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Melissa Molinari: Body of missing mom found after Gabby Petito’s dad solicits help

Investigators revealed that her husband Marcello Molinari, 43, had been arrested and charged with murder

The body of a missing woman has been discovered after weeks of searching as her husband is charged with her murder.

A search for Melissa Molinari, 38, was launched as tragic vlogger Gabby Petito's father solicited help from the public in an attempt to find her. The missing mum-of-four's body was found by Suffolk County cops in the Rocky Point Barrens State Forest, Long Island, nearly a week after a missing person's report had been filed on December 2. While investigators didn't provide any other details about the grim discovery, they revealed that her husband Marcello Molinari, 43, had been arrested and charged with murder. Officials said the Suffolk County Medical Examiner will now carry out an autopsy, WABC reported.

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Melissa was last seen on November 21 when she left her Centereach home and subsequently missed Thanksgiving with her children. Authorities, who said she did not take her car, registered a missing person's complaint by a friend, not her husband. They did not reveal that her disappearance was suspicious and only said that her family, including Marcello, had been cooperating with an investigation into the incident.

Suffolk County detectives searched a water basin across from the Molinari's residence on Wednesday in an effort to find clues that could lead to her whereabouts. "I find it very surprising she didn't take that car, she was in it all the time," neighbor Gina Bastone said. "That's what I'm shocked about, that she would leave the kids, because she was so hands-on...it's just weird. Got to be so hard." 

Joseph Petito, the heartbroken father of late Long Island YouTuber Gabby Petito, helped search efforts by drawing attention to Melissa's disappearance by tweeting her information and urging his followers to help find her.

According to WABC, Marcello Molinari is scheduled to be arraigned before a judge on Friday, December 10.

Petito's boyfriend had 'all the hallmarks of an abuser'

Weeks after the Gabby Petito case met with a dead-end after the mysterious death of her boyfriend and the only person of interest in the case, her father revealed how his daughter's beau Brian Laundrie "had all the hallmarks of an abuser as he pushed the travel blogger to feel shame."

Gabby's father likened Brian to a typical domestic abuser. "The way the abuser works is to shame the victim," he told Dr Oz on November 16, explaining how abuse victims are less likely to "go out and tell you what’s going on" when they are shamed. He added, "Continually shame the victim to where they start believing that shame is theirs to hold." 

Gabby's remains were found near Grand Teton National Park on September 19 in Wyoming, where her parents traveled to retrieve her body. "It almost felt like her home. Her final resting place," her mother Nichole Schmidt told Dr Oz. "Such a beautiful, peaceful place to be. And we went there to bring her home and that’s what we did."

An autopsy showed that Gabby died due to strangulation. Schmidt said she knew her daughter was "gone" when she found out that Brian had returned to his Florida home without Gabby, with whom he was touring the country, driving the van that the couple was traveling in. On October 3, 2021, following her death, Gabby's family announced that they had launched the Gabby Petito Foundation in honor of their late daughter.