Montreal man sentenced to life in prison after killing his daughter

A Montreal man who murdered his nine-year-old daughter last year has been sentenced to life in prison. Luciano Fratellin was convicted of second-degree murder and will serve his time in New York. That is where the crime occurred. Relatives of the girl say they're relieved. The CBC's Sarah Levitt has been following the story. She joins us live from Montreal. So, Sarah, what more do we know about the sentencing? Well, Andrew, this is the maximum sentence that can be given in New York State for second-degree murder. life in prison without a chance for parole for 25 years. Luciano Fratellin also sentenced to one to three years for concealment of a corpse to be served consecutively. Now, this started last summer. He was on a road trip with his nine-year-old daughter, Melina. Melina's mother had full custody. They had separated and we heard throughout the trial that it was a fraught separation. Nonetheless, he went on this road trip on the way back from New York City. He called police to say that Melina had been kidnapped. It wasn't long, though, that her body was found in a swamp near Ticonderoga, New York. The coroner determined that she had drowned two months ago in a court near Ticonderoga in New York State. A jury found Fratellin guilty. Here's what the director, the DA, had to say just following this sentencing. I believe the jury, after listening to all the evidence, saw his version of events as a story, that it wasn't true. our law enforcement and department of environmental conservation did a great job and they found her within less than a day so uh they were able to find him arrest him and we were lucky enough to get a conviction and he'll hopefully spend the rest of his life in prison and i understand that the judge had some harsh words for Fratellin at the sentencing what did she say yeah she really didn't mince words saying essentially uh that Fratellin's lies began before the murder of his daughter and continued throughout the trial uh telling him at one point her words were mr Fratellin you live in a world of self-delusion a self-made delusion of wealth and image and then goes on to say i hope at some point in your life you realize what you have done now throughout the trial, the jury heard how investigators pieced together what happened using methods like cell phone data and tracking of a vehicle. It took the jury just one hour to come back with those guilty verdicts. So again, he's been found or he's been sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole for 25 years. His defense, though, does say they have issued a notice of appeal. Sarah, thank you. That's a CBC Sarah Levitt live in Montreal.