Centereach man pleads guilty in fatal stabbing of wife, Suffolk DA says

A Centereach man pleaded guilty Friday to stabbing his wife 58 times and dumping her body in the pine barrens in Middle Island late last year.

Marcello Molinari, 43, pleaded guilty to a second-degree murder charge in a Suffolk County courtroom in Riverhead, prosecutors said. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 29.

Molinari admitted killing his wife, Melissa Molinari, 38, whose body was found on Dec. 9 in the pine barrens with multiple stab wounds and wrapped in garbage bags and duct tape, prosecutors said.

Marcello Molinari told police the couple had gone on a vacation to Disney World in Orlando, Florida, in November with their four children, ages 4, 12, 14 and 17. On vacation, he said, he found out his wife was having an affair and they cut the vacation short, police said.

The family drove back to Centereach on Nov. 5. Melissa Molinari was last seen alive on Nov. 21, and a friend reported her missing on Dec. 2, police have said.

During an initial interview with police, Marcello Molinari said the couple was having marital problems and, after an argument on Nov. 22, Melissa Molinari had packed her clothes and left with another man the next day, police said.

Suffolk County police cadaver dogs searched the Molinaris' home and property in Centereach several times, and found Melissa Molinari's body covered in leaves and branches off a trail in the Rocky Point Pine Barrens State Forest. An autopsy found 58 stab wounds, prosecutors said.

Police have said they believed Melissa Molinari was killed at the family's home and that Marcello Molinari used her minivan to transport the body.

Police searched the basement of the family home, where they found blood. Marcello Molinari told police he had been in the area of the pine barrens where his wife’s body was found the day of their argument, police said. GPS data from his phone used by police found him on Currans Road in the pine barrens on the day of the argument and shortly after she was reported missing.

Prosecutors said Molinari admitted planning the murder and researching countries that would not extradite him back to the United States to face prosecution. He also admitted stabbing and killing his wife and disposing of her body, prosecutors said.

“It is unfathomable that someone can do what this defendant did to the mother of his four children, particularly during the Thanksgiving holiday. The brutal nature of the murder and the casual disposal of the victim’s body is especially disturbing,” Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said in a statement. “This defendant’s plea saves the four children from further trauma, and ensures that the defendant will serve a lengthy sentence.”

Molinari’s attorney could not immediately be reached for comment Saturday.

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.