The Ingham County prosecutor’s office issued a warrant Friday morning for Dennis Michael Salerno in the death of his wife, MSU graduate student Michelle Rizzi Salerno.
Dennis Salerno recently began serving a 22-year-to-life sentence in an Ohio prison for the murder of his longtime friend Larry McClanahan of Moscow, Ohio.
The East Lansing Police Department participated in the yearlong investigation into Michelle Salerno’s murder along with the Michigan State Police, Ohio’s Wood County Sheriff’s Department and the Bowling Green University Police Department. Dennis Salerno has been a longtime suspect in the investigation.
“It just gives us great satisfaction to bring someone to justice,” said East Lansing Police Chief Louis Muhn. “We’ll feel better once he’s been tried and convicted.”
Michelle Salerno, a 1999 Bowling Green University graduate, was 26 years old when she was last seen June 29, 2000, about one month after she and her husband separated.
The Swanton, Ohio, native was reported missing by her family July 5 after she did not show up for work or appear at several holiday gatherings.
Her car, a 1986 burgundy Plymouth Reliant, was discovered July 6, 2000, in a downtown Toledo parking lot with blood in the back seat.
Her body was found four months ago in a Bowling Green, Ohio, landfill. Lucas County coroner identified the body with dental records.
Michelle Salerno, who worked at MSU’s Oyer Speech Language Hearing Clinic, would have received a master’s degree in speech therapy this May.
Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III said he will have six months to complete Dennis Salerno’s trial after he is extradited to Michigan.
“It’s not possible to say at this time when he will be in this jurisdiction, but he will be here,” Dunnings said. “We only want to try him one time, and we want to make sure we do it right the first time.”
Officials said they were not allowed to discuss the evidence that brought about the most recent warrant.
Patricia Rizzi, Michelle Salerno’s mother, said she is pleased with the continuing effort on the case by authorities in Michigan and Ohio, but she does not expect the trial to bring complete closure.
“I don’t think you ever have closure when you lose a child,” she said. “There will always be a hole in your heart where Michelle was.
“You just have to learn to live with it.”Jamie Gumbrecht can be reached at gumbrec1@msu.edu.
