Defense attorneys for the woman accused of murdering the pregnant girlfriend of a former Chicago Bears player said Monday there may be an issue regarding her mental fitness to stand trial.
The Lake County News Sun reported that defense attorneys Jeffrey Lerner and William Hedrick told Lake County Associate Judge Christopher Stride their own expert was in the process of evaluating Marni Yang, 42, to determine if she has any mental issues.
"There's a possibility of a mental fitness issue. We will wait for our doctor, who will hopefully finish his evaluation within the next month," Hedrick said.
The attorneys didn't specify whether they intended to use Yang's mental fitness as a defense strategy or to delay the trial, which is currently scheduled to begin Sept. 13.
The real estate broker and part-time model is accused of gunning down 42-year-old Rhoni Reuter because she was jealous of her relationship with Gayle. Reuter was seven months pregnant when she was shot to death in her Deerfield home.
Yang plotted the killing, driving a rental car with stolen plates and buying dark makeup and a cornrow wig to disguise herself, prosecutors said. She contends that she was at her home on the Northwest Side of Chicago -- 18 miles from the crime scene -- with her children at the time of the murder.
She was arrested after one of her friends wore a wire so authorities could record their conversations.
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