Cops: Husband charged with murder after missing Centereach mom's body is found

Suffolk County police said Friday they were able to use police K-9 units and GPS data from the cellphone of a Centereach man arrested Thursday on charges that he killed his wife, who had gone missing, to place him near the Middle Island forest where her body was discovered.

Melissa Molinari, 38, a mother of four, was reported by a friend to be missing on Dec. 2, Suffolk County Police Chief Stuart Cameron said at a news conference Friday at department headquarters in Yaphank. The friend reported that she had not heard from Molinari since Nov. 17.

Molinari’s body was discovered Thursday morning covered with leaves and branches and wrapped in plastic off a trail at the Rocky Point Barrens State Forest in Middle Island after a K-9 search in the area that started Wednesday, police said.

Her husband, Marcello Molinari, 43, was arrested Thursday night on second-degree murder charges. He was arraigned Friday at First District Court in Central Islip.

At court Friday, Christopher M. Gioe, a private Hauppauge-based attorney assigned by Suffolk County to represent Marcello Molinari in the case, told reporters that Molinari is "maintaining his innocence." Goie said Molinari works in information technology and had never been arrested before.

"The first time he heard about the charges was here at the courthouse," Gioe said. "The first time he was given an attorney was here at the courthouse. He’s informed me that he asked for an attorney from the beginning of the investigation and he was denied the entire time. There’s certainly going to be an investigation conducted by the defense in this case, and we’re certainly going to proceed forward with the trial in this matter."

Molinari was remanded into custody, according to court records.

An initial examination on Melissa Molinari’s body revealed evidence of "homicidal violence and multiple sharp-force injuries," according to Suffolk County Police Det. Lt. Kevin Beyrer, commanding officer of the department's Homicide Unit. An autopsy was being conducted.

Beyer said police are working under the theory that the couple’s home on Lolly Lane in Centereach was the crime scene, and that Melissa Molinari’s minivan was used to transport her to the forest in Middle Island.

According to Beyrer, Sixth Squad detectives had previously interviewed Marcello Molinari, who told police that the couple had been having marital problems and that she had left the home after an argument on Nov. 22.

Marcello Molinari also told police that his wife returned home Nov. 23 to pack her clothes and left "with an unknown male in an unknown vehicle," Beyrer said.

The husband also claimed his wife had called him from an unknown number on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 25, and asked him to cook dinner. He told police that his wife's phone had been turned off and he was unable to contact her, and her family, who were out of state, and that her friends also were unable to contact her.

"I just want to reiterate these are his claims and his claims [alone], these are not facts, this is what he told us," Beyrer said. While police are describing Marcello Molinari as "cooperative," Beyrer said, "I would say that he was cooperative as far as it benefits him."

After being interviewed again Thursday, Molinari told police that on the day of the argument, he had been in the area where his wife’s body was recovered, according to Beyrer.

Police examined Melissa Molinari’s minivan Tuesday and found nothing significant, Beyrer said. However, on Wednesday, a K-9 cadaver search was performed on the van, and a police dog picked up a scent.

GPS data from Marcello Molinari’s phone placed him on Currans Road at the Rocky Point Barrens forest on two key dates: the night of their argument on Nov. 22, and soon after the missing persons report was made, police said.

After police with K-9 units executed a search warrant Thursday night at the couple's home, a forensics examination revealed the presence of blood in the basement, and Molinari was arrested, police said.

He was taken to a hospital for psychological evaluation, deemed fit for confinement, and later taken to the Sixth Precinct and charged with his wife’s killing.

The couple’s children and their family dog were placed in the custody of family friends, according to police.

"This is a tragic case," Beyrer said. "There’s five kids, he had a kid from a previous relationship. All the lives that were destroyed in this, it’s a terrible story."

With Joan Gralla and Steve Langford