Woman admits to stabbing her Cal Fire captain wife after fleeing to Mexico

Yolanda Olejniczak Marodi, 54, entered a plea of guilty to second-degree murder for the stabbing death of her wife, 49-year-old Cal Fire Captain Rebecca Marodi, at their Ramona residence on February 17, 2025. Security footage showed Rebecca begging for her life as Olejniczak Marodi approached with a knife, and investigators later learned the victim had told her spouse a week earlier she intended to end the marriage. The case marks Olejniczak Marodi’s second spousal homicide; she previously served a prison term after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter for the 2004 stabbing of her then-husband, James Joseph Olejniczak.

Following the murder, Olejniczak Marodi loaded pets and luggage into a Chevrolet Equinox, crossed into Mexico, and remained hidden for over a month before Mexican authorities captured her in a Mexicali hotel and handed her over to U.S. marshals. She is scheduled for sentencing on September 2 and could receive 36 years to life. Friends of the victim described Yolanda as insecure and controlling, noting that Rebecca had become increasingly isolated in the year before the killing.