Convicted Woman in Super Bowl Winner’s Girlfriend’s Murder Claims New Evidence Points to True Culprit

A Chicago woman who was convicted for the brutal killing of a pregnant romantic rival in 2007 claims that new evidence has emerged, proving her innocence and implicating someone else in the crime. Marni Yang, now 56 years old, was involved in a love triangle with former Bears star Shaun Gayle when Rhoni Reuter, Gayle’s girlfriend, and their unborn child were shot dead in an apartment in Deerfield, Illinois.

After a lengthy investigation, Yang was arrested more than a year later when physical evidence and a recorded confession were uncovered. She was sentenced to two life terms for the murders. However, Yang and her attorney, Jed Stone, argued in court on Monday that new evidence points to a different suspect. Yang was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder by jurors in 2011 after just three hours of deliberations, according to FOX 32 Chicago.

Yang has been appealing her conviction for years, but her own words in a recorded confession helped secure her conviction. In the confession, she described the details of the crime and admitted her involvement. However, last year in a jailhouse interview with ABC 7 Chicago, Yang claimed that the confession was phony and that she made a false confession despite knowing her friend was wearing a wire.

In a previous appeal, Yang’s defense argued that the recorded admissions should not have been allowed as evidence. However, Yang made several incriminating statements, including a code phrase she developed to indicate that the murder had been carried out. Her friend heard this phrase on a recorded phone call made an hour after the murder.

Shaun Gayle, a former Bears defensive back, met Yang at a Chicago Bears convention in 2005, and their relationship quickly turned romantic. Yang’s friends testified that she had an unhealthy obsession with Gayle, who had been dating Reuter for 17 years at the time of the murder. Yang had access to Gayle’s email account and often complained about messages he received from other women. She even canceled a reservation for a trip to Europe after finding an email receipt.

After learning that Gayle would become a father, Yang expressed her desire to kill him to a friend. However, her plan shifted towards Reuter, whom she admitted to visiting before getting cold feet. The day before the murders, Yang stayed at a friend’s house and asked her to do a tarot card reading to determine the success of killing Reuter. The reading indicated the achievement of a goal, but the friend did not take it seriously enough to report it to the police.

On the morning of the murders, witnesses reported seeing a disguised figure at Reuter’s apartment building, followed by a scream, bangs, and a crash. Prosecutors allege that Yang used a silencer during the attack, and bank records showed that she purchased a book set called “How to Make Disposable Silencers” two months prior to the shooting. Reuter, who was seven months pregnant, was shot seven times, including twice in the stomach and once in the head. A forensic pathologist concluded that Reuter died trying to protect her unborn child.

Prosecutors also claimed that Yang took a medical-alert bracelet from Reuter’s wrist, which identified her as a mother-to-be, as a trophy. Yang is currently serving two concurrent life sentences at the Logan Correctional Center in Illinois.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.