California Lady Suspected of Killing Her Cal Hearth Captain Spouse Arrested in Mexico

The California lady suspected of fatally stabbing her spouse and fleeing to Mexico has been captured after greater than 4 weeks on the run.

Thirty-three days after she crossed into Mexico on Feb. 17 — the day her Cal Hearth captain spouse, Rebecca “Becky” Marodi, 49, was discovered useless in her California house — Yolanda Olejniczak Marodi was situated and brought into custody, in line with the San Diego Sheriff’s Workplace (SDSO).

Mexican authorities alerted United States officers that Yolanda, 53, had been discovered on Saturday, March 22, the sheriff’s workplace stated. She was arrested close to a lodge on Fresnillo Avenue in Mexicali, NBC 7 in San Diego reported, citing Mexican officers.

Yolanda was later launched to U.S. Marshals. She can be booked into custody for homicide, the SDSO stated, including that murder investigators are nonetheless working to find out the circumstances and motivation behind the demise of Rebecca, a captain with the California Division of Forestry and Hearth Safety.

Yolanda beforehand served time in jail — from 2004 to 2013 — for manslaughter in reference to the stabbing demise of her then-husband, James J. Olejniczak Jr., per NBC 7.

Rebecca’s mom discovered her at her house in Ramona, Calif., on Feb. 17 with a number of stab wounds to the neck, chest and stomach, per the San Diego County Sheriff’s Workplace. Officers tried life-saving measures, however the hearth captain finally succumbed to her accidents.

Days later, authorities named Rebecca’s spouse as a suspect. In line with police, Yolanda was captured on surveillance digicam allegedly arguing with and bodily assaulting Rebecca, then fleeing the residence earlier than her spouse’s mom discovered her.

House safety footage reveals Yolanda allegedly chased Rebecca throughout the patio whereas holding a knife round 8 p.m. native time the night time of the homicide, in line with an arrest warrant reviewed by PEOPLE.

“Yolanda! Please … I do not need to die,” a voice believed to be Rebecca’s may be heard saying within the footage, police said. The warrant additionally famous that blood gave the impression to be working down her again on the time. Yolanda allegedly had blood on her arms and responded, “You need to have thought of that earlier than.”

Rebecca was then allegedly seen on digicam begging Yolanda to name 911 a number of occasions as her spouse informed her to return inside. Minutes later, Yolanda allegedly loaded baggage and pets into an SUV earlier than leaving house. She was then noticed hours later crossing the Mexican border, police stated.

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Authorities later found texts allegedly despatched by Yolanda that assist paint an image of what led as much as Rebecca’s homicide.

“Becky got here house and informed me she was leaving me,” Yolanda allegedly wrote to an acquaintance in the future after Rebecca’s demise, per an arrest warrant reviewed by PEOPLE. “She met another person, all of the messages have been lies. We had an enormous struggle, and I harm her … I am sorry.”

Rebecca labored with Cal Hearth for greater than 30 years after starting her firefighting profession as a volunteer in 1993. She was promoted to captain in 2022.

In an announcement to NBC 7, Cal Hearth acknowledged Yolanda’s arrest. “CAL FIRE/Riverside County Hearth Division is conscious that Yolanda Marodi was apprehended,” the assertion learn. “We thank our regulation enforcement companions in San Diego and Mexico for his or her arduous work. Becky was a beloved member of our group and Division, and we miss her drastically.”