Prosecutors Claim Yang Built Silencer for Murder

Prosecutors allege Marni Yang used a gun silencer during the murder of 42-year-old Rhoni Reuter and spent the majority of Monday in court trying to prove it.

Yang is on trial for first-degree murder and intentional homicide of an unborn child. Authorities say she shot and killed Reuter at her Deerfield condo on Oct. 4, 2007. Reuter was the longtime girlfriend of former Bears player Shaun Gayle and was six months pregnant with his child. Prosecutors claim Yang was also intimate with Gayle and killed Reuter in a jealous rage.

During court proceedings Monday prosecutors questioned Lawrence Riling of Pennsylvania. Riling told jurors he used to own a mail order arms books business and in August of 2007 received an online order from Yang. According to Riling, Yang purchased two books on how to build a disposable silencer.

“We were requested to overnight the books,” Riling said about an additional $20 Yang was charged for speedy delivery.

On the same day Yang received the shipment prosecutors say she also made two purchases at Home Depot for items described in those books including a screwdriver, drill kit, folding razor and sink drain. Authorities say they later discovered some of those materials at Yang’s house after a search warrant was issued.

However, Yang’s defense disagreed on the validity of the reading. “This book, essentially is a picture book,” Ben Heidrick stated about one of the volumes and explained to jurors it’s only got about a dozen of paragraphs with actual words. Heidrick also claimed the material supplied limited instructions on how to make a functional silencer and would have left debris at the crime scene if fired. Officers confirmed no such debris was discovered in Reuter’s apartment.

For more on Monday’s court proceedings click on the video above. Prosecutors say Shaun Gayle could take the stand early Tuesday. The trial resumed at 9 a.m.