A California woman has admitted to killing her wife, a fire captain, in a fatal stabbing — years after she was previously convicted in the stabbing death of her former husband.
Yolanda Olejniczak Marodi, 54, entered a guilty plea Tuesday to second-degree murder for the death of Rebecca “Becky” Marodi, 49, a longtime California firefighter who was discovered stabbed to death inside the couple’s Ramona residence in February 2025.
Asked by the judge to state her plea on count 1, second-degree murder, Marodi answered simply, “Guilty.”
Investigators said Rebecca Marodi was found with multiple stab wounds and was declared dead at the scene. (Cal Fire / Riverside County Fire Department)
Under the terms of the plea, Marodi also acknowledged a prior serious felony conviction tied to the 2000 stabbing death of her then-husband, James Joseph Olejniczak.
In that earlier case, she pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in 2003 and was later released from prison in 2013, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Rebecca Marodi, a veteran Cal Fire captain, sustained numerous stab wounds in the Feb. 17, 2025, attack.
Prosecutors said surveillance video showed Rebecca running from the home while Yolanda Marodi chased after her. Authorities later found Rebecca with wounds to her neck, chest and back that they said were consistent with a stabbing.
Investigators later alleged that Marodi fled to Mexico after the killing, where she remained for more than a month before being arrested in Mexicali and returned to the United States.
Yolanda Marodi was arrested at a hotel in Mexicali near the U.S. border, according to authorities in Mexico. (Baja California Citizen Security Secretariat)
Marodi had initially pleaded not guilty to Rebecca’s murder before changing her plea to guilty to second-degree murder.
She is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 2.
The wife of California Fire Captain Rebecca Marodi pleaded guilty to her murder. (Yolanda Marodi Facebook)
Rebecca Marodi served more than 30 years with Cal Fire, mainly in Riverside County, starting as a volunteer in Moreno Valley. Most recently, officials confirmed she helped battle the Eaton Fire.
U.S. Marshals take the suspect in the Cal Fire captain’s death, Yolanda Marodi, into custody at Calexico West U.S. Port of Entry. (FOX 5/KUSI)
CAL Fire Riverside acknowledged Rebecca Marodi’s death and said it is a “profound loss.”
“Her legacy of mentorship, service, and dedication will be felt for years to come. Her passing is a profound loss to her family, friends, and all who had the privilege of working alongside her,” the department wrote in a previous statement on their Facebook page.
