"The Act of a Heartless Psychopath"
Arrest Made in murder of former Bear's Girlfriend
By ROB STAFFORD and BJ LUTZ
Updated 8:57 AM CST, Wed, Mar 4, 2009
DEERFIELD, Ill. -- An arrest has been made in the shooting death of the girlfriend of former Chicago Bears player Shaun Gayle.
Marni Kay Yang, 41, a Chicago woman who describes herself on her Internet site as a single mother of "three awesome kids" was arrested Tuesday and charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Rhoni Reuter and her unborn baby.
Reuter, 42, a friend and girlfriend of Gayle’s for nearly two decades, was found in her condo in the Deerfield Crossing complex on the morning of Oct. 4, 2007 with multiple gunshot wounds. She was eight months pregnant with Gayle's baby, a girl who would have been named Skylar.
There was no sign of forced entry into Reuter’s condominium.
Yang's home, in the 5000 block of N. St. Louis Ave., was searched in January of 2008, with investigators removing a number of items from her home, including computers.
Neighbors told NBC Chicago that Yang had told them that she knew Gayle.
Gayle, a defensive back on the 1985 Super Bowl champion Bears, was ruled out as a suspect in Reuter’s death almost immediately.
In a statement, Gayle confirmed that Yang was a realtor he'd worked with and said she had access to personal information that he said he believes was used in the pursuit and murder of Reuter:
"This was the act of a heartless psychopath. Rhoni was a beautiful young woman with so much optimism and promise. She was loved by so many and extremely excited to be a mother for the first time. Her kindness and caring would have made her a great mother to Skylar. We both were so looking forward to meeting our daughter, Skylar, who was due on December 18, 2007. I cannot express how painful it has been to lose both of them."
"I am completely shaken that someone I knew is responsible for this monstrous act," Gayle said.
Yang's initial bond was set at $5 million. A bond hearing for Yang is scheduled for Wednesday morning with a news conference to follow at 1 p.m.
Police are not releasing any other information into the arrest or charges until that time.
First Published: Mar 3, 2009 4:27 PM CST
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