True Crime Vault: Murder and Scandal in Chicagoland

Summary

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20/20: True Crime Vault – "Murder and Scandal in Chicagoland"

Date: September 9, 2025
Podcast: 20/20 by ABC News

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Overview

This gripping episode from ABC News’ 20/20 True Crime Vault dives deep into the tragic murder of Ronnie Reuter, the pregnant girlfriend of former Chicago Bears player Shaun Gale, in 2007. It explores the ensuing investigation, the media frenzy around celebrity involvement, the unraveling of complex relationships, and the ultimate conviction of Marnie Yang—a case now mired in fresh controversy and appeals.

Every twist is detailed, from the chaos of the crime scene and the city’s collective shock, through police missteps and cunning undercover stings, to the heated debate over Yang’s guilt that endures today.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Murder and Its Immediate Aftermath

• The Crime: On October 4, 2007, Ronnie Reuter is gunned down in her Deerfield, Illinois home, seven months pregnant with Gale’s child.
  • “She's dead. This was an execution. A pregnant 42-year-old woman gunned down as she was going to work.” (Investigator, 02:45)
• The murder chills the city and immediately puts Gale, a member of the legendary 1985 Bears, under the harsh glare of public suspicion and police investigation.

2. Spotlight on Shaun Gale: Football Fame and Personal Life

• Gale’s Star Power: An '85 Bears legend, “Chicago royalty,” portrayed as charismatic but elusive, especially regarding his private life.
• Relationship with Ronnie:
  • Together for 18 years, never lived together or married—a source of familial questions.
    • "I know Ronnie wanted to be married. I'm thinking it was probably because Sean wasn't ready, truthfully." (Investigator, 09:59)
  • Discovery that Ronnie was pregnant at 41 was a “happy surprise,” but their relationship was not where either hoped it would be.

3. Crime Scene Clues and Early Investigation

• No sign of forced entry or robbery, pointing to a personal motive.
• First Suspects:
  • Gale is initially the primary suspect, as expected in intimate-partner cases, but his timeline and emotional affect during the 10-hour interview seem off to investigators.
    • “He was very reserved, very calm...something doesn't seem right.” (Investigator, 22:21)
  • Discovery of a letter in Ronnie’s purse—part of a wider pattern of harassing correspondence sent to women in Gale’s life.

4. The Web of Jealousy: Secondary Suspects

• Monica Kurowska:
  • Personal trainer and model with a tempestuous past with Gale, subject of restraining order, suspected of sending the harassing letters (written in broken English).
  • Police clear her with a solid alibi and deny any involvement.
• Emergence of Marnie Yang:
  • New tips point to Marnie, another woman in Gale’s orbit—single mother, real estate broker.
  • Seen as obsessed; frequently boasted to acquaintances that she was Gale’s girlfriend, which he later firmly denied.

5. Undercover Stings and Breakthroughs

• Police bug Gale’s home with his cooperation in attempt to get Marnie to incriminate herself.
  • "When you hit the gun, did you hide it real well?" (Narrator, 43:27)
• Marnie’s denial continues, but police find damning evidence:
  • Purchases of “How to Make a Disposable Silencer” books, Home Depot receipts for silencer materials, 9mm Beretta ownership (gun used in the murder).

6. The Role of Christy Pashtian ("The Psychic")

• Christy, a former close friend, becomes a key informant.
• Code Words: Christy recalls Marnie telling her she would “call you at work after I have done it, and ask you out to dinner.” This phrase becomes a key indicator:
  • "Do you want to go to dinner? That statement bothered me for a year because it just didn't make sense." (Investigator/Reporter, 52:17)
• Christy secretly records Marnie at Denny’s:
  • “We dumped the wig, we dumped the lights, we dumped that stuff for the gun.” (Narrator, 58:23)
  • Marnie explicitly describes the murder: “She started screaming. I took the first shot...I started emptying.” (Narrator, 59:19--59:41)

7. Marnie Yang’s Arrest, Trial, and Conviction

• Armed with physical evidence, recorded confessions, and corroboration from Christy, police arrest Marnie.
• Trial Highlights:
  • Gale testifies, revealing he slept with Marnie the night before the murder.
  • Marnie's daughter testifies about the harassing letters.
  • Christy’s recordings and testimony are pivotal despite some questions about her credibility.
    • “But as Ari Fizz said, she may be goofy, but she knows how to press record.” (Narrator, 63:51)
  • Jury finds Marnie Yang guilty of first-degree murder and intentional homicide of an unborn child; sentenced to two life terms.

