Post Mortem | The Boy Across the Street

Summary

48 Hours: Post Mortem | The Boy Across the Street – Detailed Summary

Release Date: May 6, 2025
Host: Ann Marie Green
Correspondent: Erin Moriarty

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Introduction

In the "Post Mortem" episode titled "The Boy Across the Street," host Ann Marie Green delves deep into the harrowing case of Katina Rose Salerno, a young woman whose tragic murder in 1979 has reverberated through her family and the broader community for decades. Erin Moriarty, a seasoned correspondent with "48 Hours," joins Green to unpack the complexities surrounding the case, the enduring impact on Katina's family, and the intricate workings of the parole system that continues to affect their lives.

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Case Overview

Katina Rose Salerno's Tragic Murder

On the first day of her freshman year at the University of the Pacific in California in 1979, 18-year-old Katina Salerno was fatally shot by her high school boyfriend, Stephen Burns. The incident occurred under tumultuous circumstances, leaving Katina's family fighting for justice ever since.

• Ann Marie Green (00:39): "Katina Salerno and Stephen Burns were high school sweethearts living across the street from each other. When Katina attempted to break up with Burns, he threatened to kill her. Subsequently, Katina left for college, only to be horrified when Burns followed her to the same campus."

Stephen Burns' Conviction and Imprisonment

Stephen Burns was convicted of second-degree murder in 1980 and has been incarcerated for over four decades. Despite multiple opportunities for parole, Katina's family has remained steadfast in their opposition to his release.

• Ann Marie Green (00:39): "Burns was convicted of second-degree murder in 1980, and he's been in prison for four decades. Katina's family wants to keep it that way, attending every single parole board hearing—13 in total—to advocate against his release."

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The Parole System and Family Opposition

Understanding the Parole Process

Erin Moriarty sheds light on the intricacies of the parole system, emphasizing how it operates beyond merely deciding an inmate's suitability for release.

• Erin Moriarty (08:30): "The California law allows for parole when someone is deemed suitable. Commissioners decide not only suitability but also the duration before the next hearing, which can range from two to five years. This process explains the 13 parole hearings Burns has faced."

Family's Motives for Opposing Parole

Katina's family has voiced concerns beyond the initial act of murder, focusing on Burns' potential for future harm due to his controlling and stalking behaviors.

• Erin Moriarty (09:33): "The family argues that Burns' stalking and controlling behavior pose a continued threat, even if he does not commit another murder."

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Insights from Interviews

Erin Moriarty's Exploration

Erin Moriarty discusses the challenges and revelations encountered while investigating the case, highlighting the extensive effort to reconnect with individuals from the time of the crime.

• Erin Moriarty (01:27): "This case was eye-opening on many levels. The ability to track down so many people from 45 years ago brought the past to life in a remarkable and heartbreaking way."

Kevin Anderson's Perspective

Kevin Anderson, a former pediatrician and counselor who worked with Burns, provides a contrasting viewpoint by expressing his belief that Burns deserved parole, only to later retract his stance upon witnessing Burns' behavior during the parole hearing.

• Erin Moriarty (12:39): "Kevin Anderson initially believed Burns had accepted his past behaviors and deserved parole. However, after observing Burns' demeanor during the 13th hearing, Anderson concluded that Burns had not truly acknowledged his actions and remained a potential threat."

Notable Quotes:

• Randy Haight, Patrol Officer (05:20): Reflects on staying with Katina in the hospital, stating, "He doesn't leave her. He and another officer stay until she dies and the coroner arrives."

• Les, Burns' Roommate (05:20): Reveals, "Stephen had set up a shrine to Katina in his room. Also, he was supposedly watching Monday Night Football when he claimed to the police he was there all night."

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Impact on the Salerno Family

Enduring Trauma and Advocacy

The Salerno family's life trajectory was irrevocably altered by Katina's murder. Each family member channeled their grief into meaningful advocacy and professional pursuits aimed at preventing similar tragedies.

• Regina Salerno: Became a nurse, inspired by the memories of her sister in the hospital.

