Firefighter captain found stabbed to death inside her home, CA cops say. ‘In shock’
A veteran fire captain was found dead inside her home, prompting a homicide investigation, California officials say.
Deputies found Rebecca Marodi, 49, inside her Ramona home with multiple stab wounds after getting a call about an assault just before 9 p.m. Monday, Feb. 17, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office said in a Feb. 18 news release.
Despite paramedics’ efforts to save Marodi, she died from her injuries, deputies said.
Marodi was a fire captain with the CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department and “dedicated over 30 years of her life to the fire service,” fire officials said in a news release on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Her passing is a profound loss to her family, friends, and all who had the privilege of working alongside her,” fire officials wrote.
In a Facebook post, a fellow firefighter called Marodi’s death “devastating.”
“You were a kind soul and will be dearly missed,” he wrote.
Others echoed the sentiment, calling Marodi “an incredible human.”
“I’m in shock over the unfathomable loss of Beck Marodi,” another Facebook user wrote. “Selfless, kind, loving, funny, supportive, there aren’t enough words to describe the incredible person that she was.”
Marodi started her fire career in 1993 as a volunteer firefighter in Moreno Valley, fire officials said. From there, she moved on to becoming a seasonal firefighter with units in San Bernardino and Riverside and was promoted in 2000, fire officials said.
Seven years later, she became a fire apparatus engineer and was promoted to captain in 2022, officials said.
“Her legacy of mentorship, service, and dedication will be felt for years to come,” officials said.
Multiple Facebook users pointed to a video shared by the fire department in January as an example of Marodi’s character and leadership.
She and her team were called to a home in August and found a man in cardiac arrest.
“The fire department showed up, Captain Marodi and her crew, and it was (as) if these angels walked into my house,” the man’s wife, Diana Johnson, said in the video.
The man, an Escondido firefighter’s father, was pronounced dead on scene.
But even still, the fire crew remained for over an hour, consoling Johnson and waiting for the man’s son to arrive so they could drape an American flag over the military veteran’s body.
“No one could have been kinder or more loving,” Johnson said. “I immediately felt like she was my family, like she could have been a daughter to me.”
While deputies said they are working to identify a suspect in Marodi’s death, they believe her killing may have stemmed from domestic violence.
Deputies said a motive for Marodi’s killing is unclear, adding that they are working to gather additional details.
Anyone with information is asked to contact deputies at 858-285-6330.
Ramona is about a 40-mile drive northeast from San Diego.
This story was originally published February 19, 2025 at 9:46 AM with the headline "Firefighter captain found stabbed to death inside her home, CA cops say. ‘In shock’."
