Wife of slain Cal Fire captain pleads not guilty to first-degree murder after arrest in Mexico
For five weeks, Yolanda Marodi was on the run from authorities.
The 53-year-old was the prime suspect in the killing of her wife, Rebecca Marodi, 49, a fire captain who was found stabbed to death last month in the couple's home in Ramona, Calif., officials said.
Her fugitive status ended this weekend when Yolanda Marodi was arrested in Mexico. She entered a plea of not guilty to first-degree murder Wednesday during her arraignment at San Diego's East County Superior Courthouse. She appeared via video from a San Diego hospital; her public defender requested a bail review hearing for April 28.
Yolanda Marodi was at the hospital receiving medical treatment and will be moved to a jail after her release.
She was arrested Saturday at a hotel in the Ferrocarril neighborhood of Mexicali, according to the Baja California Citizen Security Secretariat. She was transported to the U.S. border by Mexican state security agents and released to the U.S. Marshals Service, according to a news release from the San Diego County Sheriff's Office.
After her killing, Rebecca Marodi's friends held a "celebration of life" ceremony for the Cal Fire captain, who had battled the Eaton fire.
"She always showed up," friend Ami Davis told The Times. "She would always be there, no matter what it was, something big or something small. She would take the day off and help me with my motorcycle. She was constantly thinking about people in some way, shape or form."
Read more: Woman suspected of killing Cal Fire captain was convicted of killing her first spouse
Rebecca Marodi's death may have come after she announced the end of her relationship with Yolanda.
Rebecca's mother, Lorena Marodi, informed detectives that Rebecca told Yolanda a week before she was killed that she was ending their marriage, according to an arrest warrant filed in San Diego County Superior Court. In home security video, Rebecca was seen with blood on her back running from a woman believed to be Yolanda.
'Yolanda! Please...! I don't want to die!' Rebecca screamed, according to the warrant.
'You should have thought of that before,' Yolanda responded while standing over Rebecca holding a knife, according to the warrant. She also had blood on her arms.
About 10 minutes later, Yolanda was captured on the security camera gathering pets and luggage and loading them into a Chevrolet Equinox SUV, according to the warrant. Yolanda drove away and her vehicle was logged by the Department of Homeland Security entering Mexico that same night.
This is the second time Yolanda Marodi has killed a spouse, according to detectives.
In 2004, Yolanda Marodi, whose last name was then Olejniczak, was convicted of killing her then-husband, James Joseph Olejniczak, according to court records. She pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and served time in prison from February 2004 until November 2013.
According to prosecutors, Marodi used a knife in that killing. The couple had filed for divorce in May 2000, according to family court records from the Vista courthouse.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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