A California woman has been sentenced for fatally stabbing her firefighter wife, more than 20 years after she previously killed her husband.
Yolanda Marodi received a sentence of 36 years to life for the killing of Riverside County Fire Captain Rebecca Marodi, the San Diego District Attorney’s Office announced Sept. 2. She pleaded guilty last month to second-degree murder.
“This was a vicious murder of a respected and dedicated Fire Captain who dedicated her entire career to serving her community,” District Attorney Summer Stephan said. “This case also shows that no one is immune to domestic violence, which is one of the most hidden and dangerous forms of violence we confront.”
Rebecca Marodi spent 30 years with Cal Fire and, just one month before her death, helped fight the Eaton blaze, the fifth-deadliest wildfire in California history.
The 49-year-old was discovered with multiple stab wounds inside her Ramona home on Feb. 17, 2025, according to an arrest warrant declaration.
One first responder exclaimed, “Is that Becky?” a sheriff’s deputy later testified in court.
Ring camera footage from the couple’s home captured some of Rebecca’s final distressed minutes.
The footage, cited in the warrant, showed Yolanda chasing Rebecca across their patio, as Rebecca called out for her mother, Lorena Marodi.
Yolanda responded, “She’s not here.”
The couple disappeared, then reappeared with Rebecca’s back covered in blood. “Yolanda! Please,” she yelled. ”I don’t want to die.'”
Yolanda, who was holding a knife and had blood on her arms, answered, “You should have thought about that before.”
Rebecca repeatedly asked Yolanda to call 911, but instead, Yolanda loaded items into her car and drove off. About an hour later, she crossed the border into Mexico.
Investigators later learned that Rebecca was unhappy in her two-year marriage.
Lorena, who lived with the couple, testified that on the morning of the killing, Yolanda told her “she and Becky had some things to work out, but there wouldn’t be any fighting.”
She later came home to find her daughter dead.
Yolanda’s friend then showed police a text message from Yolanda.
“Becky came home and told me she was leaving me, she met someone else, all the messages were lies,” Yolanda wrote. “We had a big fight and I hurt her…I’m sorry.”
Yolanda was arrested in Mexico in March 2025. She was charged with murder and pleaded not guilty. However, one month before her trial, she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
The case revived attention to Yolanda’s dark past.
In October 2000, Yolanda fatally stabbed her husband, James Joseph Olejniczak in the chest. She pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 11 years in prison, according to court records obtained by the Los Angeles Times. She was released in 2013.
Rebecca’s friends said Yolanda displayed “controlling, isolating behavior” in their relationship, the Times reported, while saying Rebecca had not told them anything about Yolanda’s prior record.