RAMONA — After authorities publicly identified the suspected perpetrator of an apparent domestic assault that left a Cal Fire captain dead in her Ramona home, new details about the suspect’s criminal past are emerging today.
Detectives investigating the fatal stabbing of Rebecca “Becky” Marodi, 49, are searching for her wife, 53-year-old Yolanda Marodi, who also goes by Yolanda Olejniczak, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies responding to a report of an assault about 9 p.m. Monday found Rebecca Marodi mortally wounded at her residence in the 20200 block of Rancho Villa Road, north of state Route 78 and west of Pine Street. The victim, who had worked for the state firefighting agency for more than 30 years, died at the scene.
The events that led to the slaying are unknown.
“The motivation and circumstances surrounding this homicide remain under investigation as detectives work diligently to gather more information and establish a comprehensive understanding of the case,” sheriff’s Lt. Michael Krugh said Thursday.
The suspect had been married to the victim for about two years, according to family members. Marodi worked for Cal Fire primarily in Riverside County but also served stints in the San Diego and San Bernardino areas, officials with the agency said.
A spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office confirmed Olejniczak, the suspect in Marodi’s slaying, was previously charged with an October 2000 murder in San Bernardino County.
The criminal complaint in that case states the victim was James Joseph Olejniczak and that the killing was committed with a knife. The document did not disclose the relationship between the defendant and the victim.
Yolanda Olejniczak later pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter.
CDCR spokesperson Emily Humpal said she was sentenced to 13 years and eight months in prison for manslaughter, plus possession of drugs or alcohol in jail as a second striker.
Olejniczak, who had more than 1,300 days credit for custodial time served before sentencing, was imprisoned from February 2004 until November 2013.
