March 27th, 2025 - Happy Meals

We have new information on the case of Becky Marodi, the Cal Fire Captain who was found slain in her home last month.
In Texas, a man has been charged with murder after an innocent bystander was shot and killed during a heated exchange between two groups of people.
In Louisiana, a man has been charged with murder for the death of his stepfather after both men were reported missing. 
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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello, and welcome back to Sword and Scale Daily, a
daily show covering all things true crime, five days a week.
It's Thursday, March twenty seventh. I'm your host, Ryan Williams.
We have a new information on the case of Becky Morodi,
the Cowfire captain who was found slain in her home

(00:21):
last month. In Texas, a man has been charged with
murder after an innocent bystander was shot and killed during
a heated exchange between two groups of people. And in Louisiana,
a man has been charged with murder for the death
of his stepfather after both men were reported missing. All
of this coming at you right now here on Sword

(00:43):
and Scale Daily. Today, we bring you new and updated
information on the case of Yolanda Morodi, the woman accused
of killing her wife Becky Morodi last month at their
southern California home. To quickly recap the investigation began on Monday,
February seventeenth at around nine pm. That's when deputies from

(01:07):
the San Diego County Sheriff's Office, as well as paramedics
from the Temecula Cow Fire Station, responded to a home
on Rancho Villa Road. Both Sheriff's deputies and paramedics alike
were called to the home for a reported assault with
a deadly weapon. Upon their arrival, they discovered Becky Morodi
gravely injured. Unfortunately, she was pronounced dead at the scene. Now,

(01:27):
when we last left off, we learned the detectives who
took over the case had identified Becky's wife, Yolanda, as
the prime suspect in the case, but at that time,
Yolanda was nowhere to be found. Detectives believed that yolan
had fled the state of California and possibly even the country,
by crossing into the border into Mexico. As such, detectives
contacted authorities in Mexico to let them know to keep

(01:50):
an out for their fugitive. And while a suspect had
officially been named in this case, it wasn't the only
thing we learned. We also discovered that Yolanda had once
served time in prison and after being convicted of voluntary
manslaughter back in two thousand and three. That case was
in connection with the October two thousand death of Yolanda's
then husband, James Ulnachek Junior, who was found stabbed to

(02:11):
death in their home. Yolanda was released on prol back
in twenty thirteen, and during our last update on the story,
we also heard from some of Becky's close friends, including
her ex girlfriend Lyla Flagger, who had the following to
say about Becky and Yolanda's relationship quote, it was a
typical toxic relationship. My understanding is that she was very

(02:31):
jealous and she didn't want Becky to maintain the friendship
she had for years with other women. You don't ever
want somebody that you once cared for so much to
suffer for this to happen to Becky in the home
we shared and lived in together. It's just unfathomable. With
all of that said, new information was released over the weekend.
It seems that Becky's mother was the one who arrived

(02:52):
at her home on Rancho Villa Road and was the
one to call nine one one, and after Becky's untimely death,
Surveillance daie from within the home would lead detectives to
identifying Yolanda as the suspect. Based on the footage, Yolanda
was seen allegedly assaulting Becky before fleeing the scene. Shortly
after the attack took place, Becky's mother arrived and made

(03:13):
that awful discovery. It was also announced on Saturday that
Yolanda has been located and successfully taken into custody. According
to the US Marshals, Yolanda had indeed crossed the border
the same day that Becky was allegedly murdered. A motive
for the alleged slang is still unknown, but we are
continuing to follow this story closely. When more details are

(03:33):
made available, we'll be sure to bring you an update.
On the evening of Sunday, March sixteenth, officers with the
Katie Police Department in Texas, along with paramedics, responded to
the McDonald's on the sixty one hundred block of East

(03:55):
Fry Road for reported shooting. When first responders arrive on
the scene, he found a man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
The man, later identified as sixty one year old Jorge
ar Bezas Senior, was airlifted to a trauma center for
emergency treatment. Unfortunately, he would succumb to his injuries. His
last words to his wife at the fast food establishment

(04:16):
were quote, I'm dying. I'm going to die. Investigators responded
to the McDonald's to determine what exactly had happened that
led to this fatal shooting incident. Early on, they learned
that the victim, Jorge, was simply an innocent bystander who
was walking in the restaurant to pick up three happy
meals for his grandchildren who were waiting in the car,

(04:38):
and during the investigation, investigators determined the shooting was over
a dispute between two groups of teenagers. Fortunately, investigators were
able to identify the person they believe was responsible for
the shooting. That individual was later identified as twenty four
year old Antwine Ridge. Why he was hanging out with
a group of teenagers isn't exactly nun Investigators were able

(05:02):
to quickly track Antoine down and get him into custody.
He's since been charged with murder. At the time Antoine
was arrested, it was discovered that he had active felony
warrens for aggravated assault of a family member with a
deadly weapon. His bond was set at one million dollars.
Although Antoine has since been locked up ahead of his trial,
many are wondering why he was out to begin with.