8. The Case Reopens: Fresh Appeals & Ongoing Controversy

• Marnie Maintains Innocence:
  • Claims confession was to protect her son, under police coercion.
  • "I wasn't confessing to her. I was confessing directly to law enforcement." (Narrator, 71:38)
  • Alleges evidence issues (gun not in possession, exculpatory witness, forensic doubts about silencer/gun/barrel, question over car in surveillance footage).
• Children allege police intimidation and coercion during their own interrogations.
  • “The only way that I got out of that situation was to write down a statement that my mother wasn't home the morning of the murder. But she was home.” (Investigator/Reporter, 68:28)
  • “I had a nervous breakdown…I was hospitalized. I was put on a psychiatric unit for...a month and a half.” (Narrator/Investigator, 69:28–69:37)
• Defense’s Arguments:
  • No DNA/fingerprint evidence
  • Ballistics experts question shooter’s height.
  • Rental car and disguise details contested.
• State responds that appeals echo claims already rejected at trial.

9. Emotional Fallout and Final Reflections

• Ronnie’s family believes her memory should rest; reopening the case reopens wounds.
  • "You're my sister. Ronnie was kind of the hub, but the family. She brought us all together." (Investigator/Reporter, 84:44)
• Shaun Gale reflects on the tragedy:
  • “It's the fact that I have to live with knowing that Ronnie and the baby died because I knew this morning.” (Narrator, 84:52)
• The episode closes with the uncertainty of whether Marnie Yang will get a new trial and underscores the devastating ripple effects on all families involved.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the nature of the crime:
  "You have to be a sociopath in its purest form in order to be able to take another person's life." – Narrator (00:00, 39:37)

• Investigative turning point:
  "She started screaming. I took the first shot. I just started emptying." – Marnie, as recorded by Christy (59:19-59:41)

• On Gale’s reputation and suspicion:
  "Sean Gale has been subject to rumors and watched his reputation become blemished in the months following the murder." – Investigator/Reporter (45:07)

• Marnie’s denial:
  "I did not. And I am not capable of doing anything. Like I'm a mother myself. Like that's unconscionable to me. Absolutely not." – Marnie Yang (Narrator, 83:27)

• Christy on confession tape:
  "You basically described the perfect crime. I knew perfectly well that I was being recorded. I saw the wire." – Marnie (71:34, 71:38)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:01–03:51] – Introduction to the murder and Gale’s background
• [09:41–11:07] – 18-year relationship, pregnancy, family insights
• [13:37–14:29] – Police arrive; citywide panic; crime scene analysis
• [19:12–21:23] – Gale’s police interviews and initial suspicions
• [24:35–25:05] – Gale admits to other women and multiple relationships
• [31:07–32:15] – Crime scene forensics, neighbors’ reports, search for a suspect
• [37:31–38:19] – Yang suspected of hacking, sending threatening letters
• [40:20–41:50] – Sting operation setup; evidence gathering
• [52:17–54:59] – Christy’s breakthrough, code phrase “dinner,” recording Marnie
• [56:02–59:41] – Denny’s confession details, chilling tone
• [62:08–64:52] – Verdict, sentencing, impact on families
• [65:53–69:37] – Children’s interrogation experiences and defense claims
• [71:00–73:05] – Marnie’s prison interview and defense arguments
• [77:42–80:59] – Forensic/ballistics debates and defense’s case
• [82:27–84:04] – Final reflections, emotional fallout, open questions

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Conclusion

This 20/20 episode exposes not only the layers of one of Chicago’s most sensational true crime cases, but also the ache left behind for every family. It poses troubling questions about the limits of the justice system, the influence of celebrity, and the ongoing dilemma of wrongful conviction—leaving listeners with haunting uncertainty about where the truth, at last, resides.

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Transcript

[Narrator/Interviewer]

This show is supported by Unicorn Girl, an Apple original podcast. Meet Candace, mother of two, nurse, CEO and founder of multi million dollar companies. Candace went from being a stay at home mom to making millions, traveling the world and saving lives. There was just one problem. Was it all a lie or was it all true? It turns out the truth might be even harder to believe. From the creator of Scamanda. This is Unicorn Girl, an Apple original podcast produced by Seven Hills. Apple TV subscribers get special early access to the entire season. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts. Welcome to the True Crime Vault, home to 2020's most chilling stories. You have to be a sociopath in its purest form in order to be able to take another person's life.

[Investigator/Reporter]

I'm gonna zoo. Grabbed her stuff, opened her door. Then the shadows gets hit with seven bullets. Forced back into her apartment from the blast, they see pictures of Shaun Gale throughout the condominium. Sean Gale, number 23, scored the touchdown. Sean Gale is a celebrity. All the 85 bears are very well known celebrities. He's dating her. She's pregnant with his child.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

In your opinion, why do you think they weren't married?

