A California courtroom heard the heart-wrenching final words of a fire captain on Tuesday, as her wife was ordered to stand trial for her murder.

Rebecca “Becky” Marodi, aged 49, was discovered dead in her San Diego residence on February 17, 2025, suffering from 23 stab wounds.

Her spouse, Yolanda Marodi, 54, fled the scene, escaping to Mexico. This initiated an extensive month-long manhunt, ending with her arrest on charges of first-degree murder related to Becky’s brutal killing.

In a recent court hearing, Homicide Detective Jessica Ricca shared testimony regarding surveillance footage from the time of the murder. The video captured Becky desperately pleading for her life, reportedly saying to her wife, “I don’t want to die.”

While the footage itself was not presented in court, Ricca described it as showing Yolanda holding a knife, with Becky begging her to call 911, according to NBC 7 San Diego.

The video also captured Becky calling out for her mother, to which Yolanda chillingly replied, “She’s not here,” as Ricca recounted.

The footage then cuts out, and when Becky returns in frame, she’s seen ‘covered in blood.’ 

After pleading for her life, Yolanda is heard snapping, ‘You should have thought about that before.’ 

Yolanda Marodi, right, has been ordered to stand trial for the brutal death of her wife, Cal Fire Captain Rebecca ‘Becky’ Marodi, left, 

Becky served as a firefighter for over 30 years and battled the deadly Eaton Fire before she was brutally slain 

Yolanda was seen in court on Tuesday for a preliminary hearing in the killing of her wife, Becky. She has pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder charges against her 

Yolanda was then captured on tape fleeing the home and loading items into an SUV before driving off. 

Becky’s mother, Lorena Marodi, also testified during the recent preliminary hearing. She lived in the home with her daughter and daughter-in-law, but wasn’t present during the alleged killing. 

She testified that on the day of her daughter’s chilling death, Yolanda confided in her about the marriage, which was a rarity in their relationship. 

Lorena told the court that Yolanda said that she and Becky had ‘some things to work out, but there wouldn’t be any fighting,’ according to NBC 7. 

Lorena recalled that on the night of the alleged murder, she was out with friends and drove by the home while dropping people off. 

She noticed that Yolanda’s car was gone, and when she returned home later that night, she was met with a trail of blood. 

Lorena testified that she then made the gruesome discovery of her daughter’s body and called 911. 

An arrest warrant viewed by NBC 7 stated that Becky wanted to leave her marriage before her death. 

Becky was found by her mother with stab wounds last February in her San Diego home, pictured above 

Becky’s mom, Lorena, left, and Homicide Detective Jessica Ricca, right, testified at Yolanda’s preliminary hearing 

Yolanda allegedly sent a text message after Becky’s killing that read: ‘Becky came home and told me she was leaving me, she met someone else, all the messages were lies. We had a big fight and I hurt her … I’m sorry.’

The judge who presided over the hearing ruled that there was enough evidence to send the case to trial, which is scheduled for June. Yolanda has pleaded not guilty to the charges against her. 

She was previously convicted in an eerily similar case in 2000 on voluntary manslaughter charges for the death of her husband, James J Olejniczak Jr. 

Yolanda had filed for divorce against James months earlier, and the pair agreed to ‘mutual restraining orders’ and joint custody of their two children. 

James was then found with stab wounds, and Yolanda turned herself in just a day later, according to court documents in the case. 

Ami Mahler Salinas Davis, right, and Aisha Mahler Salinas, left, previously told the Daily Mail that they were shocked by their friend, Becky’s murder 

Becky’s marriage to Yolanda had concerned her friends, the Daily Mail previously reported. 

Ami Mahler Salinas Davis and her wife, Aisha Mahler Salinas, told the Daily Mail after Becky’s death that the last six months of her life came at a dark point in her marriage. 

The pair said that Yolanda dictated what Becky could and couldn’t do, adding that her wife ‘isolated her from her friends.’ 

‘Contact started getting really spotty about six months ago, around last June,’ Ami said at the time. 

‘That was when I started noticing things changing. Before, I would just say, “let’s go for a ride” and it went from “let me check with my wife and make sure we don’t have plans” to “let me ask if I can go.”‘

The couple added that even though there were red flags, their friend’s murder was a ‘complete shock.’ 

Surveillance camera footage from the couple’s home on Rancho Villa Road, pictured above, depicted Becky pleading for her life and asking Yolanda to call 911 

Court records revealed that after Becky, right, died, Yolanda, left, sent a text message to a friend admitting that she allegedly ‘hurt’ her wife 

Yolanda previously served time in prison on voluntary manslaughter charges for the death of her husband, James J Olejniczak Jr. She is scheduled to stand trial for her wife’s death in June and is pictured above after her arrest 

Becky’s ex-wife, Lilia Phleger Phillips, also previously told the Daily Mail that she heard Yolanda was a ‘volatile’ person. 

Yolanda was arrested in Mexicali, Baja California, a month after her wife’s chilling death. She was detained while loitering outside a hotel in her pajamas. 

Mexican authorities apprehended her and turned her over to US law enforcement. She has been held at the Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility and is not eligible for bail, according to jail records. 

Becky was remembered in her obituary as a brave and ‘fearless spirit’ who was passionate about saving lives as a firefighter. 

She had served for over 30 years and was a Cal Fire Captain before her death, battling the deadly Eaton Fire just a month before she was slain.