Rebecca Marodi, a fire captain who had helped fight the recent Los Angeles-area fires, was found stabbed to death in her home Monday night, and police have identified her wife as the suspect.
Police were called to Marodi’s home in Ramona, Calif., about 40 miles from San Diego, around 9 p.m., the San Diego CBS affiliate reports. She had been stabbed several times, and paramedics tried to revive her, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Yolanda Olenjniczak, who has been married to Marodi for two years, has been identified as the lead suspect by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office, the station reports. Her whereabouts are not known.
Olenjniczak, also known as Yolanda Marodi, has a criminal history. She was convicted of felony voluntary manslaughter related to a killing in 2000, according to court records viewed by the TV station. She was sentenced in 2004, but the duration of her sentence is not known.
Rebecca Marodicourtesy Riverside County Fire Department Hazmat Team
Rebecca Marodi, who would have turned 50 in June and planned to retire, had been a firefighter for more than 30 years. She started as a volunteer in Moreno Valley, Calif., in 1993, then was a seasonal firefighter in California’s San Bernardino and Riverside counties from 1994 to 2000. She then became a full-time firefighter in the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, a.k.a. Cal Fire, rising to captain in 2022. She recently helped fight the Eaton Fire, one of the fires that devastated the greater Los Angeles area.
“Beyond her operational assignments, Captain Marodi was deeply involved in Peer Support and Hazmat, always prioritizing the well-being of her colleagues,” said a press release from Cal Fire and the Riverside County Fire Department. “Her legacy of mentorship, service and dedication will be felt for years to come. Her passing is a profound loss to her family, friends and all who had the privilege of working alongside her.”
Anyone with information is asked to call the San Diego County Sheriff's Department's Homicide Unit at (858) 285-6330.