[Investigator/Reporter]

I know Ronnie wanted to be married. I'm thinking it was probably because Sean wasn't ready.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

He's a guy who has a lot.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Of women in his life.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Are there other people who have had relationships with Shawn that didn't end well?

[Investigator/Reporter]

Someone deliberately took that child out. If there's some woman out there sending letters, you know, she may want to get rid of the other women in his life. So police bug his house and he's asking her, do you think these letters were sent from the killer?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Yeah, I think this person's a little unbalanced. Got a few screws loose when you hit. Done. Did you hide it real well? It's wrong. It sounds very much to me like someone's confessing to a murder.

[Investigator/Reporter]

This is a story that has shocked an entire city over and over.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

We start with breaking news. Deadly shooting nearby. She's dead.

[Investigator/Reporter]

I'll have to have an investigator call you.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

She's dead.

[Investigator/Reporter]

This was an execution. A pregnant 42 year old woman gunned down as she was going to work. Was it a robbery? A contract killing? Was it revenge?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

It turns out she is the girlfriend of a former Chicago Bear, Sean Gale.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Sean Gale was this legendary football player for one of the greatest football teams of all time, the 85 Bears. And his pregnant girlfriend, Ronnie Ryder. When she's murdered, I mean, this turned the city upside down. This story really starts in 1985, when Mike Ditka and the Chicago Bears ruled the town of Chicago.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Chicago is a huge football town.

[Investigator/Reporter]

In 1985, the Bears were on fire. And this was something the city had not seen. The Chicago Bears, the mighty monsters of Michigan Avenue. I was a young local reporter working in Chicago, and I was not a sports reporter. I was a news reporter. Vern takes her unity campaign to yet another swing vote area tonight. But the Bears were so big that they were leading the newscast, not the sports cast. The 1985 Bears, arguably one of the greatest football teams in NFL history, there's no question. Picked up by Dave Dillon. They had just the strangest, wildest group of players you'll ever see on one squad play. McDonald's playoff payoff. It's a good time for the great taste of victory adventure. To say that almost every guy in that 53 man squad did at least one commercial. This cat knows exactly what he wants. That's my kind of cat, Whiskers. That's going to be intercepted. Sean Gale. Shawn Gale was a great contributor, a starter, just a rock solid, really well respected player that would knock you out. You wanted him at safety. Hardy. Goal. The kick is blocked. Sean Gale, number 23, scored the touchdown. Sean was this charismatic, laid back, soft spoken guy. We're not gonna, you know, break our arms patting ourselves on the back. By what we've done so far, we know we have a long way to go. A little guarded, but of course, he was super attractive. You know, everybody would just fall all over him. He was very popular among women. Sean, of course, you're a bachelor. Still a heartthrob among female Bear fans. What do you do after? You gotta watch them. Usually the single guys, we just get together, maybe go out and get a bite to eat. In 1985, they were perfect through the first 11 games. They won all of them. So there was this building excitement in Chicago.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

We're gonna bring home a winner for them.

[Investigator/Reporter]

For Chicago in the Panthers, not for anybody else. They won 11 straight games. They only had a couple more to go before the Super Bowl. And then they decide to celebrate a little early by making the super bowl shuffle. Okay, let's do it. We are the Bears, shuffling group, shuffling on down, doing it for you. The corniest, worst music video you're ever gonna see. It was sort of a rap song, not really strutting our stuff on everyone. Nobody could dance. And look, Sean couldn't dance either. He'll tell you he was smooth. You saw him stuck in the back there. We're not here to stop he needed to be in the back.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

We're just here to do the Super Bowl.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Everybody assumed they were going to win the super bowl, and they did. Mike Ditka hungry. Chicago finally champions on this January day in New Orleans. They just destroyed the New England 46 10. The final 4610 is a score that no one will ever forget. In this town, this only happens once in a lifetime. It was sheer ecstasy, delirium. In a city that has waited a long time for a national champion. It feels good to be the king. I don't care what it is, it's a world champion. The 85 Bears are still the most popular players in the history of Chicago sports.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

We're number one.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Most of the players decided to stay here. They are Indeed Chicago royalty. 1985 Chicago Bears. We consider him one of us. It was a great group of guys. The thing you need to know about Sean Gale is after football, he was still a success. What do you think about that? When I first he was a commentator, he was doing different things in the community. This was a guy who had a major profile after the game in Chicago where he lived, he dabbled in real estate. He always seemed to know what he was doing. Sean was seen as a ladies man, very smooth. Despite all appearances that he was an eligible bachelor. He actually had a long term relationship with a woman named Ronnie Ryder. Ronnie was from Wisconsin and not too terribly far from Chicago. She's in the area between Bears fans and packers fans. But obviously she became a Bears fan when she started dating John Gale. They met in a Bears charity event. Ronnie was in the crowd with some friends. Ronnie Reiter was into fashion. She worked at Macy's.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I first started digging into the story more than 10 years ago. That's when I met Ronnie's family. Her devoted younger brother Thad and her sister in law Anna.

