Authorities say a 9-year-old Canadian girl found dead in a New York pond was drowned. Preliminary autopsy results released Tuesday classify her death as a homicide. Police arrested her father,

The preliminary findings of the autopsy, which were released on Tuesday by New York State Police, found Melina Frattolin died by asphyxia due to drowning and her death was a homicide.

Residents of an upstate New York town gathered Tuesday night to shed tears and light candles for a nine-year-old Montreal girl whose body was found in their community over the weekend.

Melina's father, Luciano Frattolin, was arrested Monday and faces charges of second-degree murder and concealment of a corpse.

Luciano Frattolin has been charged with murdering his 9-year-old daughter Melina Frattolin, New York State Police officials announced July 21. Melina Frattolin was found dead in Upstate New York on July 20 after Luciano Frattolin reported her abducted the previous night,