Convicted Murderer Yang Makes Court Appearance, Seeks New Trial

WAUKEGAN, IL — Arguing Lake County has a "history of wrongful convictions," the lawyer for convicted murderer Marni Yang is hoping his client receives a stage three hearing due to reported new evidence in the case. Yang, 55, minus restraints, appeared in court Monday as part of a post-conviction petition process alleging her innocence. Yang is serving two life sentences for the 2007 murder of Deerfield resident Rhoni Reuter and her unborn child.

Yang's lawyer, Jed Stone, filed the petition in 2019. On Monday, Judge Christopher R. Stride set the next court date for Jan. 22, 2024, where he is expected to announce what new evidence, if any, will be allowed in court.

"There's a lot here. The record in this case is multiple volumes and transcripts with thousands of pages, so there's much for the court to go through," said Stride, who allowed Yang to appear in court without restraints following a request by Stone. "We're coming up against the holidays, so what I'm suggesting folks is that we take a look at maybe the end of January for the court to rule."

Yang, who was convicted in 2011, is serving her time at the Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln. Reuter was the girlfriend of former Chicago Bears player Shaun Gayle at the time of her death. Gayle, who played on the 1985 Super Bowl championship team, testified during Yang's trial that he was romantically involved with both women, admitting he had sex with Yang the night before Reuter's death.

Reuter, 42, was seven months pregnant when she was found dead on the kitchen floor of her Deerfield apartment. According to authorities, she had been shot by Yang multiple times at point-blank range with a 9mm handgun. There were no signs of robbery or forced entry at the crime scene.

Yang was convicted of the crime in 2011 after a jury found her guilty in under four hours. The prosecution described the murder as an "execution" in court. "A very planned, thought out execution," lawyers said at the time, and claimed Yang was obsessed with "eliminating her competition."

A key piece of evidence at Yang's 2011 trial, in which she was not represented by Stone, was her recorded confession to Christi Paschen two years prior at a Denny's restaurant in Lake County. The recording, and Yang's friendship with Paschen, were highlighted in a "20/20" program in 2020.

"I knew I was being recorded. I saw the wire," Yang told "20/20" regarding the meet-up at Denny's. "I wasn't confessing to her. I was confessing directly to law enforcement."

Lake County State's Attorney Jason Humke, in making a motion to dismiss the petition, called the false confession claim by the defense "essentially the glue that's holding the whole post-conviction petition together." He also described the petition as "unusual."

"The rest of the petition is nonsensical, essentially it tends to undo everything she was saying in the recording," Humke said.

Stone said Yang, who confessed to the slayings in a recorded message, only did so to protect her son. Stone said Yang believed the police were harassing her son, who was 16 at the time of the confession, and were going to potentially blame the murders on him.

"That is never established in any evidence in the post-conviction detailing. There is no evidentiary, in fact, there's no evidentiary support for anything in the [petition]," Humke said.

Stride had ruled in December 2019 that a wrongful conviction petition filed in October of that year in the high-profile murder case had merit and can move forward. The petition, according to Stone, contains more than 750 pages of newly released expert reports, images, DNA results and forensic testing of the evidence used at the trial to convict Yang.

Since the filing of the post-conviction petition, Stone said additional new evidence, experts, and witnesses "have provided further proof of Yang’s innocence."

At the close of Monday's hearing, Stone told Stride he was not asking the judge to "open the prison doors today," and requested that Yang's father and two children, who were in court, be able to hug her. The judge denied the request, stating the proceedings did not allow for any physical contact.

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• DNA Proves Marni Yang Wasn't At Murder Scene — Lawyer
• Marni Yang 'Truthful' In '20/20' Jailhouse Interview — Lawyer
• Convicted Murderer of Ex-Bear's Girlfriend Breaks Silence
• Police, Prosecutor Misconduct Led To Murder Conviction: Petition
• Friend Of Rhoni Reuter Believes Real Killer Remains At Large
• Marni Yang Sentenced to Life in Prison