he reported Melina missing, revealing a significant discrepancy in the defendant's account.
Investigators used AI to review license-plate images of white vans, finding no evidence of criminal activity, which contradicts Frattolin's abduction claim; defense attorneys questioned the accuracy of the AI tools during cross-examination.
Munks testified that digital records show Melina messaged her mother shortly before she disappeared to contact a friend, establishing a clear timeline of the victim's activity in the moments preceding her disappearance.
Facing charges of second-degree murder and concealment of a human corpse, Frattolin has pleaded not guilty and has been held without bail since his arrest last July, following his daughter's death before her scheduled return to Montreal.