[Investigator/Reporter]

She was a big city woman, but she never lost that small town girl quality. She liked her Chicago life, but she knew where she came from. I'm gonna zoom in. You're my sister. Really. Ronnie made you feel it. Eas. She could be your friend in an instant.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

You know, she just had a big smile and she would always hug you and greet you and she just made you be comfortable no matter where you were. Did you know who Sean was?

[Investigator/Reporter]

Oh, definitely. I'm a Bear fan. So I mean, I and the Bears practice in our hometown.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

So here's your sister. She's dating a professional football player. What was your reaction?

[Investigator/Reporter]

It was great for me being a Chicago Bear fan. We were happy for her. I mean, I really just wanted her to be happy. It wouldn't have mattered if she'd have been with a guy who was selling peanuts on the corner, as long as she was happy.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

They were together a long time.

[Investigator/Reporter]

18 years.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Was it a true love affair? I believe not.

[Investigator/Reporter]

I think so. Shaun Gill and Ronnie Ryder never lived together. They never got married. Which, according to friends, raised some awkward questions for her family.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

In your opinion, why do you think they weren't married?

[Investigator/Reporter]

I know Ronnie wanted to be married. I'm thinking it was probably because Sean wasn't ready, truthfully.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And you never asked Ronnie?

[Investigator/Reporter]

We had asked her that prior, but, you know, at a certain point you just stop asking. I only saw Shawn four or five times the whole time they'd been dating over 18 years. Over 18 years? Yes.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Does that strike you as odd?

[Investigator/Reporter]

Yes. Especially being the way Ronnie was very family oriented.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

But then at the age of 41, Ronnie got an unexpected gift. Something she'd always dreamed of, actually. She found out she was pregnant.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Tonight, ABC's 2020 has an exclusive interview with John Gale. You can watch Juju's report on this fatal attraction starting at 9:00 clock right here on ABC7.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I was the only reporter that Sean Gale granted an interview to in 2009.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Sean Gale speaks very openly with you, it seems.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

He said he only ever wanted to be interviewed once, to be broadcast and aired once. In that interview, I asked him how he and Ronnie were feeling about the priority pregnancy. Sean told me we were both excited about it. There was some disappointment between the two of us because our relationship wasn't at a point where we hoped it would be in having a child.

[Investigator/Reporter]

This was a happy surprise for us because we didn't think she would ever have children. Every time you talked to her, that's all she talked about. She talked about the baby kicking. We were so looking forward to her having a kid because she'd never had one and always told us how to raise our kids. I mean, that was what she wanted to be, was a mother. Ronnie gets the gift of a lifetime. But what comes next? It's not wedding bells. She's about to open the door to an unexpected visitor. Sad music it's definitely going to be like summer. It's an incredible stretch of warm days we have coming up.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

October 4, 2007 was an unseasonably warm day for Chicago area. It's usually starting to get cold around.

[Investigator/Reporter]

That time, so almost like beach weather here. Instead of Oktoberfest, we're calling it Summerfest.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Ronnie lived in Deerfield, Illinois, which is a quiet, affluent, beautiful little suburb of Chicago.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Lots of people go out there to get away from the city. People flock there to live a quiet life.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

It's a cute place to be and very relatively safe place to be. Kids would have been heading off to school.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Ronnie was in her kitchen on her way out to work. Grabbed her stuff, opened her door in the shadows. Gets hit with seven bullets. Forced back into her apartment from. From the blast. Two shots were directly to the fetus. It's just. She's executed.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Donnie, it's Christa downstairs. Are you okay? I heard a woman screaming and I.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Don'T know, none of them quiet.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Would you give me a call, please? Thank you. I heard a woman screaming and then a pop, pop. And it went totally silent. I called and she does not answer. We need an ambulance. It's a female down. I suspect it may be a gunshot.

[Investigator/Reporter]

When police arrive at Ronnie's apartment, they find a gruesome scene. There she is, lying on the floor, riddled with bullets. Officers find a lady bleeding in her kitchen. The officer smelled gun smoke and thought the offender was still on the scene. The phones are ringing off the hook at the Deerfield Police Department. Deerfield police heard about a shooting because the town is in a panic.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Can you tell me what's going on? Why is it helicopter hub? We have some police activity, ma'.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Am. There was fear that there was some gunman running around town on the loose.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Have they caught the person? I don't have the details on that yet.

