Yang ordered to pay $40 million to victim’s family

A Cook County jury has decided against Marni Yang in a lawsuit filed by the family of the woman she was convicted of killing.

The family of Rhoni Reuter was awarded $40 million on Wednesday.

Yang was found guilty in March of first-degree murder in the Oct. 4, 2007, slaying of Reuter and Reuter’s unborn child in Deerfield. Reuter was the girlfriend of former Chicago Bears player Shaun Gayle.

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, acknowledged the prospects of Yang paying $40 million are highly unlikely.

He said an attorney representing Yang, who is serving a life sentence, did not appear in court during the civil trial.