Family's battle for justice has impacted victims' rights

This story originally aired on May 3, 2025. It shook the entire campus at the University of the Pacific. A freshman on her first day of college in 1979 was found unconscious, bleeding from her head, in a remote area of the school.

Her name was Catina Salarno . Harriet and Mike Salarno were getting ready for bed when the phone rang at their San Francisco home. Mike answered it.

His tone signaled the news. Harriet Salarno : I said … "what's wrong?" … he says, Catina has been shot and she's in the emergency room. The Salarnos' two younger daughters, Regina and Nina, rushed to their side.

Then the phone rang again. Harriet Salarno : And they said, "your daughter passed away." Nina Salarno : I don't think it can be described in words, what it's like to watch your mom collapse, crying. My dad, very, very strong man, but you could tell he was shaken to the core.

Regina Salarno-Novello : And life just stopped. … I literally … life stopped, completely stopped.' "48 Hours" first met the Salarno family in 1990. Harriet and Mike were making their weekly visit to Catina's resting place.

MIKE SALARNO (1990): I think coming out here and being able to talk to Catina gives me a peace of mind. Also that I can still communicate with my daughter, that it isn't, um, the final end. At the time, Catina had been gone for 10 years, and her family was just embarking on a decades-long journey to keep her killer behind bars.

MIKE SALARNO (to reporters outside 1990 parole hearing): It's the first skirmish in a long, long battle that this we started today. It was not a journey they had ever expected to make. Erin Moriarty : Harriet, did you and Michael really have kind of a — the perfect life as parents, three kids?

Harriet Salarno : Yes. To answer you, yes. We were so blessed.

Both Mike and Harriet were juvenile commissioners assigned by the city of San Francisco to mentor boys and girls. Their arms and home were always open, says Nina, the youngest daughter. Nina Salarno : I think the best way to describe it is it typified a middle-class American family that valued their faith, valued family, valued community as well.

They spent blissful summer days at the cabin in the mountains. Three carefree sisters with Catina leading the pack, says Regina, younger by 18 months. Regina Salarno-Novello : She was the heart and soul of the family.

… She had such a good heart. She loved being the older sister. Nina Salarno : [I] think the best way to describe Catina is she is that person every person should meet in their life.

She just brought an air of kindness. When Catina was 14, a new family, the Burns, moved in across the street in San Francisco. There were four children: a girl and three boys – all about the same age as the Salarno sisters.

Regina Salarno-Novello : And we were spying on them. So … we all made a big batch of cookies, giggled all the way across the street, knocked on the door, introduced ourselves, and gave 'em a batch of homemade cookies. Soon, the friendship between the oldest Salarno sister and the second oldest Burns brother blossomed into a young love.

Catina and Steven Burns started dating in the tenth grade. Erin Moriarty : How would you describe Steven Burns? Regina Salarno-Novello : Well, he was the big brother I never had, you know.

And for me it was like, God, I have a big brother. And I was — I just thought he was great because we got to go to the football games. Burns, who went to an all-boys Catholic school, was a star athlete and captain of the football team.

He and Nina, a basketball and volleyball player, bonded over their shared love of sports. Nina Salarno : I loved Steve. I idolized him.

… He was a great athlete. He coached my teams … He would help me with my shot, and he took the time to do that. Mike took Burns, who had a difficult relationship with his own dad, under his wing.

He not only mentored him, but he also gave him a job at his TV store delivering TVs. Regina Salarno-Novello : And my dad …who embraces everybody, brought him in and treated him as a son. Mike trusted him completely says Regina.

They all did. Erin Moriarty: Did you ever see anything that between Steve and Catina that worried you? Harriet Salarno: I have to tell you, I've given hours and hours of thought of that.

Why didn't I see this? What was it? Nina Salarno : You sometimes are close to people, you don't always see little signs or you ignore them.

But with hindsight, the sisters say, there were signs. In her senior year, Catina who'd been accepted to the University of the Pacific, wanted to break up with Steve. But he wasn't having it, says Regina.

He started threatening her. Regina Salarno-Novello : She said that Steve said that if I broke up with him, he would kill me … But at the time, neither sister took him seriously. Erin Moriarty : Neither one of you told your parents.

Regina Salarno-Novello : We just figured he was just saying it. And because of what our relationship was over the years, why would we believe that? … He enjoyed being part of the family.

Why would he destroy a family that he loved? Mike and Harriet never heard about that incident; never imagined the life they knew would come to an end. Harriet Salarno : We thought we were doing good and everything would be fine and never thought the boy across the street would murder our daughter.

When Catina Salarno arrived at the University of the Pacific in September 1979, she thought she had left Steven Burns behind for good. He said he was going to Santa Clara University and she was going to begin pursuing her longtime goal. Regina Salarno-Novello : She knew she was gonna become a dentist.

… She knew exactly what she was gonna do. It was planned for her. That was her goal, her dream.

But Catina's excitement was cut short soon after the Salarnos got to campus. Regina Salarno-Novello : We were staying overnight and we went to the hotel lobby, and then all of a sudden there's Steve and his sister and family. And we were like, "what are you doing here?" And he says, well, I'm going to UOP.

Nina Salarno : That's really, the first time I heard a lot of panic in her voice, uh, because that just caught her off guard. For the first time, Catina turned to her father for help. Regina Salarno-Novello : My dad walked up to him and said, OK, Steve.

… Leave Catina alone. She has told you that. You guys move on to your own ways, be friends, and know that I will always be here for you.

The Salarnos headed back to San Francisco and Catina and Burns each moved into their respective dorm rooms on opposite sides of the campus. Burns' new roommate, Les Serpa, remembers walking in the room and seeing Catina's picture everywhere. Les Serpa : He said his girlfriend, uh, was at Pacific as well … there were pictures of her and him together … more pictures than I'd ever seen before, but they were everywhere on his desk.

Erin Moriarty : He didn't mention that she had wanted to break up? Les Serpa: Not at all. It was all very positive.

Everything was great. Across campus, Catina was settling in with her new roommate, Joanne Marks. Then came a knock on the door.

It was Steve Burns. Joanne Marks : After he left, uh, Catina told me that he wanted to meet with her later in the evening for the last time. Joanne Marks : She was not looking forward to meeting with him, but she was looking forward to it being the last time.

She believed that he would stop bothering her. Marks says Burns came by to pick up Catina about 7:45 that evening. Joanne Marks : I said something like, you know, have a good evening, and he just grunted.

Catina told Joanne she would see her later; but that later never came. A freshman out for a walk named Kevin Arlin would be the one to discover why. It was around 9:45 p.m.

when he saw something on the sidewalk. Arlin, unnerved by what he saw, rushed back to his dorm and got a resident advisor. They both ran back to the scene.

Kevin Arlin : And … we got up to — to her and it was … a young lady that, uh, was laying on the ground and...