Marni Yang Denied New Trial In Deerfield Murder Case

She is serving life in prison for the 2007 killings of Rhoni Reuter and Reuter’s unborn child in Deerfield.

By Eric DeGrechie, Patch Staff

Jun 29, 2026 11:41 am CDT

Yang, who has long maintained her innocence, remains in the custody at the Logan Correctional Center. (Illinois Department of Corrections)

WAUKEGAN, IL — A Lake County judge on Monday denied Marni Yang's request for a new trial in the 2007 killings of Rhoni Reuter and Reuter's unborn child inside Reuter’s Deerfield home, according to reports.

Yang, 58, is serving a life sentence after being convicted in 2011 of first-degree murder and intentional homicide of an unborn child. Reuter, 42, was pregnant with former Chicago Bears player Shaun Gayle's child when she was shot and killed Oct. 4, 2007, in her Deerfield home.

Lake County Judge Christopher Stride issued the ruling Monday, denying Yang's post-conviction petition following years of legal efforts by Yang and her attorneys to challenge the conviction, the Daily Herald reported.

Yang, who has long maintained her innocence, remains in the custody at the Logan Correctional Center.

The ruling followed a February evidentiary hearing in which Yang's defense team presented arguments it said supported a new trial, including claims tied to the height of the shooter, DNA evidence and other issues involving the original investigation and prosecution, Patch previously reported.

Yang's attorneys had argued that new evidence contradicted the prosecution’s theory of the case and raised questions about whether Yang could have been the shooter. Prosecutors opposed the petition and maintained that Yang was properly convicted.

At Yang's 2011 trial, prosecutors argued she killed Reuter because both women had been romantically involved with Gayle. Yang was accused of using a disguise and entering Reuter’s Deerfield condominium before shooting her multiple times.

The case has remained one of Lake County's most closely watched murder cases because of the connection to Gayle, Reuter's pregnancy and Yang’s continued attempts to overturn her conviction.

In February, Stride heard testimony and arguments during the post-conviction proceedings but did not immediately issue a ruling. A decision had been expected later in the spring, Patch previously reported.

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