A state forensic expert testified Tuesday that bullet trajectory evidence in the Marni Yang case can’t be used to exclude Yang as the person who fatally shot Rhoni Reuter in 2007.
Prosecution witness Todd Thorne said that Yang’s defense team erred when it said Yang was too short to be the woman who fatally shot Reuter in the kitchen of Reuter’s Deerfield condominium in October of 2007.
Expert testifies Marni Yang too short to have fired fatal shots at girlfriend of ex-Chicago Bear
Thorne’s testimony contradicted a defense expert who testified Monday that Reuter’s assailant was about 5-foot-10. Yang, who is 5-feet-tall, could not have shot Reuter, who was pregnant with the child of former Chicago Bear Shaun Gayle at the time of her death, the defense contends.
Yang was found guilty in 2011 of the murder and is serving a life sentence. However, her attorney, Jed Stone, successfully argued that new evidence in the case required a hearing, which is taking place in the Lake County courtroom of Judge Christopher Stride.
Much of the defense presentation centered on one of Reuter’s wounds – a bullet that entered her chest on a slight downward angle and exited through her arm, which Yang’s team contends was the first shot fired. Reuter was 5-9, so her assailant must have been taller, defense experts said.
However, Thorne said that was based on assumptions that cannot be verified using the crime scene evidence.
“There’s no set way a body’s going to react when it’s shot,” Thorne said.
If Reuter crouched or tried to duck, that could also explain the trajectory of the bullet, he said.
At trial, prosecutors contended that Yang, who had previously been involved with Gayle, killed Reuter out of jealousy.
The hearing is expected to conclude on Wednesday with closing arguments. The judge has not indicated when he might rule in the case. Stride could order a new trial, or conversely, decide that the new evidence does not undercut the jury’s guilty finding.
