California Woman Sentenced to 36 Years to Life for Killing Fire Captain Wife After Previous Manslaughter Conviction

A California woman who previously served years in prison for killing a former partner has now been sentenced to 36 years to life for the second-degree murder of her wife, veteran fire captain Rebecca “Becky” Marodi.

Yolanda Marodi, 54, received the sentence on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, in San Diego County. She had pleaded guilty on August 4 to second-degree murder in the February 17, 2025, death of Rebecca, 49, at the couple’s home in Ramona, northeast of San Diego.

The case drew particular attention not only because of Rebecca’s long career in the fire service, but also because Yolanda had previously been convicted of voluntary manslaughter in another fatal case more than two decades earlier.

A marriage that was falling apart

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Yolanda and Rebecca had been married for roughly two years when their relationship began deteriorating, according to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.

Investigators said Rebecca had told Yolanda about a week before her death that she intended to end their marriage.

According to an arrest-warrant declaration, Yolanda later sent a text message to another person saying Rebecca had come home and told her she was leaving and had met someone else. Yolanda wrote that they had a major argument and that she had hurt Rebecca.

The confrontation unfolded at the couple’s Ramona property on the evening of February 17, 2025.

Parts of what happened were captured by home security cameras. According to investigators who reviewed the footage, Rebecca was seen fleeing the house as Yolanda pursued her.

At one point, Rebecca called out for her mother, Lorena Marodi, who lived at the home. Yolanda responded that she was not there. When the women later came back into the camera’s view, Rebecca appeared badly injured.

Rebecca pleaded with Yolanda, saying she did not want to die. According to the arrest-warrant declaration, Yolanda replied: “You should have thought about that before.”

Rebecca also repeatedly asked for 911 to be called before the pair went back inside the house.

Testimony at a preliminary hearing later indicated that Rebecca suffered 23 stab wounds to her neck, chest and abdomen.

Rebecca’s mother returned home to a devastating scene

Lorena Marodi had gone out with friends that evening. She testified that before Rebecca returned home, Yolanda had told her that she and Rebecca had issues to work through but that there would not be a fight.

Later that night, Lorena returned and noticed a trail of blood leading into the house. She found her daughter unresponsive and called 911.

Sheriff’s deputies attempted emergency measures until firefighters arrived. One responding deputy later recalled hearing a firefighter recognize the victim and ask, “Is that Becky?”

Rebecca, who had spent more than 30 years working for California’s state firefighting agency, was pronounced dead at the scene.

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan described her as a respected and dedicated fire captain who had devoted her career to serving others.

Yolanda fled across the border

Security footage also helped investigators reconstruct what happened immediately afterward.

Around 10 minutes after the confrontation disappeared from the camera’s view, Yolanda was recorded loading belongings into a Chevrolet Equinox before driving away. Authorities said she crossed the U.S.-Mexico border roughly an hour after Rebecca’s death.

A search followed.

On March 22, 2025, more than a month after Rebecca’s death, Mexican authorities located Yolanda near a hotel in the Ferrocarril neighborhood of Mexicali, just south of the U.S. border. She was subsequently returned to the United States.

She initially faced a first-degree murder charge but ultimately pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on August 4, 2026, about a month before her trial was scheduled to begin.

The plea set the stage for the 36-years-to-life sentence imposed on September 2.

It was not Yolanda’s first fatal case

The case also brought renewed scrutiny to Yolanda’s criminal history.

More than two decades earlier, she had been convicted of voluntary manslaughter after fatally stabbing her then-husband, James Joseph Olejniczak, in San Bernardino County.

Court records cited by the Los Angeles Times show she was sentenced to 11 years in 2004 and remained in prison until 2013.

Her prior serious felony conviction factored into the latest criminal proceedings. At the time she pleaded guilty to Rebecca’s murder, Yolanda also admitted the prior voluntary manslaughter conviction.

Rebecca’s mother speaks at sentencing

At Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, Lorena Marodi spoke about the daughter she lost and the impact of being the person who discovered her.

She described being Rebecca’s mother as “the privilege of a lifetime.”

Lorena said she had remained strong through an extraordinarily difficult period in order to see justice for her daughter.

She also described how the memory of finding Rebecca continues to stay with her each morning. But despite the circumstances surrounding her daughter’s death, Lorena said she would not allow Yolanda’s actions to consume the rest of her life.

Her remarks shifted the focus of the sentencing hearing back to Rebecca—the woman behind the uniform and the criminal case.

Rebecca had built a decades-long career protecting communities as a firefighter. Now, more than a year and a half after her death, the court proceedings against her wife have reached their conclusion.

District Attorney Stephan said the case was also a reminder of the danger posed by domestic violence, describing it as one of the most hidden and dangerous forms of violence authorities confront.

“We can honor Captain Rebecca Marodi’s memory by joining together to safeguard victims of domestic violence and hold their abusers accountable,” Stephan said.

With Yolanda Marodi sentenced to 36 years to life, Rebecca’s family has received the legal resolution they had waited for since February 2025—even as the personal consequences of what happened at the Ramona home remain impossible to undo.