A California woman sought in connection with the killing of her firefighter wife has been apprehended in Mexico after being on the lam for over a month. US and Mexican authorities collaborated to track her down.
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 then extradited to San Diego where U.S. marshals took custody of her. The charges against her relate to the murder of her spouse, 49-year-old Rebecca Marodi, as detailed by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office.
Prior to this incident, the woman, named Yolanda, had already served more than 13 years in prison for voluntary manslaughter in the case of her former husband, James Joseph Olejniczak Jr. She was released in 2013 following her sentence, according to records from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
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.
Authorities found Rebecca Marodi with multiple stab wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene. (Cal Fire / Riverside County Fire Department)
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.
Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Stepheny Price contributed to this report.