• Nina Salerno: Pursued a career as a prosecutor focusing on abuse victims, driven by her own experience testifying alone at Burns' trial at age 14.

• Harriet Salerno (Katina's Mother): Founded a victims' advocacy group, influencing legal reforms to allow support persons for minors testifying in court.

Personal Moments Captured

During the latest parole hearing in 2025, Erin Moriarty shares a poignant moment with Harriet Salerno, underscoring the family's relentless emotional struggle.

• Erin Moriarty (16:11): "Harriet was shaking before her parole hearing. I just put my hand on hers; it was the right thing to do at that moment."

• Harriet Salerno (16:11): Described the current parole hearing as "as tough almost as the first one."

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Journalistic Efforts and Discoveries

Revisiting Historical Coverage

"48 Hours" had previously covered Katina Salerno's case in 1990, with Bernard Goldberg as the correspondent. The show's commitment to long-term storytelling facilitated a comprehensive examination of the ongoing parole battles.

• Erin Moriarty (06:38): Recalls Bernard Goldberg’s initial coverage, highlighting the extensive time spent with the family during early parole hearings.

Uncovered Details and Behavioral Patterns

The investigation revealed Burns' consistent lack of remorse and transparency about his actions, further complicating the parole decision-making process.

• Erin Moriarty (17:59): "Both instructors felt uncomfortable with Burns' entitled behavior and inability to recognize his troubling actions, leading commissioners to deem him unsuitable for parole."

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Concluding Thoughts

The episode "The Boy Across the Street" provides a profound exploration of the lingering effects of a tragic crime on a family, the complexities of the parole system, and the relentless pursuit of justice. Through meticulous reporting and heartfelt interviews, Erin Moriarty and Ann Marie Green illuminate the enduring legacy of Katina Salerno and the resilience of her family in seeking closure and safeguarding their community.

Final Reflections:

• Erin Moriarty (21:06): Emphasizes focusing on the heroes within the story rather than the horror, highlighting the family's strength and advocacy efforts.

• Ann Marie Green (21:16): Affirms the importance of discussing both the strengths and challenges of the parole system, especially from the victims' families' perspectives.

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Key Takeaways

• The enduring impact of a single act of violence on victims' families and communities.
• The complexities and challenges inherent in the parole system, particularly for families seeking to prevent potential future harm.
• The role of persistent journalism in unearthing long-standing injustices and spotlighting stories that demand continued attention.
• The transformative journey of grief into advocacy, leading to meaningful societal and legal changes.

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This comprehensive summary encapsulates the critical elements discussed in the "Post Mortem | The Boy Across the Street" episode, providing readers with a clear understanding of the case, its implications, and the unwavering pursuit of justice by Katina Salerno's family.

Transcript

[Unknown Host 1]

It's not just music. This is family.

[Unknown Host 2]

We call them music legends.

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To be great, there are sacrifices that need to take place.

[Unknown Host 2]

They call them mom and dad.

[Unknown Host 3]

My mom is literally calling me right now.

[Unknown Host 2]

The global music docuseries returns to Paramount.

[Erin Moriarty]

Nobody can hype the world up like.

[Unknown Host 2]

My dad with rare family stories from the children of Lil Wayne, Busta Rhymes, Salt n Pepa, and more.

[Erin Moriarty]

Parents just don't understand.

[Unknown Host 2]

Don't miss the new season of Family Legacy. All episodes now streaming exclusively on Paramount Foreign.

[Ann Marie Green]

Welcome back to Postmortem. I'm your host, Ann Marie Green. And today we are speaking with 48 Hours correspondent Erin Moriarty about the case of Katina Rose Salerno. In 1979, Katina was shot on campus at the University of the Pacific in California. It was the first day of her freshman year and the assailant was her high school boyfriend, Stephen Burns. Katina was just 18 years old at the time. Burns was convicted of second degree murder in 1980, and he's been in prison for four decades. Katina's family wants to keep it that way. They have attended every single parole board hearing, 13 in total, to advocate against his release. So Erin is joining us now. Erin, thank you so much.

