Wife of slain California fire captain nabbed in Mexico after weeks on the run
A California woman wanted in the murder of her fire captain wife has been captured in Mexico after more than a month on the run, according to U.S. and Mexican authorities.
Yolanda Marodi, 53, was arrested Saturday at a hotel in Mexicali near the U.S. border, according to the Baja California Citizen Security Secretariat.
She was later handed over to U.S. marshals in San Diego, where she was booked for the murder of 49-year-old Rebecca Marodi, the San Diego County Sheriff's Office said.
Yolanda previously served more than 13 years in prison for voluntary manslaughter in the death of her then-husband, James Joseph Olejniczak Jr., before her release in 2013, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Rebecca Marodi, a Cal Fire captain, was stabbed to death in her home on Feb. 17. Yolanda, who escaped across the border into Mexico later that day, was named a primary suspect.
Yolanda was seen on surveillance video arguing with Rebecca and physically assaulting her on the day of the fatal stabbing.
An arrest warrant, obtained by KABC, details that Rebecca told Yolanda she was leaving her and ending their marriage nearly a week before she was murdered.
Detectives said that a voice could be heard yelling out, "Yolanda, please, I don't want to die." The report read that Yolanda responded to Rebecca, saying, "You should have thought about that before," while standing in front of Rebecca with what appeared to be a knife in her hand.
Surveillance video captured Yolanda leaving the couple's home before Rebecca's mother arrived. Rebecca was found with several injuries to her neck, chest and back that authorities said were consistent with a stabbing.
The sheriff's office said homicide investigators are working to gather more information about the circumstances and motivation behind Rebecca's murder.
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