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On October 4, 2007, Rhoni Reuter, seven months pregnant with former Chicago Bears player Shaun Gayle’s daughter, was shot to death in her Deerfield, Illinois, condo. Marni Yang, convicted in 2011 for the murder of Reuter and her unborn child, is currently serving two life sentences at Logan Correctional Center, still maintaining her innocence.
The case, marked by jealousy and betrayal, gripped Chicago due to Gayle’s fame and the crime’s brutality. It is featured in Dateline: Secrets Uncovered season 11, episode 25, Deadly Liaisons, which first aired on May 31, 2023, on Oxygen and re-aired on July 2, 2025, at 9 pm ET. The episode can be streamed on Peacock and the Oxygen app.
The episode, produced by NBC News, included Yang’s prison interviews, Gayle’s testimony, police footage, and details of Yang’s 2024 push for a new trial, highlighting new evidence.
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Five chilling details of the Rhoni Reuter murder case
1) Rhoni Reuter was shot to death in October 2007
Rhoni Reuter, 42, was shot several times, including twice in the abdomen, in her Deerfield condo on October 4, 2007, killing her and her unborn daughter. The coroner noted that Reuter wrapped her arm around her abdomen, likely to protect her baby, as reported by CBS News.
Prosecutors described the attack as a calculated murder, with Marni Yang allegedly using a homemade silencer to muffle the shots. The absence of a robbery or forced entry suggested a targeted killing, intensifying the case’s shock value. The crime scene, with Rhoni Reuter found dead in her kitchen, underscored the personal nature of the violence, as reported by ABC News.
This brutal act, tied to a high-profile figure like Shaun Gayle, fueled widespread media attention in Chicago.
2) Marni Yang secretly confessed to a friend about killing Rhoni Reuter
Marni Yang confessed to her friend Christi Paschen, who was wearing a wire provided by the authorities, admitting to shooting Rhoni Reuter while wearing a disguise and using a silencer, as reported by ABC News. Yang described disposing of the murder weapon in a bucket of concrete in a dumpster, as per Oxygen.
This recorded conversation became a cornerstone of the prosecution’s case, despite Yang later claiming she fabricated the confession to protect her son, whom she believed police were targeting, as reported by ABC News.
3) Jealousy was the motive behind Rhoni's murder
Prosecutors argued that Yang killed Rhoni Reuter out of jealousy, as both women were romantically involved with Shaun Gayle, who dated multiple women. Yang’s obsession was evident in her actions, such as purchasing a burner phone to lure Reuter and conducting background checks on Gayle’s other girlfriends, confirmed by bank statements, as reported by ABC7 Chicago.
Evidence also showed Yang searched Reuters’ address on her work computer and owned a .9mm gun, the same type used in the murder, though it was never recovered. This web of romantic entanglements and Yang’s calculated steps painted a chilling picture of a motive driven by personal rivalry.
4) New evidence was presented to help Marni Yang in the case
In 2019, Yang’s attorney, Jed Stone, filed a petition with new evidence, including DNA on shell casings not belonging to police investigators, a barber’s testimony contradicting Gayle’s alibi, and forensic analysis suggesting the shooter was taller than Yang’s small frame, as reported by ABC7 Chicago. A forensic pathologist also noted facial injuries on Reuter from days before the murder, hinting at another suspect, as per the Chicago Sun-Times.
In March 2024, Judge Christopher Stride granted a Stage 3 evidentiary hearing to review these claims, offering Yang hope for a new trial, as reported by ABC7 Chicago. These findings have raised questions about the original investigation’s thoroughness.
5) Shaun Gayle claims to be at a barber shop at the time of the murder
Shaun Gayle claimed he was at a barbershop during Rhoni Reuter’s murder, but a 2007 security video showed him arriving at 10:30 am, after the 8 am shooting, as reported by ABC7 Chicago. Yang’s defense argued this gap, along with Gayle’s multiple romantic relationships, warranted further scrutiny, suggesting police dismissed him as a suspect too quickly, as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times.
Despite cooperating with investigators, Gayle’s non-monogamous lifestyle complicated the case, as reported by ABC News. The defense’s push to re-examine his alibi, supported by new testimony from the barber, fueled doubts about whether the true killer was overlooked, adding a haunting layer to the investigation.
Stay tuned for more news and updates on Dateline: Secrets Uncovered.