[Investigator/Reporter]

The town was shocked. Even the local junior high school went on lockdown. Put that school on lockdown. I just put the school on lockdown. I talked to the principal. They're doing that right now.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

The link to Shangel emerged almost immediately.

[Investigator/Reporter]

When officers enter her apartment, they see pictures of Shawn Gale throughout the condominium. The officers knew those pictures of Ronnie and Sean Gale because Sean Gale is a celebrity in the Chicagoland area.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Shawn got a phone call by a sports reporter who had heard that a pregnant woman in Deer Deerfield had been murdered.

[Investigator/Reporter]

So Sean calls Deerfield Police. Deerfield Police Department. I'm calling about that shooting in Deerfield. Yes, listen, I've been getting calls from the. The media. This is Sean, Gail. And they're trying to think. They're naming me as a suspect. Hold on, please.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Is.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Was it Ronnie Ryder? Is she okay? Yes, it was Ronnie. And no, she's not.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

She's.

[Investigator/Reporter]

She's dead. Sean, don't go. Don't go to her house, okay? Sean, come to the police. Department. Do you know where it is? Yes. Okay. All right. So where are you right now? I'm ridiculous. Okay. I got a call. Her parents. My father called my cell phone, and I just figured it was another call from dad and Mom. They call often, but the minute I picked up the phone and heard my mom crying, I knew that something had happened. Dad said, you need to come down immediately. Your sister has been taken. And I dropped my phone and headed out the door. It's just something you never think is gonna happen to your family. And I still think I'm gonna wake up and it's gonna be just a dream. Oh, you're my sister. There were a ton of questions in my mind and in everything spinning through my head. What could happen? What happened? You're thinking, well, was she downtown shopping and this happened?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

We just knew she was gone, and we didn't understand why. When did things start becoming a little bit more clear?

[Investigator/Reporter]

Actually, after I got to mom and Dad's.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

What did they tell you?

[Investigator/Reporter]

That she had been taken inside of her apartment. Right. Well, I know exactly where it was. Right in her kitchen. That from Rachie?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Yes. Did it cross your mind, like, did she have any enemies? Did. Was anyone out to get her?

[Investigator/Reporter]

No. If you knew Ronnie, there's no way you could do something like this. If you really knew her. There was no sign of a robbery. There was no sign of forced entry. So that led police to think maybe the killer is somebody Ronnie knew. We had to look at Sean. Shawn Gale was the first guy. You'd be foolish to not look at him. He's dating her. She's pregnant with his child. Does he want to eliminate her from his life? Does he not want this pregnancy? Police find Ronnie's purse at the scene. And inside that purse is a letter. That letter might provide clues as to what really happened here. Good morning.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

It is Thursday, October 4, 2007.

[Investigator/Reporter]

This is ABC7, News at 11.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

We start with breaking news right now from north suburban Deerfield. A woman was shot to death in Deerfield this morning. This was one of the biggest stories I've seen in many years. Police say the victim was the girlfriend of former Bears player Sean Gale and that she was pregnant with his child. Her friend also tells us, and I am quoting him here, that Sean Gale was her whole life, that he meant everything to her.

[Investigator/Reporter]

No suspect information is available at this time. Well, people jump to conclusions all the time when you first read something like this, you know, wow. Breaking news. This is crazy. And it involves a former bear, let alone an 85 Super bowl bear. Oh, my God. I think people were shocked and horrified just by the act itself. It seemed obvious from the beginning it wasn't a random crime. Whoever did this was after not only Ronnie, but after the unborn child. Someone deliberately took that child out. The Lake County Major Crimes Task Force headed up this murder investigation.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

The shooting sparked a heavy police response spot.

[Investigator/Reporter]

The Deerfield police is not a very large police force, but when you call in the resources of the entire county, it can make a big difference. So as the detectives are out there gathering evidence and talking to neighbors, some puzzling questions emerge.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Investigators say that someone reported seeing a teenager running across the street shortly after she was shot.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Several witnesses apparently told that they saw a young African American boy in the area right after the shooting.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Another witness said this person was wearing a disguise and that it was a very petite person, maybe around 5ft tall, baggy tracksuit, Something dark, possibly over the person's face.

[Investigator/Reporter]

We get a report of a small black cart leaving the scene. Was it a robbery? Was it a contract killing? It just didn't add up. It didn't make sense. Police want to question Shawn about the crime. Now, remember, Shawn called police to find out about the crime, and that's when they told him about Ronnie. Deerfield Police Department.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I'm calling about that shooting in Deerfield. Yes, the police are going to look at Sean calling them from sort of two different directions. It's a logical thing to do. A loved one's been harmed or killed.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Was it Ronnie Ryder?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Is she okay? You know, the other side of that is with him reaching out to them, is he saying, I need to cover my tracks?

