Murdered By Her High School Sweetheart For Ending Their Relationship

During the 1970s, the Salarno family lived a seemingly ordinary middle-class life in San Francisco. The family consisted of Harriet and Mike Salarno and their three young daughters: Catina, Regina, and Nina.

The eldest sister, Catina, was the undisputed “leader of the pack” and often described as the “heart and soul” of the family.

In 1975, when Catina was just 14, a new family—the Burns—moved in across the street. Their household included four children: one daughter and three sons, all roughly the same age as the Salarno girls.

Eager to welcome new neighbours, the Salarno girls baked a batch of cookies for the Burns family.

It wasn’t long before a young romance began to blossom between Catina and the Burns’ second oldest son, Steven, a star athlete and captain of his high school football team.

Steven was welcomed warmly into the Salarno family, quickly becoming like a “big brother” to Catina’s younger sisters and a trusted presence in their home.

Steven also won the admiration of Catina’s father, Mike. Having endured a difficult relationship with his own father, Mike took Steven under his wing—mentoring him and even offering him a job at his TV store.

For the next few years, life seemed to go smoothly. But by 1979, Catina—now a high school senior—had been accepted into the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California.

With a new chapter on the horizon, Catina told Steven that she wanted to end their relationship. He did not take the news well.

Steven became increasingly threatening toward Catina, even warning her that he would “kill” her if she ever ended the relationship. Later, Catina confided in her younger sisters about the threat, but they, unwilling to believe he could actually carry it out, never told their parents.

Despite the threats, Catina followed through with her plans, moving to California in September 1979 to attend the University of the Pacific, where she pursued her dream of becoming a dentist.

Catina believed she had left her ex-boyfriend behind, assuming he was busy with his own plans to attend Santa Clara University, more than 75 miles away. But her excitement was short-lived.

The Salernos were stunned to find Steven Burns and his family on campus—he had followed her, enrolling at the same university.

Caught off guard, Catina grew visibly distressed. With a shaky voice, she turned to her father for support.

Mike approached Steven and delivered a firm warning: "Okay 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 Salernos returned to San Francisco, leaving Catina to settle into her new dorm.

Meanwhile, Steven’s dorm room was on the opposite side of campus. His new roommate, Les Serpa, would later recall walking in to find the room plastered with photographs of Catina—everywhere he looked, her face stared back.

Steven told Les that the photos were of his girlfriend, who also attended the university—he made no mention of their breakup and spoke of Catina in glowing terms.

Across campus, Catina was settling in and had befriended her new roommate, Joanne Marx. As they chatted and unpacked their belongings, a knock came at the door. It was Steven.

They spoke briefly, and after Steven left, Catina confided in Joanne that he wanted to meet her that evening one last time. Though hesitant and wishing to avoid him, she reluctantly agreed, hoping that granting him the closure he sought might finally bring the situation to an end.

At 7:45pm that evening, Steven returned to pick up Catina. Catina told Joanne that she would 'see her later' - but that 'later' never came.

Hours would pass by and as night crept in, a freshman out walking at around 10pm, saw something in front of him on the sidewalk. As he edged closer, he seen that it was the body of a girl. He ran to get help, soon returning with a resident advisor. Upon closer inspection, the two men would find 18 year old Catina Salarno clinging to life as a pool of blood had formed around her head.

When police arrived at the scene, they discovered that Catina had been shot in the back of the head. She was immediately rushed to St. Joseph’s Medical Centre for emergency treatment.

Meanwhile, Steven Burns returned to his dorm room, lay on his bed, and joined Les in watching a football game on TV. He showed no visible emotion, seemingly unfazed by the gruesome act he had just committed.

Tragically, at 12:09am, Catina Salarno was pronounced dead. Aware that she was new to town and that her family would take time to arrive, detectives remained with her body, offering prayers.

Soon after, they spoke with Joanne, who wasted no time telling them that Catina had met up with Steven shortly before her death. Officers quickly swarmed Steven’s dorm across campus and arrested him. He was taken to the Stockton Police Station, where he was fingerprinted and photographed. Investigators were struck by the teenager’s complete lack of remorse.

Steven denied seeing Catina that night, and without a confession or the murder weapon, the police had little to hold him on.

After his release, his family took him back to San Francisco. Though he was never publicly named as a suspect, Catina’s family was certain of the truth—they knew Steven was the one responsible.

Catina’s parents quickly informed police about the threats Steven had made, warning he would kill their daughter if she ended the relationship. Just two days after Catina’s murder, he was arrested again—this time at his family home, located just across the street from the Salernos.

From their window, they watched in stunned disbelief as the boy they had once welcomed into their family was handcuffed and led to a police car.

In the aftermath, Catina’s sisters were consumed by guilt, believing they bore some responsibility for her death because they hadn’t told their parents about Steven’s threats. Her father, Mike, was similarly stricken, tormented by the thought that he had failed to protect his daughter from her killer.

Catina’s absence left a profound void in the hearts of everyone who loved her. The Salernos’ grief deepened when they discovered a chilling truth: Steven had stolen the gun used to kill Catina from Mike’s TV store just weeks before the murder.

The family also recalled a disturbing incident the night before Catina was set to leave for university. Her sister Regina had heard a noise outside their bedroom window and, when she looked, saw Steven Burns pacing with a towel wrapped around his hand. In hindsight, the family now believes he was concealing the gun and had already planned to take Catina’s life that night.

Six months after Catina’s death, Steven Burns went on trial for her murder. Catina’s parents were barred from the courtroom, leaving her 14 year old sister Nina to testify alone.

The prosecution argued that Steven had brought the gun with him that night, intending to shoot Catina if she refused to rekindle their relationship. Despite this, the jury did not convict him of first-degree premeditated murder. Instead, he was found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to 17 years to life, with the possibility of parole.

For 46 years, Catina’s family has faithfully visited her grave every week and attended every parole hearing, protesting any attempt at Steven’s release. In January 2025, Steven was denied parole for the 13th time, a decision that brought immense relief to the Salernos.

As of 2026, he remains behind bars, with his next parole hearing scheduled for 2030.