[Erin Moriarty]

Well, I'm very happy to be here. Thank you, Annemarie. Because this case, as you're gonna hear, was eye opening on so many different levels. I've seen it all, but I hadn't seen this. And so I wanna talk about it.

[Ann Marie Green]

Yeah, we don't talk often about this sort of component of the criminal justice system, the parole system. So I'm looking forward to digging into it. I do wanna remind everyone that if you haven't already listened to this episode of 48 Hours, you can find it in your podcast stream. Just ab. Go ahead, go listen and then come on back. Katina Salerno and Stephen Burns, they were high school sweethearts. They lived across the street from each other. But when Katina tried to break up with him, Burns threatened to kill her. She left and she went to college. And she was absolutely shocked when he turned up at the same college as her. They had discussed this before and he was supposed to be going to another college. They go off to their separate dorms to settle in, but he asks to speak with her and she agrees to do so. She tells her roommate, I'll be back. She never comes back. So what I found, just as a journalist, very, very impressive, is the sheer number of people you all were able to track down from decades ago. We're talking about Katina's roommate.

[Erin Moriarty]

The.

[Ann Marie Green]

The then young student who stumbled upon Katina fighting for her life in the middle of campus. The patrol officer who stayed in her hospital room because he did not want her to be alone. Talk to me about how you all managed to get in contact with all of these people and convince them to participate.

[Erin Moriarty]

It wasn't me. I'm as impressed as you are. We have these amazing producers, people who are willing to dig. And as you point out, they had to go back 45 years and they managed to find so many people from that time. And what that allowed us to do with this story was bring the past alive in a way that is remarkable, but also heartbreaking. And as you mentioned, Randy Haight, who was the patrol officer Young back then, 45 years ago. And it's so moving to hear when he gets to the hospital, he's wondering why no one in the family is there. But that's because they're in San Francisco. She's a student at the college and her parents can't get there yet. And so he doesn't leave her. He and another officer stay there until she dies and until the coroner gets there. And it's so moving. He's still friends with the family and even went to the very last parole hearing. Wow. And then to be able to talk to these now grown up roommates of both Katina and Stephen Burns. And I think what really hit me was that event so struck Stephen Burns roommate Les, who really only knew him for a day, realized this was the first day of college, really. And he comes back with two really interesting stories. Is one, of course, is that Stephen had already come into that room and set up a shrine to Katina. And so I had asked him and I said, well, did he happen to mention that she had broken up with him? And he goes, no. He said, I saw more pictures than I'd ever seen. And also I was struck by the fact that Les had told us that he had been watching Monday Night Football when Stephen came back, but Stephen told the police he had been there all night. So that gives you a real sense right away from the beginning who Stephen Burns was.

[Ann Marie Green]

Absolutely. The other thing that kind of was really brought home to me by seeing all these people is the amount of time that has passed and like, who Katina could have been, you know? Cause like, here they are, they're all grown up. They've lived whole lives, whole careers. Like, wow, who would she have been if she had been allowed to sort of live these next four decades, you know?

[Erin Moriarty]

Right. But Emerie, there is something really special. Even though she never got a chance to live her life, she lives on in, in these people's lives. What was so interesting to me is they hadn't forgotten her. That one act by Stephen Burns wasn't just. Didn't mean just the end of her life or affect her family. It affected so many people's lives. And Les was talking as if it had happened yesterday. And Randy Haight, the officer who sat there is still. You could see him thinking back to that night. So she never got to live her life, but she certainly made an impact.

[Ann Marie Green]

Indeed. So this is not the first time that 48 Hours has actually covered this case. And I love it when we can kind of go into the archives. The first report on the case was done in 1990 by correspondent Bernard Goldberg.

