Wife of Slain California Fire Captain in US Custody After Mexico Arrest

Cal Fire Capt. Rebecca Marodi, 49, was found stabbed to death in her San Diego County home in February.

A San Diego County Sheriff's Department deputy on Dec. 10, 2024. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

After being apprehended by Mexican authorities, a California woman was taken into U.S. custody in connection with the fatal stabbing last month of her spouse, a state fire captain, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office announced March 22.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Capt. Rebecca Marodi, 49, was found stabbed to death in her Rancho Valley Road home in northern San Diego County on Feb. 17. She had been married to Yolanda Olejniczak Marodi, 54, for about two years.

“Through the course of the detectives’ investigation, they developed probable cause to believe Yolanda committed this tragic crime,” San Diego Sheriff’s Office Lt. Patrick Fox told NTD, sister media of The Epoch Times, in an email on March 24.

U.S. marshals were informed Saturday that Mexican authorities had located Olejniczak Marodi. She was later taken into custody at a U.S. Port of Entry.

“Yolanda’s whereabouts had not been known since before this crime occurred on Feb. 17, 2025, and until her arrest in Mexico this weekend,” Fox said.

In a statement posted online, authorities disclosed that video footage from earlier in the evening showed Olejniczak Marodi arguing with her spouse and physically assaulting her before she left the residence.

The arrest warrant revealed that Olejniczak Marodi subsequently packed belongings into a silver SUV and crossed the border into Mexico about an hour later.

“CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department is aware that Yolanda Marodi was apprehended,” Cal Fire public information officer April Newman told NTD in an email on March 24. “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.”

According to Olejniczak Marodi’s arrest warrant, a woman believed to be Rebecca Marodi is screaming in surveillance video, “Yolanda! Please ... ! I don’t want to die!” The woman also appeared on video with blood on her back.

Olejniczak Marodi left the scene prior to the victim’s mother arriving home, according to the video. Marodi succumbed to her injuries after deputies and emergency fire personnel performed life saving measures that failed.

Olejniczak Marodi had previously been charged in 2000 with serious felony voluntary manslaughter and personally using a deadly weapon. She pleaded guilty in 2003 and was convicted in 2008, according to San Bernardino County Superior Court records.

Marodi, who worked in fire service for more than 30 years, began in 1993 as a volunteer firefighter in Moreno Valley and went on to serve as a seasonal firefighter in Riverside and San Bernardino counties before she was promoted in 2007, according to the Cal Fire San Diego Benevolent Fund. She became a captain in 2022.

“Beyond her career, Rebecca was a devoted daughter, serving as the primary caregiver for her 77-year-old mother, who lived with her in Ramona,” said a description on the fundraiser website. “Her sudden and heartbreaking passing has left her family facing immense grief and uncertainty.”

The fund has raised some $29,600 to date.

Olejniczak Marodi is being held in Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility about 20 miles northeast of downtown San Diego.

The San Diego County District Attorney’s office has scheduled her arraignment for March 26.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This article has been updated with Olejniczak Marodi’s past conviction.