Wife sought in killing of Cal Fire captain fled to Mexico, authorities say

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RAMONA, Calif. - A Cal Fire captain who was allegedly stabbed to death by her wife in San Diego County had planned to leave the marriage before she was killed, according to reports.

Victim wanted out of marriage

Local perspective:

Cal Fire Capt. Rebecca "Becky" Marodi, 49, had told her wife, Yolanda Marodi —also known as Yolanda Olejniczak—that she wanted out of their two-year marriage, The Coast News Group reported.

A warrant declaration stated that Olejniczak, 53, texted an associate on Feb. 18, saying, "Becky came home and told me she was leaving me. She met someone else. All the messages were lies. We had a big fight, and I hurt her … I’m sorry."

The message was allegedly sent a day after Rebecca Marodi was found stabbed to death inside her home in the 20200 block of Rancho Villa Road in Ramona.

Ring surveillance video captured the victim running from the home while her wife chased after her, authorities said.

A voice, believed to be the victim’s, can be heard saying, "Yolanda, please, I don’t want to die." The suspect allegedly responds, "You should have thought about that before."

In the footage, Rebecca Marodi later reappears with what appears to be blood on her back, according to detectives.

On the run

What we know:

Yolanda Marodi remains at large.

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Suspect identified in stabbing death of Cal Fire captain

Authorities have identified a suspect in the stabbing death of an off-duty Cal Fire captain during a domestic dispute.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office said she fled the scene in a silver 2013 Chevrolet Equinox with California license plate 8BQJ420.

Authorities believe she crossed into Mexico. The Department of Homeland Security reported spotting her vehicle at the border.

"At this time, Olejniczak's whereabouts are not known. Out of an abundance of caution, the Sheriff's Office has alerted authorities on both sides of the border about this suspect," the sheriff's office said in a statement.

Yolanda Marodi previously served time in prison for voluntary manslaughter in the 2000 stabbing death of her former spouse, James Olejniczak Jr. She was released in 2013, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Olejniczak’s mother, Nancy Hayworth, told KGTV that her son’s killing and Rebecca Marodi’s death were eerily similar.

"She scares me," Hayworth said, noting that she had met her son’s killer only once. She said the woman "was a little immature at times, and also, she would just be not happy, I think, unless all the attention was on her."