The wife of a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection captain has been arrested in Mexico on suspicion of murder, a month after the firefighter was found stabbed to death in their home near San Diego, authorities said.
Investigators identified Yolanda Olejniczak Marodi as the prime suspect in the February 17 killing of Cal Fire Capt. Rebecca Marodi, 49, in Ramona.
Olejniczak Marodi, 53, was taken into custody Saturday at a hotel in Mexicali, just south of the US border, officials in Mexico reported. She was handed over to US marshals and returned to the United States, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office.
It was unclear Sunday whether she had legal representation.
Authorities said she will be booked into custody in San Diego as the investigation continues.
Marodi, a decorated Cal Fire captain, had recently battled the Eaton Fire near Los Angeles in January. She and Olejniczak Marodi had been married for just over two years.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Olejniczak Marodi had previously been convicted in the 2000 fatal stabbing of her then-husband, James Joseph Olejniczak. She pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and served nearly a decade in prison.
Officials say she fled to Mexico on the night of Marodi’s killing. Surveillance footage captured her earlier that evening arguing with and physically assaulting Marodi before leaving the house, the sheriff’s office said.
Home security footage, detailed in an arrest warrant obtained by the Times, reportedly captures Marodi screaming, “Yolanda! Please … ! I don’t want to die!” before appearing on camera with blood on her back.
The footage also shows Olejniczak Marodi packing belongings into a silver SUV, which was later seen crossing the border into Mexico.