[Investigator/Reporter]

Listen, I've been getting calls from the media. This is Sean Gale. And they're trying to think. They're naming me as a suspect. Shawn Gale calling us right away, within hours of this murder was a little suspicious. So Sean hangs up the phone with Deerfield police, and he voluntarily goes down to the station. I can't believe this. John Gale was questioned for 10 hours. You know, it's hard because being an avid sports fan, I really had to focus on the fact that he was just another individual and that he wasn't a sports figure. I had to forget his celebrity status. You know, we essentially have to treat him as he is the suspect. He was visibly upset. He was shaken.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

But by the time he sat down for questioning, Detective Scott Frost said that Sean Gale had become strangely composed.

[Investigator/Reporter]

You know, I figured I would see more of a sobbing Sean, he was very reserved, very calm. We have an issues with his timeline from what he did the night before. What time did he go to bed? What time did he leave? He seemed like he was off in his times, and it's just like, well, you know, I'm not asking you what you did two weeks ago. Okay. I'm asking you in the last 24 hours like, you know, something doesn't seem right. We need to really research things.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

The day that Ronnie was killed, the police obviously need to know where Shawn was on the morning of the murder. Shawn says he slept in, worked out with a trainer, and then went and got a haircut mid morning at a barbershop about 10 minutes from Ronnie's house. The problem is it's not airtight exactly where he was when she was killed. And so as a result, the police are really going to have to nail that down. The police were trying to figure out if Shawn had a motive. They talked to a lot of Ronnie's friends. They found out or they heard from different people that Maybe he wasn't 100% thrilled about the pregnancy.

[Investigator/Reporter]

We're starting to hear that this was a surprise and that basically Ronnie had given this ultimatum of, listen, you either want to be part of the child's life or you don't. I'm still having the baby. During the questioning of Shawn, police learned that Ronnie wasn't the only woman in his life. He was playing the field, so to speak. Here he, you know, kindly enough gives us, you know, a list of almost 18 or 16 different women that he either went on a date with, you know, got a phone number from, or had something romantically involved. He's given us. Here you go. Talk. Talk to everyone. You know, these were 18 women over a three year period. Granted, it's still a lot.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

When the fact came out that Sean had lots of relationships with lots of other women, this was news to Ronnie's family.

[Investigator/Reporter]

I wouldn't think that my sister would have put up with that sort of relationship.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

No, she loves Shawn with her whole heart, and I think she expected the same back. I really didn't see any other people in the picture at all. But Sean has said that as close as they were in their relationship, for him, it wasn't exclusive.

[Investigator/Reporter]

He's a guy who has a lot.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Of women in his life. And so to be thorough, you're going to have to look at each one of these women that he dates or has had a relationship with.

[Investigator/Reporter]

You have several women that could have been jealous of Ronnie.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Sean staunchly maintains his innocence with police, so they ask him who he thinks might Be responsible. And he says it might be a woman he had a relationship with the year before.

[Investigator/Reporter]

She's beautiful, she's a trainer.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

A relationship he says ended bad. That's amazing.

[Investigator/Reporter]

When you have a high profile former pro athlete like Sean Gale living in a city like Chicago, there's a whole world that exists for these former players. I'm talking charity events, fancy dinners. Any of them walk into a restaurant, they can get a table anytime they want to. And wherever you go, lots of beautiful women killing y'.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

All.

[Investigator/Reporter]

And it won't stop, huh? The 85 bears, to this day, they are still perceived as iconic legends. I mean, people go nuts when they see them in person. We got it locked. This team ruled the city. It riveted the country. And while Sean had been in a long term relationship with Ronnie, there were a number of other women that he was seeing. And now he's sitting in the Deerfield police station and his whole life is under the microscope.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

During Sean's marathon 10 hour questioning with police, they eventually ask him who he thinks could have killed Ronnie.

[Investigator/Reporter]

And he gave them the name of Monica Kurozko, who was a woman that he had had a relationship with in the months prior to that. Monica Carrasco was from Poland. She was beautiful. She was very, very fit. She was a personal trainer and a model.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Sean said he dated Monica for about six or seven months.

[Investigator/Reporter]

But here's the thing, it didn't end well. He said that she was sort of harassing him.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

In fact, Sean Gale got an order of protection against Monica and in court papers makes a number of allegations.