(05:24):
You see, Antoine has had a pretty active criminal history
that dated back to twenty nineteen when he was eighteen.
I wasn't able to find the charges that Antoine faced
that year, but from what sources say, he should have
been sent to prison. Instead, he was given two years
of probation. Now do you think he abided by those rules?
Of course not. Andy Kahhn of Crime Stoppers spoke with

(05:47):
the media and stated, quote, he failed probation miserably. He
didn't do anything. Instead of provoking his probation sentence and
sending Antoine to prison, he was given an unsatisfactory and
of probation. So instead of being held accountable, Antoine just
got to walk free. And then in twenty twenty three,
he was charged with aggravated assault of a family member

(06:08):
with a deadly weapon that you know, felony. Warn't he
was wanted on at the time of his arrest, but
his crimes didn't in there or in Texas for that matter.
It was also discovered that Antoine had been convicted of
two felonies down in the state of Florida. Once again,
he's just hit with probation, and that's when he allegedly
went back to Texas, where he remained until the shooting.

(06:29):
On the sixteenth, when all of this information became public,
Jorge ar Beza Junior, the victim's son, spoke with the
media and stated the following quote. There were multiple situations
and times, and the systems and the people that should
have been working a little harder, being a little bit
more diligent with their process to make sure he's held
accountable for everything he was doing. It shouldn't take the

(06:50):
death of an innocent bystander for him to finally be
caught and hopefully put away for the rest of his life.
The case is still under investigation. Some more details become available,
we'll be sure to bring you an update. On the

(07:14):
afternoon of Sunday, March ninth, officers with the Baton Rouge
Police Department in Louisiana responded to a home on Jean
Street for a requested welfare check. According to the reporting party,
Walter Rowland hadn't shown up for a weekly visit with
a family member and wasn't answering anyone's calls. Neighbors noticed
the heavy police presence that was growing outside of Walter's home,

(07:34):
but it seemed that they were waiting on a decision
to enter the residence or call it a day. Eventually,
the decision was made to go into the home. To
check on Walter. Unfortunately, there was no sign of Walter anywhere.
In fact, it appeared as if he had been gone
for some period of time. Officers went around and spoke
with neighbors in the area. They all spoke fondly of Walter,

(07:56):
recalling that he was a quiet man who lived very simply,
though they noted that a week prior, Walter just kind
of disappeared. Both Walter and his step son, thirty four
year old Ian Segers. One neighbor, later spoke with the
media and stated, quote, I know Walter has been living
here a long time. He drinks water, minds his business,

(08:16):
don't really bother anybody. I would see them out in
their backyard a lot, just doing normal stuff, working on
the car with their cats and stuff like that. Then
one week or a few weeks ago, they just kind
of disappeared altogether, like the cats, the son, the man.
Everyone was just gone. Other neighbors, however, recalled that while
on the surface it appeared that Walter and Ian had

(08:38):
a good relationship, in truth it had been a bit strained,
and it had been ever since Ian's mother died. At
that particular time, Ian moved out of the house and
was living in a trailer on Walter's property. They started
passing by, and still there was no sign of Walter
or Ian. When investigators took over the case and started

(08:58):
looking into the strange appearances, they were contacted by one
witness who were called receiving an odd request from Ian
prior to both men going missing. The witness stated that
Ian called them and asked to borrow a shovel so
he could quote unquote bury a dog. After that, both
men were gone with the wind. And then on the
evening of Friday, March twenty first, investigators received a call

(09:20):
from one of Ian's family members in Ocean Springs. The
relatives stated that Ian was at their house on the
five thousand block of Southland Street for the evening. With
this new information, investigators gathered a surveillance team with the
assistance of the Ocean Springs Police Department, and set up
a perimeter at the home. By the time that the
warrant for the home was secured, however, Ian was gone.

(09:43):
Then the following day, at around ten am, investigators once
again received a call from the family member who stated
that Ian called them and said that he was hiding
in the woods near the home. And wanted to know
if his relative would bring his belongings outside so he
could retrieve them and flee. A short while later, Investigate
had Ian in custody. Initially, he was just held on
a charge of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, as

(10:06):
he had been driving around in Walter's vehicle, but later
that day the charges were upgraded to second degree murder.
It's not currently known what information investigators have that lead
them to believe that Ian murdered Walter, but they have
gone on record to state that they're actively looking for
Walter's body. We're going to continue following this case closely.
When more details are revealed, we'll be sure to bring

(10:27):
you an update. Thanks so much for tuning in for
today's episode of Sword and Scaled Daily. I'm your host,
Ryan Williams, and we'll see you back here tomorrow