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Marni Yang allegedly confessed to friend over soup

Read Mary Schmich's column: 1 killing shatters many other lives

Tribune staff report

March 6, 2009

A casual conversation that quickly turned to the subject of murder as two old friends ate soup led to the arrest of the prime suspect in the slaying of Rhoni Reuter, the pregnant girlfriend of former Chicago Bear Shaun Gayle, investigators said Thursday.

A female friend of suspect Marni Yang's asked Yang to meet her Sunday at a northwest suburban restaurant, then secretly recorded their conversation, said police, who offered new details about a pivotal moment in the case.

The conversation quickly veered to Reuter's slaying, Deerfield Deputy Police Chief Rick Wilk said.

"If she kept her mouth shut, we could have been listening to her for the next two weeks, two months or six months," Wilk said. "But she discussed how she shot her."

With the tape in hand, investigators got an arrest warrant Monday from a Lake County judge, leading to Yang's arrest the next day as she left home for her job in Park Ridge, Wilk said.

Yang is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the Oct. 4, 2007, fatal shooting of Reuter and her unborn daughter.

Police decided to ask Yang's friend for help in the investigation after they began eavesdropping on Yang's cell phone calls Feb. 27, Wilk said.