[Investigator/Reporter]

At one point, she was outside his apartment and was hitting the buzzers of some of his neighbors and it was causing a problem. And then he found her outside his apartment and saw that her arm or hand was bloody. And then he eventually found that it appeared that she had punched through a window and was apparently trying to get into his apartment or at least get his attention that way. That caused a lot of concern for Shawn.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Monica told ABC in a statement she was upset when she got to Sean's house and saw him with another woman. She said she wanted to speak to him, but he wouldn't open the door. She knocked on his window and in the heat of her frustration, she says she accidentally broke it. She says she decided to end the relationship and she never saw Shawn again. Shawn also told police that he believed that for months Monica had been sending a number of harassing letters to a variety of women and his life.

[Investigator/Reporter]

It was a situation where these letters were intended to tell all of these women that. Oh, by the way, you're not the only one dating Sean. In fact, there's this whole list of other women. One of the reasons that he thought these letters were written by her was because they were kind of written the way she spoke, which was in broken English.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

One of the letters read, I think maybe you would like to know what your boyfriend Sean is doing with a lot of other women. He will lie to you and tell you a lot of stories and try to make everything sound like your fault, like he does to me. Those letters caused an enormous amount of trouble in Shawn's personal life. Ronnie received one. Her mother did too. In fact, Ronnie's mom went so far as to call Sean about it.

[Investigator/Reporter]

She wanted to know if Ronnie was safe. That's what she said. Because if there's some woman out there safe, you know, she may want to get rid of the women, other women in his life.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And so what did Sean say when she asked the question?

[Investigator/Reporter]

Don't worry about Ronnie. This is a Craze fan that has made up these letters. And Ronnie's very safe. Ronnie had one of those letters in her purse at the time she was killed.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

What would Monica's motive have been?

[Investigator/Reporter]

Anger at Shawn would have been the obvious motive. You know, there had been this stalking behavior, and they had to believe that she was very angry at Shawn, I guess, for not being monogamous.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

She was a very suspicious character.

[Investigator/Reporter]

She was definitely a very suspicious character, yes.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Well, who did you suspect?

[Investigator/Reporter]

Monica, obviously. Because we thought, well, it's probably whoever's responsible for sending these letters. I mean, one of the first things that you're doing when you're investigating a murder is seeing if somebody has an alibi, a legitimate alibi. And it turned out that. That Monica was a personal trainer at the time, and she had been training an older gentleman. Yeah, I guess we're gonna, you know, we gotta mark her off.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Police cleared Monica Kurowska, who denied ever writing or sending those letters. But if she didn't send those letters, who did? Funeral services for Ronnie Reuter were held in Wisconsin Monday morning.

[Investigator/Reporter]

We were preparing to bring a new life into this world. We were preparing a celebration, and we ended up preparing a funeral, a double funeral.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

When Shawn arrived at the funeral, there were those who were consoling him, and there were those who were looking at him with suspicion. Meanwhile, the police were watching his every move. Why did you go to the Ronnie's funeral?

[Investigator/Reporter]

We wanted to see if he's going to show up, how he was going to react, how he was going to handle himself, you know, would he say anything?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

So you're keeping a watchful eye on him.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Killers and murderers have been known to make confessions. At the casket.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

When I interviewed Sean and asked him how people looked at him, he said, at that moment, in my grief, I did not care. He said, I asked the funeral director if I could see the baby. But he said he would really warn against that because he thought that would be an image I would never be able to get out of my head.

[Investigator/Reporter]

And while the family's grieving, police are still looking for leads.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

At the scene were shell casings. Shell casings tell you the caliber of the weapon. In this case, it's a 9 millimeter. You then have some interesting comments by neighbors in close proximity to Ronnie's apartment who described, yes, a loud bang, but it sounded muffled.

[Investigator/Reporter]

You have the one neighbor who hears a pop, pop sensation, which she later figures out from watching a crime show that it was from sounded the same as a silencer.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

The idea that there could be a.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Silencer in this case adds another element in my view that this was planned.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Are there other people who have had relationships with Shawn that have ended that didn't end well? Suddenly there are three hot tips that come into the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force. They're all urging police to look at the same woman, another woman that Sean Gale had a relationship with. Her name Marnie Yang. And police learned she someone Shawn saw the night before the murder.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Basically, I just want to find out your association with Shawn, how you know Sean. At some point, Marnie Yang's name surfaced as someone who had had a previous relationship with Shawn Gale. Marnie was a single mother who was very devoted to her children. She was a hard working woman. She was an intelligent woman.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

My mom had three jobs at one time.

[Investigator/Reporter]

She was a real estate agent. She was an aspiring fitness model.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

She worked as a cocktail waitress.

[Investigator/Reporter]

My mother has always tried her best for us.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I wanted to provide my children as much as I possibly could. I didn't ever want them to feel a lack of anything. My brother and I, we played tackle football. My mom was like hardcore football mom.

