Marni Yang Fit for Trial

The woman charged in the 2007 killing of ex-Chicago Bears player Shaun Gayle's pregnant girlfriend is fit to stand trial, attorneys say.

Marni Yang didn't speak during a pre-trial hearing Friday in Waukegan.

The real estate broker and part-time model is accused of shooting Rhoni Reuter in her Deerfield home in October 2007, killing her and her unborn child. Yang is charged with first-degree murder and intentional homicide of an unborn child.

Lake County authorities contend the shooting -- Reuter was shot seven times -- was triggered by "jealous rage." Yang also had been involved with Gayle, authorities have said, though Gayle has denied any romantic involvement with her.

Authorities say that before she gunned down Reuter, Yang donned a disguise, switched license plates on a rental car and built a silencer for the 9mm pistol she allegedly used.

After the slaying, she allegedly dumped the pistol in a bucket, poured in quick-drying cement, then disposed of the weapon in a Chicago Dumpster, authorities said. Lake County authorities charged Yang after a female friend of Yang's allowed investigators to record her conversations with the suspect.

Yang has pleaded not guilty. Defense attorney William Hedrick says Yang was found fit to stand trial by a psychiatrist. The mother of three has been on suicide watch since her March 2009 arrest, Hedrick added.

The trial has been scheduled for Sept. 13.

If Yang is convicted of the charge of intentional homicide of an unborn child, she faces a prison term of 25 years to natural life -- the same penalty the first-degree murder charge carries.

Gayle was a member of the Bears' 1985 Super Bowl-winning team.