CHICAGO (AP) — A jury has issued a $40 million civil verdict against a woman serving a life prison sentence for the murder of the pregnant ex-girlfriend of former Chicago Bears player Shaun Gayle.
The Cook County, Ill., jury returned the verdict Wednesday against Marni Yang, of Deerfield.
Yang was found guilty in March of first-degree murder in the Oct. 4, 2007, slaying of Rhoni Reuter and her unborn child. Prosecutors accused Yang of carefully planning the execution of someone she viewed as a rival for the football player’s affection.
Attorney Theodore Woerthwein, who worked with the Reuter family’s attorney, acknowledges Yang is unlikely to be able to pay Reuter’s family $40 million. He says an attorney representing Yang did not appear in court during the civil trial.
