Wife of slain California fire captain nabbed in Mexico after weeks on the run

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Officials identify suspect in stabbing death of SoCal Fire captain

The San Diego Sheriff’s Office said they are searching for the wife of Cal Fire captain Rebecca Marodi as a suspect in her brutal murder. (Credit: KSWB)

A California woman wanted in the murder of her fire captain wife has been captured in Mexico after more than a month on the run, according to U.S. and Mexican authorities.

Yolanda Marodi, 53, was arrested Saturday at a hotel in Mexicali near the U.S. border, according to the Baja California Citizen Security Secretariat.

She was later handed over to U.S. marshals in San Diego, where she was booked for the murder of 49-year-old Rebecca Marodi, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office said.

Yolanda previously served more than 13 years in prison for voluntary manslaughter in the death of her then-husband, James Joseph Olejniczak Jr., before her release in 2013, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

SLAIN CALIFORNIA FIRE CAPTAIN’S FUGITIVE WIFE ‘SCARED’ EX MOTHER-IN-LAW

Yolanda Marodi was arrested Saturday at a hotel in Mexicali near the U.S. border, according to authorities in Mexico. (Baja California Citizen Security Secretariat)

Rebecca Marodi, a Cal Fire captain, was stabbed to death in her home on Feb. 17. Yolanda, who escaped across the border into Mexico later that day, was named a primary suspect.

Yolanda Marodi was identified as a suspect in the murder of her wife, California Fire Captain Rebecca Marodi. (Yolanda Marodi Facebook)

Yolanda was seen on surveillance video arguing with Rebecca and physically assaulting her on the day of the fatal stabbing.

An arrest warrant, obtained by KABC, details that Rebecca told Yolanda she was leaving her and ending their marriage nearly a week before she was murdered. 

MANHUNT UNDERWAY AFTER WIFE NAMED AS SUSPECT IN SOCAL FIRE CAPTAIN’S BRUTAL STABBING DEATH

Detectives said that a voice could be heard yelling out, “Yolanda, please, I don’t want to die.” The report read that Yolanda responded to Rebecca, saying, “You should have thought about that before,” while standing in front of Rebecca with what appeared to be a knife in her hand.

Authorities found Rebecca Marodi with multiple stab wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene. (Cal Fire / Riverside County Fire Department)

Surveillance video captured Yolanda leaving the couple’s home before Rebecca’s mother arrived. Rebecca was found with several injuries to her neck, chest and back that authorities said were consistent with a stabbing.

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The sheriff’s office said homicide investigators are working to gather more information about the circumstances and motivation behind Rebecca’s murder.

Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Stepheny Price contributed to this report.