Yang's children suspected her of rivals' murder, police say

As they questioned Marni Yang about the 2007 murders of Rhoni Reuter and Reuter's unborn daughter, police told Yang two of her own children thought their mother could have been involved in the slayings.

In a video recording of the interrogation shown Friday in a Lake County courtroom, Yang reacts with surprise at the suggestions and tells her questioners she does not understand why her children would say such a thing.

Yang, 42, was in police custody for three days in January 2008 being questioned about the Oct. 4, 2007 slayings until she demanded to speak to an attorney and was released.

She eventually was charged with first-degree murder and intentional homicide of an unborn child in March 2009, after police said they secretly taped Yang talking about the killings with a friend.

Yang's attorneys are asking Associate Judge Christopher Stride to bar prosecutors from using any statements made in the 2008 sessions at her trial because they claim Yang was denied the right to call her attorney.

During the portion of the interrogation played Friday, police tell Yang that her twin son and daughter, who were 16 at the time, had both expressed concerns about their mother's culpability in the crime.

Yang had told the officers that both children were aware she had an on-again, off-again dating relationship with former Chicago Bears safety Shaun Gayle, who was the father of the baby Reuter was carrying at the time of her death.

Her son, a detective tells Yang, told them that he had a conversation with his mother a couple of days after hearing the news of the slayings and he thought Yang was trying to suggest he provide her an alibi.

“He told us you said to him ‘You remember, I was home that day and you helped me with the battery,' Detective Charles Schletz tells Yang. “And he said he thought that was strange, because it was his recollection that you were not at home and he said he never helped you with the battery.

Earlier in the questioning, Yang told police she could not go to work on the day Reuter was killed because the battery in her car had stopped working and her son helped her install a new one.

After hearing what Schletz said her son had told police, Yang responds that she believes his recollection is mistaken.

Schletz also tells Yang that her daughter told them she believed her mother could have played a role in the crimes because she was aware her mother had done computer background checks on other women Gayle was dating.

Yang admits doing the checks, but said she only did so to protect Gayle. She tells Schletz she has no idea why her daughter would make such a statement.

There has been no evidence presented in court that the Yang twins actually made the statements attributed to them by Schletz, and police are not required to tell the truth about statements made by other witnesses when questioning someone.

The hearing on the defense motion is scheduled to resume Nov. 3. Yang is scheduled to go on trial in January.