She killed two romantic partners with a knife. The most recent was her wife, a captain with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. After the slaying, she fled to Mexico.
Now 54-year-old Yolanda Olejniczak Marodi is headed to a prison cell. The Ramona resident was sentenced to 36 years to life on Wednesday in a San Diego County Superior Court room.
Olejniczak Marodi pleaded guilty on Aug. 4 to second-degree murder for killing 49-year-old Cal Fire Capt. Rebecca Marodi at the couple’s Ramona home in February 2025.
The plea came about a month before her trial was set to begin.
“This was a vicious murder of a respected and dedicated fire captain who dedicated her entire career to serving her community,” San Diego County Dist. Atty. Summer Stephan said in a statement. “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.”
The couple had been married two years when their relationship “began deteriorating,” according to Stephan.
Olejniczak Marodi stabbed Marodi nearly a dozen times in her neck, chest and abdomen, according to authorities.
Olejniczak Marodi was captured on security cameras loading pets and luggage into a Chevy Equinox SUV, according to an arrest warrant. Her vehicle was eventually logged crossing into Mexico by the Department of Homeland Security.
Marodi was discovered by her mother, Lorena, at the Ramona home and was declared dead at the scene by emergency responders.
Lorena told investigators that Marodi had informed Olejniczak Marodi a week earlier that she was ending the marriage, according to the arrest warrant.
Olejniczak Marodi was captured at a Mexicali hotel after more than a month on the run, according to Baja authorities. She was extradited back to San Diego.
“We can honor Captain Rebecca Marodi’s memory by joining together to safeguard victims of domestic violence and hold their abusers accountable,” Stephan said. “I am grateful to Deputy District Attorneys Maura Duffey and Jared Coleman, who prosecuted this case with care.”
Olejniczak Marodi had previously been convicted of voluntary manslaughter for fatally stabbing husband James Joseph Olejniczak. She was sentenced to 11 years in 2004 but was released in 2013.
The post Woman who fatally stabbed her fire captain wife is sentenced to 36 years to life appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