[Erin Moriarty]

Yes, it was. Bernard Goldberg was the very first correspondent with 48 Hours. And I've been around long enough to remember Bernard Goldberg. And I actually joined as a full time correspondent three years later. But he was the very first and really was a terrific correspondent at the time. And that was a time when 48 hours, where we got the name was we would spend 48 hours or more on a story. And so you really see it even when you see Bernard talking to the family during our hour of how much time he was spending with them, because he was spending a lot of time with them on the fly as they were going to the very first parole hearing.

[Ann Marie Green]

Yeah, I mean, he's sort of talking very comfortably.

[Erin Moriarty]

Yeah. We would go everywhere with people. We would joke that they would be so tired of us. And I could tell when someone I was interviewing would say, yes, Aaron, I've been there for 48 hours.

[Ann Marie Green]

Wow.

[Erin Moriarty]

So Bernard Goldberg spent a lot of time with his family to see what would happen at that very first parole hearing.

[Ann Marie Green]

So then why did 48 hours decide to update viewers on this case? Was it because there was another parole hearing coming up? I mean, I guess who would have thought that there would have been so many parole hearings between then and now?

[Erin Moriarty]

Emory, we stay on stories for a long time. And yes, it was because there was the 13th parole hearing. And I have to tell you, remember I said this was eye opening in my mind he was finally going to get out. I mean, I didn't realize all the elements that really go in to determine whether someone should get parole or not.

[Ann Marie Green]

I thought it was really good that you explored that idea, you know, asking, listen, like, what is justice? What is the system for? Are you sure that you're in the pursuit of justice or Is this just like a personal thing? Because, you know, it's hard to get over someone taking someone you loved. I thought you. The way you explored it was just. Was delicate but direct.

[Erin Moriarty]

Well, and the California law does allow for parole when somebody is judged to be suitable for parole. So you had to wonder, what was the motive behind the family keeping him in? And so I did think we had to raise it. But they said he stalked her, and he would never admit at these parole hearings that he had stalked her. And so their concern was, was that if he was ever out, he could still hurt somebody by stalking or controlling behavior, even if he didn't kill someone. I didn't understand that until I worked on this story.

[Ann Marie Green]

We're going to dig in a little bit more to that, but I just want to ask you something about the court case, which was really surprising to me. I know it was back in 1980, but Katina's two sisters, Regina and Nina, they testified in Burns trial. But Nina was just 14 years old, and she had to testify without her parents in the courtroom. They were not allowed why she was a minor.

[Erin Moriarty]

Well, it's really interesting. The Salerno said that when they first went to this trial, they thought that there was more attention and more concern for the defendant's rights than victims rights. Harriet and Michael were not allowed into the trial because they were on the witness list. Back then, that was the thought that if you're gonna testify at a trial, you can't be at the trial because it could affect your own testimony. Nina, who was only 14, had to testify against Stephen Burns, the young man who had been her friend. She saw him as a brother. No one else was allowed to go in with her. Her parents weren't in the court, and so they did not want to have other victims go through what they did. So Harriet made it her life's work to help other victims. And so now because of Harriet's group, now a young person who has to testify goes in with a support person. So they've made a difference for other victims.

[Unknown Host 1]

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We take the hits together.

[Ann Marie Green]

We're on the same team.

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I'm right here with you.

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No matter what. I would never leave you hanging in the deep end.

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[Ann Marie Green]

Welcome back. In 1980, Steven Burns was found guilty of second degree murder. And he was sentenced to 17 years to life with the possibility of parole. The Solar nose have attended 13 parole hearings for Burns since that time. Aaron? I don't think I knew exactly how the parole system works, but 13 sounds like a lot. Why was he up for parole so many times?

[Erin Moriarty]

Well, every state is different, but what happens is at a parole hearing, the commissioners don't just decide whether you are suitable or unsuitable for parole. They also decide how much time they're gonna give you to clean up your act. And so it could be two years, it could be five years. And that's what happened. And so the Salernos, I mean, they didn't have to come back each time, but they did come back every single time.

