- Becky was head over heels for her wife Yolanda, but the two had distinct personalities
- Yolanda would often try to control Becky’s social activities and who she could spend time with
- One day she decided to break up with Yolanda, but the decision would cost her life
Rebecca and Yolanda Marodi’s relationship seemed picture perfect.
I’m so lucky to have married someone that loves me for me. My life has never been better since she’s been in it, Yolanda gushed on Instagram in January 2023, after the pair tied the knot.
The relationship worked despite their different personalities – Becky was outgoing and social, while Yolanda preferred to keep her inner circle tight.
Becky was also a dedicated firefighter, beginning as a volunteer and eventually rising to captain with California’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in the US where they lived.
In January 2025, she was on the front lines battling the devastating Eaton fire – a wildfire that claimed the lives of 19 people and destroyed more than 9000 buildings.
Over time, though, their relationship started to change. Friends noticed Yolanda had become jealous and insecure, and controlled who Becky could spend time with.
The motorcycle rides and double dates the couple had with their friends grew less frequent.
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Invitations were declined or cancelled. Becky, once open about the problems in her marriage, began talking less.
It seemed strange for bubbly Becky to retreat as she did. She was a firefighter who’d spent her career running towards danger. Nothing about her public life suggested someone who could be frightened into silence.
But inside the home she shared with Yolanda, the atmosphere was changing.
Becky’s mother, Lorena, also lived with the couple and, in February 2025, Becky confided in her mum that she was considering ending the marriage.
A week later, Yolanda told Lorena that she and Becky had ‘some things to work out,’ but assured her there would be no fighting.
That evening, Lorena went out with friends.
When she came home, she was met with an unimaginable scene – a trail of blood, and her daughter’s motionless body.
Becky, 49, had suffered numerous stab wounds to her neck, chest and abdomen.
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Investigators and emergency responders attempted lifesaving measures, but, tragically, Becky was pronounced dead at the scene.
Strangely, Yolanda’s car and some of her possessions were gone.
Surely she couldn’t have been involved, could she?
Police reviewed footage captured by the home’s security cameras, hoping to get some clues.
In the video, Becky was seen running across the patio, with Yolanda close behind. Panicked, Becky called for her mother.
‘She’s not here,’ Yolanda replied.
Then Becky’s desperation became unmistakable.
‘Yolanda! Please. I don’t want to die.’
The two women disappeared from view. When they reappeared, Becky’s back was covered in blood.
‘You should have thought about that before,’ Yolanda, who had blood on her arms and was holding a knife, coldly replied.
Becky pleaded with her to call for help.
The camera later recorded Yolanda changing clothes and loading pets, luggage and other belongings into her car, before she drove away.
Becky’s family and friends were horrified.
How could the woman she loved be capable of such evil?
As investigators worked to track her down, they discovered something about Yolanda’s past that made the case even more chilling.
This was not the first time she had been involved in the death of a spouse. In October 2000, she’d fatally stabbed her then-husband, James Joseph Olejniczak, in the chest after he told her he was ending their marriage.
Yolanda had pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and spent nine years in prison, until her release in 2013.
Investigators believed Becky’s attempt to leave her marriage had preceded her death as well.
After the killing, Yolanda sent a message to an acquaintance that was later used as evidence against her. She wrote that Becky had told her she was leaving, that she had met someone else, and they had fought.
I hurt her, she said in the message.
For more than a month, Yolanda Marodi remained out of reach. Then, in March 2025, police located her in Mexico. She was taken into custody and returned to the US to face a murder charge.
She pleaded not guilty. But the case never reached the trial investigators had been preparing for.
In August 2026, Yolanda Marodi pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
In September, Yolanda Olejniczak Marodi, 54, appeared in the San Diego County Superior Court where she was sentenced to 36 years to life in prison.
In court Becky’s mother Lorena spoke of how it’d been ‘the privilege of a lifetime’ to be her parent.
‘In the face of the greatest darkness, I have stood strong to receive justice for my amazing, beautiful, strong daughter.
‘Every morning when I wake, the image of my baby girl lying on the floor with stab wounds to her back and lifeless body haunts me.
‘Despite the horrific violence bestowed upon Becky, I refuse to allow Yolanda’s darkness to consume me,’ she said.
