A woman suspected in the fatal stabbing of her wife who was a Riverside County fire captain was charged with murder Monday after authorities in Mexico turned her over to U.S. authorities.
Yolanda Olejniczak Marodi, 53, drove into Mexico via the San Ysidro port of entry on Feb. 17, the same evening Riverside County Fire Department Capt. Rebecca “Becky” Marodi, 49, was found stabbed to death at the couple’s home, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.
Yolanda Marodi was admitted for medical treatment prior to being booked into jail, according to published reports.
“Mexican authorities notified U.S. Marshals that Yolanda Marodi had been located in Mexico and taken into custody,” the sherif’s department reported. “Yolanda was later released to U.S. Marshals and taken into custody. … Yolanda is being processed and will be booked into custody for murder.”
She is accused of fatally stabbing her wife of two years in their Ramona home in the 20200 block of Rancho Villa Road because Rebecca Marodi wanted to end the marriage, according to an arrest warrant declaration issued for the longtime firefighter’s spouse cited in published reports.
According to the declaration from a San Diego County District Attorney’s Office peace officer, Yolanda Marodi sent a text message to a “known associate” on Feb. 18: “Becky came home and told me she was leaving me, she met someone else, all the messages were lies. We had a big fight and I hurt her. … I’m sorry.”
That text was sent one day after Rebecca Marodi was found dead with multiple stab wounds to her neck, chest and abdomen, the DA’s office alleged.
The arrest warrant also says Ring camera footage showed Rebecca Marodi leaving the residence with her wife in pursuit. The victim appears to be bloodied in the video and “is heard yelling out ‘Yolanda! Please … I don’t want to die,'” the document states. Yolanda Marodi, who in the video appears to be holding a knife with blood on her arms, then responds, “You should have thought about that before.”
Rebecca Marodi repeatedly asks Yolanda to call 911 and subsequently the pair reenter the house, according to the arrest warrant. About 10 minutes later, the video shows Yolanda Marodi loading items into a Chevrolet Equinox and leaving the residence.
Court records cited in published reports show Yolanda Marodi was in prison from February 2004 to November 2013 for the October 2000 fatal stabbing in San Bernardino County of James Olejniczak, her first spouse. She pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in that case. Records from the North County courthouse in Vista show James and Yolanda Olejniczak filed for divorce in May 2000.
The investigation of the killing was ongoing, sheriff’s officials said.
The fire department issued a statement on the arrest Monday.
“CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department is aware that Yolanda Marodi was apprehended,” the statement said. “We thank our law enforcement partners in San Diego and Mexico for their hard work. Becky was a beloved member of our community and department, and we miss her greatly.”
Rebecca Marodi started as a Moreno Valley volunteer firefighter in 1993 and went on to serve as a seasonal firefighter in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. She was promoted to the position of fire apparatus engineer in 2007 and earned the rank of captain in 2022 with the Riverside County Fire Department.
