Convicted Murderer Yang Set To Argue Innocence In Court: Lawyer

WAUKEGAN, IL — A little more than a year after a Lake County judge ruled to allow new evidence to be presented on behalf of convicted murderer Marni Yang, the 58-year-old is set to appear in court. She is currently serving two life sentences for the 2007 murder of Deerfield resident Rhoni Reuter and her unborn child.

Jed Stone, Yang's lawyer, said Thursday his client will be in court Monday for a stage three evidentiary hearing. According to Stone's office and JB Squared Media, the purpose of the Stage Three evidentiary hearing "will be for Stone to present evidence in the form of documents, video evidence, live witnesses, photographs and the link." Witnesses will be examined and cross-examined by each side.

Last year, Judge Christopher Stride ruled in favor of Yang to have the hearing. In 2019, Stone filed a post-conviction petition for Marni, which the lawyer said includes "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 of the 2007 murder."

"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," Stride said in 2023.

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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."

According to JB Squared Media, Stone doubts that the judge will rule from the bench, with it more likely that he will give his decision in writing at a future date.

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• 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