[Ann Marie Green]

So this is really interesting because you interviewed Kevin Anderson, who was once a pediatrician and formerly incarcerated with Burns. He now counsels or he's a counselor, and he worked with Burns in mock hearing sessions to prep him for his last parole hearing. Very interesting. Kevin told you that he felt that Burns did deserve to be released. How did you connect to Kevin and how does he feel now?

[Erin Moriarty]

So, of course, we asked Stephen Burns to speak with us, and I was hopeful he might, but he did not. What he did instead was suggest that we talk to Kevin Anderson. And Kevin Anderson did give us a lot of insight into Stephen Burns. And when I first met him, which was right before the 13th parole hearing, he said that he had worked with him while he was still in prison. He had gotten out on parole and thought that Stephen Burns had finally come to accept the behaviors that had led to the shooting. He even described what Stephen had told him about how he had looked at Katina and seen the fear in her eyes. And another big question in this, which is almost as troubling, is the fact that he shot his girlfriend. She didn't die immediately. He didn't call 91 1. So it wasn't just that he shot her. He let her die. He goes back to his dorm and starts watching Monday Night Football and never says a word. When I talked to Les, Les said he didn't even look nervous. So Kevin Anderson said to us, this time, he actually admitted what a coward he had been. So Kevin thought, this is what he's gonna tell the parole board this 13th parole board, and that he's finally going to admit to the behaviors that led to him thinking it was okay to kill his girlfriend if she didn't want to be with him anymore.

[Ann Marie Green]

But he didn't.

[Erin Moriarty]

No, he did not.

[Ann Marie Green]

So how does Kevin feel? About him.

[Erin Moriarty]

Now, I've got to give a lot of credit to Kevin Anderson. I was very impressed with him, because when he read the transcript from that 13th parole hearing, he was shocked. And so he wrote Liza Finley, who was the producer of this show, and God bless him, he said, oh, my gosh, I was wrong. This guy is not ready for parole. Can you believe this? Kevin Anderson said. And so I had to be back in San Francisco anyway, which is where Kevin Anderson is. And I went back to have him explain. And he's the one who said to me, you know, he might never shoot someone again, but he has not come to terms with his controlling behavior. And he could still hurt somebody without killing them. He could still cause damage. Mm.

[Ann Marie Green]

I wanna talk a little bit about filming the day of that most recent parole hearing. This is in 2025. There's this really sort of tender moment with you, Erin, that you're in the backseat, you're with Harriet, who's Katina's mom, and you sort of reach out to touch her hand. Can you tell me about, you know, what was happening in that moment?

[Erin Moriarty]

Well, we all know, Emery, that we're not supposed to ever become part of a story. And I try really hard not to, but I've worked at 48 hours for such a long time, and you spend so much time with people. It wasn't that I just reached out to touch her. She said to me that she was shaking. She's a 92 year old woman who was going to her 13th parole hearing, was very worried that the man who killed her daughter could get out and hurt someone else. And I just put my hand on hers and she was shaking, and that it was just the right thing to do at that moment.

[Ann Marie Green]

But it really lets you know that it never gets easier. You would think by 13, you would, I don't know, know exactly what to expect, know exactly what you want the board members to hear. But it's still like this emotional upheaval to yet to go there again.

[Erin Moriarty]

Yes. This was, she said, as tough almost as the first one.

[Ann Marie Green]

Yeah. Wow. Wow. In fact, you sat with Harriet and the family in the conference room and watched the parole hearing. 48 hours couldn't bring cameras in there, so it was just kind of you in there with the family. But tell me what that was.

[Erin Moriarty]

Well, I felt very blessed to be able to sit in there because we were not allowed to record any of it, but they did. Commissioners allowed me to sit in. And so, of course, I was dying of curiosity to get a sense of who Stephen Burns was. You know, there were other people that he had encountered during prison. According to a complaint brought up at previous parole hearings, a couple of instructors said that he made them uncomfortable.

[Ann Marie Green]

Were they. Were they women? The instructors?

