Woman sentenced to 36-to-life for stabbing Cal Fire captain wife

In San Diego County Superior Court, Yolanda Olejniczak Marodi, 54, was sentenced to 36 years to life after pleading guilty on Aug. 4 to second-degree murder for the February 2025 stabbing of her wife, 49-year-old Cal Fire Captain Rebecca Marodi. The attack, which involved nearly a dozen stab wounds to the neck, chest and abdomen, occurred at the couple's Ramona residence shortly after Rebecca informed Yolanda she intended to end the marriage.

Security footage captured Yolanda loading pets and luggage into a Chevrolet Equinox before crossing into Mexico, where she was later apprehended in a Mexicali hotel and returned to San Diego. The victim’s mother, Lorena, discovered the body and emergency responders declared Rebecca dead at the scene. District Attorney Summer Stephan called the murder a “vicious” act and used the case to underscore the hidden danger of domestic violence. Yolanda had earlier been convicted of voluntary manslaughter for killing her husband, James Joseph Olejniczak, and served time before her release in 2013.