Hearing for Marni Yang to present new evidence in former Bears star's girlfriend's murder delayed
WAUKEGAN, Ill. (WLS) -- There is another delay in efforts to get a new trial for Marni Yang, the former Chicago real estate agent convicted in the 2007 killing of romantic rival Rhoni Reuter and her unborn child.
Yang, 57, was in court for what was supposed to be a three-day evidentiary hearing.
ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch
However, the case was continued to Aug. 18 after her attorney introduced a new document that the prosecution didn't have time to review.
Reuter was the girlfriend of former Chicago Bears player Shaun Gayle.
Attorneys for Yang began by questioning their first witness, a forensic specialist.
That's when Yang's attorney introduced a document into evidence that prosecutors said they had not had enough time to review.
"We had to file an explanation to make sure the judge understood the mathematics and the science of our claim of innocence," defense attorney Jed Stone said.
Future evidence is expected to include DNA samples from shell casings and other material, testimony from a barber who saw Gayle the morning of the murder in 2007, and testimony from scientific experts who say Yang is too short to have fired shots at the angle they hit Reuter.
RELATED: Marni Yang explains why she allegedly gave false murder confession in prison interview
On Monday, a witness carried a cut-out he and Yang's attorney plan to use to show the trajectory of the bullets the killer fired at Reuter in her Deerfield apartment in October of 2007.
Stone says scientific evidence will prove the killer would have to be much taller than Yang, who is 5-feet tall.
Yang is serving a double life sentence after being convicted of two counts of first-degree murder.
RELATED | Marni Yang's attorney says injuries on Rhoni Reuter's body prove she's innocent
There is still a long road ahead of Yang. If her attorney is able to convince a judge the new evidence is sufficient, the judge could then grant her a new trial.
Yang's attorneys had been preparing for Monday's hearing for nearly six years.
Yang's hair is gray, and her family said she needs hip surgery.
But they hope to convince Judge Christopher Stride, who presided over her first trial, that the new evidence shows her innocence.
"There's not an iota of evidence anywhere that involves Marni that shows she was anywhere near the crime scene," her father Larry Merar said.
During the first trial, prosecutors presented a secret recording of Yang confessing to the murder to a friend.
Reuter's family says they are confident Yang is the killer, and they see no reason for another hearing.
In a statement, they said in part, "Every time this case is dragged back into court, it forces our family to relive the unimaginable pain of losing them. It's not just a legal maneuver; it's a reopening of trauma, a denial of justice, and a disregard for the truth."
Yang's family says they are disappointed to have to continue waiting, but they remain hopeful the wait may soon be over.
