Updated

Updated · The New York Times · Sep 2

Yolanda Marodi Gets 36 Years to Life for Wife's Murder After 2000s Husband Killing

Updated

Updated · The New York Times · Sep 2

Yolanda Marodi Gets 36 Years to Life for Wife's Murder After 2000s Husband Killing

Q: After fleeing to Mexico, what damning text message finally sealed the fate of this two-time spousal killer?

The damning text was her own apparent admission: “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.” Authorities cited that message, sent the day after the killing while Yolanda Olejniczak Marodi had fled to Mexico, as key evidence because it placed her at the scene, acknowledged the fight, and admitted injuring Rebecca Marodi. That text was reinforced by Ring camera footage investigators said captured Rebecca Marodi pleading, “Yolanda! Please … I don’t want to die,” while Yolanda, allegedly holding a knife, replied, “You should have thought about that before.” Prosecutors also said video showed Yolanda loading pets, luggage and other items into her SUV before crossing into Mexico. Together, the message and the surveillance evidence helped cement the case against a woman already convicted years earlier in the stabbing death of her husband.

Q: What chilling secrets did the security camera capture before a respected fire captain was stabbed by her own spouse?

The home security footage captured Rebecca Marodi’s final, desperate moments: investigators said she was seen fleeing the house, bloodied, while pleading, “Yolanda! Please … I don’t want to die!” According to court filings and testimony, Rebecca, a respected Cal Fire captain, ran from the Ramona home as Yolanda Olejniczak Marodi pursued her. The camera reportedly recorded Rebecca calling out for her mother, and Yolanda answering, “She’s not here.” When the two came back into view, Rebecca appeared covered in blood. Prosecutors said Yolanda was holding a knife, had blood on her arms, and replied to Rebecca’s plea for mercy with the chilling words, “You should have thought about that before.” The footage also showed Rebecca repeatedly asking her wife to call 911. Instead, according to investigators, the pair went back inside the house. Rebecca was later found dead, having suffered 23 stab wounds to the neck, chest and abdomen. Just minutes later, the same camera allegedly recorded Yolanda gathering pets, luggage and other belongings, loading them into a Chevrolet Equinox, and driving away. Authorities said she crossed into Mexico about an hour after the killing and was arrested more than a month later in Mexicali. The video became some of the most disturbing evidence in a case made even more shocking by Yolanda’s prior conviction for fatally stabbing her husband more than two decades earlier.

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 2

A San Diego County judge on Wednesday sentenced Yolanda Olejniczak Marodi, 54, to 36 years to life after she pleaded guilty last month to second-degree murder.
Rebecca Marodi, 49, was found dead in February 2025 after authorities said the couple, whose two-year marriage was deteriorating, argued and Yolanda Marodi stabbed her repeatedly at their Ramona, California, home.
Lorena Marodi, the victim's mother, told the sentencing hearing that losing her only child to a violent killing had devastated every part of her life; she had discovered her daughter's body.
The case drew added attention because Yolanda Marodi had already been convicted more than two decades ago of killing her husband.