Cops: Years After Killing Hubby, She Killed Wife the Same Way

Months before she was due to retire, Rebecca Marodi, a California fire captain who battled last month's Eaton Fire, was found stabbed to death on Feb. 17. Days later, police said the suspected killer was Marodi's wife of two years—a woman convicted of fatally stabbing her first spouse 25 years ago. Yolanda Marodi, who may have fled to Mexico, was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2004 after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the 2000 death of James Joseph Olejniczak. She was released in 2013. A decade later, she wrote online of "my love for my amazing wife." "My life has never been better since she's been in it," Yolanda Marodi added, per the Los Angeles Times. "So glad I gave love another chance."

Police are now asking for the public's help in locating the 53-year-old, who lived with her 49-year-old wife in San Diego County. She's "actively avoiding arrest," San Diego County Sheriff's Department Lt. Mike Krugh said, per the Washington Post. An arrest warrant claims Rebecca told Yolanda she was leaving her roughly a week before Rebecca's mother found her daughter dead inside a home in Ramona. In surveillance footage, a voice is heard saying, "Yolanda, please, I don't want to die," per CBS News. Rebecca then appears with what looks like blood on her back as another voice says, "You should have thought of that before." Per the warrant, Yolanda later texted a friend, saying, "We had a big fight and I hurt her."

"I just can't wrap my head around it," James Olejniczak's mother tells the Post. "My heart goes out to Becky's family." The victim had worked for Cal Fire for more than 30 years, per KNSD. Yolanda is believed to have left the scene in a silver 2013 Chevrolet Equinox with the California license plate 8BQJ420, which was seen entering Mexico within hours, per KGTV. Deputies say her whereabouts are unknown, but that authorities on both sides of the border are on the lookout. The suspect is described as 5'2", about 165 pounds, with brown hair and eyes, and is said to be traveling with a small white dog. (More murder stories.)