A California woman suspected of killing her fire captain wife allegedly sent her friend a chilling text message just one day after the heroic firefighter was found stabbed inside her home.

Authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Yolanda Marodi, 53, accusing her of fatally stabbing her wife, Fire Captain Rebecca Marodi, 49, inside the Ramona home they shared on February 17.

The fire captain was found inside the house suffering from multiple stab wounds to her neck, chest and abdomen and was pronounced dead at the scene while her wife was nowhere to be found.

But one day later, Yolanda – who was also known as Yolanda Olejniczak – texted a friend who had asked what had happened.

‘Becky came home and told me she was leaving me, she met someone else, all the messages were lies,’ she replied, according to the warrant obtained by ABC 10News.  

‘We had a big fight and I hurt her… I’m sorry.’

It is now believed that Yolanda repeatedly stabbed her wife hours in the midst of an argument hours before her body was found then fled into Mexico. 

Surveillance footage from the home had shown Yolanda apparently chasing Rebecca across the patio shortly after 8pm. 

Yolanda Marodi, 53, also known as Yolanda Olejniczak, is wanted for her wife’s murder

Police say she stabbed her wife, Fire Captain Rebecca Marodi, 49, inside the Ramona home they shared on February 17

A voice, believed to be that of Rebecca, can be heard crying out, ‘Yolanda! Please… I don’t want to die!’ before she appeared in the frame with what seems to be blood running down her back, the arrest warrant states.

At that point, another voice – believed to be Yolanda’s – could be heard replying, ‘You should have thought of that before,’ as she stood over her wife holding a knife with apparent blood on her arm.

Rebecca repeatedly told her wife to call 911 while Yolanda demanded she go back inside, an order the fire captain eventually obeyed as the two were seen entering the home. It was the last time Rebecca was seen in the footage.

Around 10 minutes later, ‘Yolanda is seen gathering pets, random items and some luggage and loading it into a silver Chevrolet Equinox SUV,’ the warrant states. She was also seen wearing different clothes during what appeared to be a rushed-escape.

That vehicle was caught hours later entering into Mexico, according to the Department of Homeland Security. 

‘At this time, Olejniczak’s whereabouts are not known,’ the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office has warned, according to KTVU.

‘Out of an abundance of caution, the Sheriff’s Office has alerted authorities on both sides of the border about this suspect.’

It is also now urging the public to remain on the lookout for a 2013 Chevrolet Equinox with the California license plate number 8BQJ420 and for Yolanda, whom they have described as being five-foot-two-inches tall, weighing about 165 pounds with brown hair, brown eyes and tattoos on both her upper arms.

Authorities have described Yolanda as being five-foot-two-inches tall, weighing about 165 pounds with brown hair, brown eyes and tattoos on both her upper arms

She was allegedly caught on surveillance footage chasing Rebecca with a bloody knife

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office is urging the public to remain on the lookout for a 2013 Chevrolet Equinox with the California license plate number 8BQJ420

This is not the first time police have had to launch a manhunt for Yolanda.

Nearly 25 years ago, she fatally stabbed her then-husband James J. Olejniczak Jr., 26, as the two were getting divorced.

Court documents obtained by CBS 8 showed that the couple had agreed to ‘mutual restraining orders’ and agreed to the joint custody of their two children, who were ages nine and four at the time.

‘My son was a good man. He was, everybody wants to say that about their children, but my oldest boy was my good boy,’ James’ mother, Nancy Hayworth, recently told KGTV.

She said she saw eerie similarities between her son’s killing and Marodi’s death.

In the October 2000 case, Yolanda also tried to flee with her children, but turned herself into police roughly 24 hours later.

By 2003, she pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter.

Yolanda was sentenced to 11 years in state prison the following year, according to court records, but was only in custody from February that year until November 2013.

‘She scares me,’ Hayworth said of her one-time daughter-in-law, noting that she only met Yolanda once.

She then went on to describe the alleged killer as ‘a little immature at times, and also she would just be not happy, I think, unless all the attention was on her.’

Yolanda, left, previously served time in jail for fatally stabbing her ex-husband James J. Olejniczak Jr., 26, as they were getting a divorce

Similarly, Rebecca’s ex-wife, 58-year-old Lilia Phleger Phillips told DailyMail.com that she had concerns about Yolanda. 

‘From what I’ve heard her wife was a volatile person,’ said Lilia, who was married to Rebecca for seven years before they got divorced in 2015. ‘She served time for voluntary manslaughter. The crime happened in 2000. That’s public knowledge.’

Rebecca and Yolanda appear to have been together since at least 2022, when Yolanda shared an Instagram photo announcing their engagement.

‘No words can express the joy and profound happiness and gratitude that I experience every day that I spend by her side, and soon I’ll get to call her my wife,’ she said at the time.

‘I’m so blessed to have this amazing woman love me unconditionally. I love you @beck_marodi, you make my life complete.’

Rebecca, pictured with Yolanda, is now being remembered as a hero

She was one of thousands of firefighters who battled the deadly Eaton Fire in January

Rebecca is now remembered as a hero, who was laid to rest in a casket draped with the American flag.

The decorated chief served more than 30 years with Cal Fire and was one of the thousands of firefighters who battled the deadly Eaton Fire in January.

She was even featured in social media posts of crews battling the blaze and shared videos of herself putting out the flames. 

At least 17 people were killed in the 14,000-acre Eaton Fire that ignited on January 7. The blaze destroyed 9,418 structures and damaged 1,073 more, according to NBC Los Angeles.

But Rebecca had planned to retire at the end of the year, according to KABC. 

‘Her passing is a profound loss to her family, friends and all who had the privilege of working alongside her,’ Cal Fire said.

‘Beyond her operational assignments, Captain Marodi was deeply involved in Peer Support and Hazmat, always prioritizing the well-being of her colleagues.

‘Her legacy of mentorship, service and dedication will be felt for years to come.’

Cal Fire Battalion Chief Paul Selegue also told the local news station Rebecca was someone everyone could aspire to be like.

‘She was never afraid to get involved with a person who needed help and she was always willing to extend herself to assist them,’ he said.