A California woman who admitted killing her estranged husband more than two decades ago and is now wanted in the fatal stabbing of her wife is being sought by federal authorities, a law enforcement official said Monday.
The U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force is trying to locate and arrest Yolanda Marodi, 53, in connection with the fatal stabbing last week of Rebecca Marodi, 49, who was a captain with the state’s wildland fire agency, San Diego Sheriff’s Lt. Michael Krugh said in an email.
Rebecca Marodi was found with multiple stab wounds on Feb. 17 at her home in Ramona, northeast of San Diego, the department has said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
A possible motive in the killing remains unclear.
Rebecca Marodi worked for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for more than three decades, beginning as a volunteer firefighter in 1993 in an area east of Los Angeles, the agency said. She was promoted to captain in 2022.
She had been married to Yolanda Marodi for a little over two years, NBC San Diego reported. A photo on Rebecca Marodi’s Facebook page showed them together at a cidery on Yolanda Marodi’s birthday in December.
Yolanda Marodi previously admitted to killing her estranged husband, James Olejniczak, in October 2000, according to NBC San Diego.
Citing divorce records filed months before the death, the station reported Monday that she had sought custody of the couple’s children and claimed irreconcilable differences as the reason for their divorce.
Court records show Yolanda Marodi, then known as Yolanda Olejniczak, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in 2004 and was sentenced to 13 years in prison on that charge and for possession of paraphernalia, drugs or alcohol in jail, a spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said.
She was released in 2013 and remained on parole until 2015, according to the spokesperson.