[Erin Moriarty]

Women. Women. Y. Both instructors. Sorry. Both instructors were women. One when she wouldn't allow him into a class that he wanted to get into, and another when he did not think he got the grade he deserved. And it wasn't so much that he said something to them that wasn't the problem, but that the way he said it and the way he felt entitled. And I think you could hear it from the commissioner that the commissioners believe the same thing, that he just. He could not hear himself. He could not see his own behavior as troubling as it was. And so they found him unsuitable. It just. He has not acknowledged, accepted what he did back then. That's what the family is concerned about.

[Ann Marie Green]

Yeah. You know, just as an aside, this is the family who opened their doors and their heart to a young man and like, to that level of betrayal to welcome him into your home. Cause Katina's father sort of took him a little bit under his wing, right?

[Erin Moriarty]

Oh, my gosh, yes. And Nina. Nina saw him as, you know, the sports, the athlete. She was an athlete, and so he was like a brother, and she trusted him. And the girls felt so betrayed by the guy across the street that took away their big sister and changed their lives forever.

[Ann Marie Green]

Right.

[Erin Moriarty]

It was a betrayal to every person in that family.

[Ann Marie Green]

And you had mentioned a little bit earlier that, like, that it kind of changed the trajectory of their lives in certain ways.

[Erin Moriarty]

Again, that was eye opening to me, too, just how much this one act affected this family forever. Harriet with her victims group, where she helped change the law and still goes to work every day at age 92. And then you have Nina, who had to testify by herself and that, because of that awful experience, became a prosecutor focusing on victims of abuse so that other people don't have to go through that. And then Regina, who, remembering that her sister died in a hospital, became a nurse. So it was an awful thing that this family went through. But every member of that family made their tragedy better for other people.

[Ann Marie Green]

Absolutely. You know, Erin, like, every once in a while people will ask me, isn't it sort of depressing to work on these sort of stories? And I always say no, because for every story, there's heroes. And here you have an entire family that are heroic in their efforts to make sure that no one else becomes a victim the way that their loved one became you know, Annemarie, I'm just.

[Erin Moriarty]

Like you people say, how can you deal with this after all these years? Erin? And I go because I don't think about the horror. I think about the heroes.

[Ann Marie Green]

I love that. I absolutely love that. Erin. Another great hour. It was really an interesting way to sort of delve into the story. We don't talk enough about the parole system, what's great about it, but also what's really challenging about it, especially for the families of the victims. Thank you so much.

[Erin Moriarty]

Thank you, Emery. I'll be back, as you know.

[Ann Marie Green]

I know you will. And if you like this series postmortem, please rate and review 48 hours on Apple Podcasts and follow 48 hours wherever you get your podcasts. And you can also listen ad free with a 48 hours plus subscription on Apple podcasts. Thanks for listening.

[Unknown Host 1]

It's not just music. This is family.

[Unknown Host 2]

We call them music legends.

[Unknown Host 1]

To be great, there are sacrifices that need to take place.

[Unknown Host 2]

They call them mom and dad.

[Unknown Host 3]

My mom is literally calling me right now.

[Unknown Host 2]

The global music docuseries returns to Paramount.

[Ann Marie Green]

Nobody can hype the world up like.

[Unknown Host 2]

My dad with rare family stories from the children of Lil Wayne, Bus, narraims, Salt n Pepa, and more.

[Erin Moriarty]

Parents just don't understand.

[Unknown Host 2]

Don't miss the new season season of Family Legacy. All episodes now streaming exclusively on Paramount plus now streaming.

[Unknown Host 3]

When everything's on the line, real heroes rise to the occasion.

[Unknown Host 1]

TV's hottest show is Fire Country.

[Unknown Host 3]

We're firefighters. We're gonna find a way to get you out of here.

[Unknown Host 1]

We take the hits together.

[Ann Marie Green]

We're on the same team.

[Unknown Host 3]

I'm right here with you no matter what.

[Ann Marie Green]

I would never leave you hanging in the deep end.

[Unknown Host 3]

This place is a way of giving.

[Unknown Host 1]

You new family Fire Country. All episodes now streaming on Paramount plus.