Latest news with #BajaCaliforniaCitizenSecuritySecretariat
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Yahoo
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. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
26-03-2025
- Los Angeles Times
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.' 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.
CBS News
26-03-2025
- CBS News
Wife of slain Cal Fire captain pleads not guilty to murder in her killing
A woman accused of fatally stabbing her wife, a Cal Fire captain in Riverside County, pleaded not guilty to murder in her first court appearance court since being arrested in Mexico. Yolanda Olejniczak Marodi, 53, was arrested after being found near a hotel in Mexicali, Baja California — about five miles from the U.S.-Mexico border — following a month-long search, according to the Baja California Citizen Security Secretariat. She is suspected of fatally stabbing her wife, Rebecca Marodi, at their San Diego County home in the town of Ramona on Feb. 17. Law enforcement officials in Mexico turned her over to the U.S. Marshals Service at the border, authorities announced Saturday. In a warrant for her arrest, issued Feb. 21, authorities said home surveillance appeared to have captured some of the killing, with a knife allegedly seen in Yolanda Marodi's right hand and blood appearing on her arms. Authorities have said the couple was married for about two years. More than two decades earlier, the suspect was arrested on suspicion of killing James Joseph Olejniczak in San Bernardino County on Oct. 24, 2000, court records show. In 2013, she was released from prison after serving 13 years and eight months for voluntary manslaughter and other charges, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Rebecca Marodi was a firefighting veteran of more than 30 years, working in cities around Riverside County before being promoted to the rank of captain in 2022. She had recently battled the devastating Eaton Fire in Los Angeles County and was stationed in French Valley at the time of her death. She allegedly told the suspect she planned to end their marriage about a week before the killing, according to the arrest warrant. In the days after the killing, the victim's ex-wife, Lilia Phleger, told CBS News Los Angeles that the couple had what she described as a "toxic" relationship. "It was a typical toxic relationship," said Lilia Phleger, who was once married to Rebecca. "Yolanda was very jealous," she Phleger. "My understanding is she was very jealous and did not want to have Becky maintain the friendships she had for years with other women." The San Diego County Sheriff's Office has not disclosed a suspected motive in statements about the investigation. Rebecca Marodi was suffering from multiple lacerations and stab wounds to her neck area, chest and abdomen when paramedics responded to the couple's home on the evening of Feb. 17. The Sheriff's Office received a 911 call at about 8:58 p.m. that night from her mother, who lived in an ADU on the same property as the couple's home, authorities said. After paramedics responded, she was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:14 p.m. According to the arrest warrant, Rebecca's mother handed over Ring camera security footage which shows what appeared to be Rebecca running and being chased by Yolanda. On the video, taken from the patio camera, a voice believed to be Rebecca's yells out "Yolanda! Please! .... I don't want to die" and the woman believed to be Rebecca appears to have blood on her back. The footage later shows a woman believed to be Yolanda gathering pets and other items from the home and placing them inside a Chevrolet Equinox SUV, the same vehicle authorities said the suspect was believed to be driving as she allegedly drove to Mexico. She drove into Mexico in the SUV through the San Ysidro port of entry on Feb. 17 and remained at large for several weeks before authorities announced her arrest Saturday. Homicide detectives are still investigating to determine a possible motive, according to the Sheriff's Office. Meanwhile, the San Diego County District Attorney's Office announced her plea of not guilty in a statement Wednesday which listed resources for survivors of domestic violence including the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 and the San Diego County-based nonprofit, One Safe Place: The North County Family Justice Center . "Rebecca Marodi was a beloved Fire Captain who devoted her life to protecting others, including recently battling the Eaton fire near Los Angeles and the capture of her killer will begin the court process with today's arraignment," District Attorney Summer Stephan said in the statement. "This intimate partner homicide is a reminder that there are resources out there for individuals who are in fear for their safety."
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- Yahoo
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. Slain California Fire Captain's Fugitive Wife 'Scared' Ex Mother-in-law 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. Read On The Fox News App 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. Manhunt Underway After Wife Named As Suspect In Socal Fire Captain's Brutal Stabbing Death 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. Click To Get The Fox News App The sheriff's office said homicide investigators are working to gather more information about the circumstances and motivation behind Rebecca's murder. Fox News Digital's Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Stepheny Price contributed to this article source: Wife of slain California fire captain nabbed in Mexico after weeks on the run
Fox News
23-03-2025
- Fox News
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.
