In October 2007 a woman named Rhoni Reuter was shot and killed in the kitchen of her

Deerfield, Illinois home as she prepared to leave for the day. At the time of her death, Ms. Reuter was six months pregnant with the child of former Chicago Bears player, Shaun Gayle. Initial police interest focused on Gayle. That focus quickly changed to Marni Yang as she was also romantically and sexually involved with Gayle. The Chicago Bears organization is politically and economically powerful in Lake County, Illinois (North of Chicago and bordering Wisconsin along Lake Michigan).

Gayle's relationship with Ms. Reuter was contentious and controlling. It is known that Reuter had breast augmentation surgery at Gayle's request. Reuter also had two abortions prior to her death because Gayle was very opposed to having children and any financial responsibility for them. Reuter concealed this pregnancy from Gayle until after the first trimester so he could not force another abortion. Gayle was also involved with several other women and there were a series of letters being mailed to a list of these women.

The police reports contain reports of prior physical abuse of Reuter by Gayle. Forensic

Pathologist, Dr. Cyril Wecht, prior to his death, looked at reports John Louis Larsen, (Larsen Forensics) and I prepared as well as the autopsy protocol and photographs. Dr. Wecht identified healing bruises on Reuter that were not reported by the Lake County Coroner's Pathologist, Dr. Manual "Manny" Montez. Dr. Wecht agreed with the findings that Mr. Larsen and I detailed in our various reports that Ms. Yang was too short to have fired the first gunshot wound.

The police focus on Yang was intense. Yang and her two juvenile (at the time) children were all brought in and interrogated by members of the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force (LCMCTF). Eventually the police put a wire on a Yang acquaintance named Christie Paschen. Paschen claimed to a psychic previously employed by the CIA who reported that Yang had made incriminating statements about the murder and drove to her home immediately after the murder.

At about the same time, the police were intimating to Yang that if she had not committed the murder, maybe her son had and they would arrest him instead. Yang then decided that she would have to save her son and make stuff up. During the overhear, the recording device fell out of Paschen's clothing but nothing overt was said between the two women about the device. Paschen went into a bathroom and said into the device that she was sure Yang had seen the device and needed direction from the police.

Yang made several statements about the shooting that were taken as "gospel" by the police and prosecutors. Yang expressed surprise that the police did not immediately arrest her after the restaurant meetings with Paschen. The basis of Yang's statements was from information she learned from her interrogation sessions where each time she was eventually released.

At trial, evidence was presented that Yang's rental car was visible in security video from a gas station going toward and leaving the area of Reuter's home.

At trial, evidence was also presented that Yang possessed two books on manufacturing

homemade silencers / suppressors and could have made them with materials she actually

purchased from Home Depot. The argument of a silencer was supported by the lack of sound being heard by Reuter's downstairs neighbor who had initially called the police after hearing bumps through the floor.

Two witnesses came forward after hearing of the incident and independently reported to police seeing a black male subject prior to and after the incident. Neither person was in a position to hear any shots. The first witness saw the subject enter Reuter's building and go up the stairs to near where Reuter's home was located. The second witness saw the subject leaving across the parking lot and getting in a car. Both witnesses indicated that the subject was about 5'10" in height. Yang is only 5'00" tall. Both witnesses later revised their statements to a shorter height and that the person was wearing some sort of wig and/or makeup.

The crime lab identified the 9mm pistol used in the crime as being a Beretta or other similar manufacturers. Yang was known to own a Beretta 92FS pistol, but it could not be found after the incident. A friend of Yang's son told police that he had stolen the pistol and a video game system prior to the incident because he needed money to pay a debt, but this information was never included in any reports.

The coroner's pathologist, Dr. Montez, who never completed his training as a forensic pathologist but was repeatedly referred to as such, testified at trial that at the time a wound to Reuter's upper left chest that exited her upper arm occurred, Reuter's left arm was raised up in the air over her shoulder, thus suggesting that the shot was fired by a short offender. Dr. Montez also testified that a shot that entered the right side of Reuter's pregnant belly, went through the fetus, exited the left side of her belly and then imbedded in Reter's left wrist was a "defensive wound" as Reuter was protecting her baby. This assertion was widely reported and can still be found in most Internet searches about this case.

Ms. Yang never had a real chance at trial of explaining that she said the things she did to protect her own son from prosecution. Yang was found guilty of First-Degree Murder and Murder of the Unborn Child. She was sentenced to two terms of natural life in prison.

In June of 2017, John Larsen and I became involved in this case in support of a petition of actual innocence. John Larsen and I worked specifically on the forensic aspects of this case. John Larsen was the original Evidence Response Team Leader for the Chicago Office of the FBI. I was an Evidence Technician with the Oak Park, Illinois Police Department for most of my career with a heavy interest in forensic photography.

Our forensic studies showed that the police video analysis was forensically flawed and useless to identify almost any car traveling through the frame. We showed that the Reuter chest wound was a near-contact wound and identified a possible bullet impact location in the kitchen wall, missed by the police, that explained both visible particulate debris and the travel path of a ricochet bullet found behind the kitchen door. We also ruled out the use of a suppressor due to physical tearing of Reuter's shirt material around the chest wound. We disproved every Yang overhear "confession" conjecture when compared to the scene physical evidence. We also disproved Dr. Montez's statements about Reuter's arm positions and the "defensive wound."

I testified at the Stage 3 hearing in January of 2026 to the forensic investigations we did that supports the offender firing the first shot striking Ms Reuter being approximately 5'09" in height or taller. In support of my testimony, I prepared a 100+ page affidavit that, in summary, found ZERO physical evidence to support the idea that Marni Yang shot Rhoni Reuter.

Ms. Yang is ably represented by Attorney Jed Stone, of Waukegan, Illinois. Mr. Stone has a history of multiple innocence reversals in Lake County, and I believe in the end we will succeed, but time is not on our side. Marni has suffered health issues while incarcerated. Throughout this ordeal, Marni's father, Mr. Larry Merar, has made extraordinary efforts both financially and physically to see this injustice corrected. Without his backing I do not believe that this case woul have gotten as far as it has. I fear is that Mr. Merar will never see justice for Marni.

Marni Yang is currently in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections at the Logan Correctional Center. Her inmate ID# is R87186. She can be contacted by mail at:

Marni Yang R87186, Logan Correctional Center, P.O. Box 1000, Lincoln, IL 61656.

The above was written by Art Borchers. My name is Jax West & Marni’s Dad has asked me to start a fundraiser for Marni’s Defense as the Judge ruled against her last week so now we have filed an appeal. Her attorney has said he will charge $35,000 to represent her. Larry doesn't have any more money so he thought maybe we could get donations to cover the cost.