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When 18-year-old Catina Rose Salarno arrived at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, to begin her freshman year in September 1979, she thought she was starting life anew. She had broken up with her high school sweetheart, Steven Burns, and was excited to pursue her dream of becoming a dentist. But on her first day of college, he surprised her by showing up on campus. He asked to meet her for one last time later that evening, said Catina Salarno’s college roommate, Joanne Marks.
“She was not looking forward to meeting with him, but she was looking forward to it being the last time,” Marks told “48 Hours” correspondent Erin Moriarty in “The Boy Across the Street.” “She believed that he would stop bothering her,” said Marks.
Around 8 p.m. that evening, Burns led Catina Salarno to a dark and secluded part of campus to talk about their relationship. But when she refused to get back together with him, he pulled a gun from his waistband and shot Catina in the back of the head, leaving her to slowly bleed to death.
“My whole world got taken from me in, really, the flash of the gun, I mean, everything was gone. My life was never the same again,” Catina Salarno’s youngest sister, Nina Salarno, told “48 Hours.” She was only 14 years old when Burns was convicted of second-degree murder in 1980, but her sister’s death and its aftermath changed the course of her life.
Nina Salarno went on to become a prosecutor specializing in domestic violence cases and has served as the district attorney in Modoc County, California, since 2023. “I chose … to make that my career because I believed, like my sister, so many victims are either not heard, afraid to be heard, or just don’t understand the magnitude of what’s happening to them,” she said.
Salarno family
In 1977, Burns and his family moved across the street from the Salarnos’ San Francisco home, and a romance blossomed between Catina Salarno and Burns – both sophomores in high school. While Catina Salarno attended the all-girls high school, Burns became the captain of his school’s football team. Burns had a strained relationship with his own father, and the Salarnos took him in as one of their own. He was someone each member of the family grew to trust.
By the end of their senior year, Catina Salarno wanted to break off their romantic relationship. When she started to pull away from Burns, his demeanor towards Catina became more aggressive, said Nina Salarno. And that behavior continued to escalate. Both of Catina’s sisters told “48 Hours” about troubling incidents when Burns had threatened to kill Catina. But Nina Salarno said Catina never took those threats seriously. Neither did her sisters.
“We just figured he was just saying it. And because of what our relationship was over the years, why would we believe that?” Catina’s middle sister, Regina Salarno-Novello, told “48 Hours.” “He enjoyed being part of the family. Why would he destroy a family that he loved?”
Nina Salarno said it’s common for victims to miss the warning signs.
“I think this is what’s really hard for domestic violence victims — they really don’t think the person’s gonna kill them … in a lot of the situations they think … they know this person … And I think that’s exactly what happened with Catina is she just figured his comment was just his comment. Even though he had made threats, she could handle it, ‘he’s never gonna cross that line’ type thing,” she said.
Which is why Catina Salarno agreed to meet Burns that night, Nina Salarno said.
“I think she gained strength as she was leaving the relationship … she was not gonna let him ruin where she was headed or interfere with her life anymore. And so that’s why I believe she went out to meet him,” Nina Salarno said. “And I think she did probably one of the most courageous acts. But also in the history of domestic violence in relationships, it’s the most dangerous time. And unfortunately, she was killed.”
According to Nina Salarno, once an abuser starts to feel like they have lost control over their partner, she says that is when the highest rate of injury or murder occurs in a domestic violence relationship. Nina Salarno emphasizes the importance of avoiding these “last time” encounters by urging victims to make a clean break from their abuser and avoiding situations where they might be alone with them.
“I think the biggest thing that a victim needs to realize is once they make that break, you’ve gotta make that break. Don’t go meet them by yourself, don’t take the phone calls, don’t take the texts. Cut it off,” Nina said. “Everything you can do to prevent being one-on-one with that person.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence or the threat of domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline for help at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).