[Investigator/Reporter]

My mother picked up scuba diving as a hobby. She paid for classes for me to take and that was always fun.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

She juggled it all. Marnie met Sean at a Bears convention.

[Investigator/Reporter]

She was working as a security person at that event and would have had access to some of the celebrities. And Sean was certainly one of those.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And I just remember him approaching me, introducing himself just by his first name. I didn't know who he was. And I just kept bumping into him throughout the course of that weekend. I remember him mentioning that he was looking for some investment property because it had come out that I was a real estate broker. And I just remember giving him my business card. About two hours after the event was over, my phone rang, and it was him. We really didn't discuss very much other than what type of property he might have been looking for. We made arrangements to meet.

[Investigator/Reporter]

So they meet, they start talking, and they start doing real estate deals together. She was spending a lot of time with Shawn because they had this real estate transaction that she was basically brokering.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Two months after the murder, the police called in Marnie to answer some questions. I absolutely did not see a problem with, you know, going in and sitting down and talking to them.

[Investigator/Reporter]

How you doing?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

All right.

[Investigator/Reporter]

I'm Marty.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Yes.

[Investigator/Reporter]

I'm Detective Chuck Schwetz. Chuck's gonna ask you some basic questions about who you are, where you live, stuff like that.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I didn't feel like I needed an attorney. You know, it was pretty much just anything I can do to help, basically.

[Investigator/Reporter]

I just want to find out your association with Shawn, how you know Sean when you first met Shawn.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I only known him for about six years. We met at a convention. I think I had been given enough advice about the fact that everybody that was connected with him was probably going to be questions at some point. Point.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Mar. You know, obviously, you know, why we're talking. All this is about probably not too many people out there, right? They don't. They talked to her for about an hour and a half. Did you know or the extent of his relationship with the victim?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I didn't know the extent of the relationship. I know he had told me that he had gotten somebody pregnant.

[Investigator/Reporter]

And she seemed relaxed and comfortable sort of with the attitude of, I just want to help.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

What Marnie doesn't know at this point is that three tips have come into police urging them to look at her.

[Investigator/Reporter]

If there's anything else comes up or we have any information that we get, you know, you don't mind coming back in or talking to us. Okay. Is this. Is this okay? Is this kind of close or not too far. Okay. After speaking to Marnie, police continue their investigation.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

The police said they started talking to everyone, and they kept hearing a similar story. People who knew Marnie said that she was telling everyone that she was Sean's girlfriend.

[Investigator/Reporter]

She bragged about it all the time. She was very proud of it. And she made a lot more out of the relationship than it actually Was.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Yeah, that was not what I was referring to him as. I don't think the word boyfriend was ever used, really. I asked sean back in 2009 if Marnie had been his girlfriend, and he emphatically said, no, she was not. He said, not even the craziest stretch of the imagination. But he did admit to me that their professional relationship did get friendly. Night before the murder, what we found out was that Marnie was at Sean Gail's house. They engaged in sexual relations. Police issue a search warrant for Sean's house. And after. After accessing his computers, they drop what must have felt like a bombshell on Shawn.

[Investigator/Reporter]

That unbeknownst to Sean, Marnie seems to have access to his emails, to his computer, and that all this time, for years, she might have been stalking him online.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Investigators believe that Marnie had been tracking Sean and Ronnie. Marnie has denied these claims.

[Investigator/Reporter]

And those letters that Sean thought came from Monica, police believe that actually came from Marnie. Marnie Yang discovered through her penetration of his email account, this Polish woman's emails. She would then study them, master the broken English with which the Polish woman spoke, and write the letters in that broken English in an effort to frame her. Police continue to investigate Marnie. But here's the thing. There's no further physical evidence tying Marnie to the crime.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Now, remember, Sean has always maintained his innocence. And finally, after weeks of investigating him, police clear him. Once they do, they have a proposition for him. They want his help on getting information about Marty.

[Investigator/Reporter]

And we're basically telling Sean, we want to set up some wires in your house. We want to see if you can get her to talk about her involvement. So police bug his house, and then they take positions all around his house.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

You have to set up safeguards.

[Investigator/Reporter]

When you build these type of operations.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

You don't want anybody to get hurt.

[Investigator/Reporter]

We basically have to put security up, and downstairs, we got coppers hiding in closets just in case things go south. During his conversation with Marnie, he's asking her about these letters that were sent to women he dated. And he's asking her, do you think these letters were sent from the killer?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I would say it's possible, yeah. I think this person's a little unbalanced, Got a few screws loose. Now, remember, police believe it was Marnie who sent those letters, not Monica. So in their view, she's talking about herself.

[Investigator/Reporter]

My whole point, what I'm trying to bring up, anyone who takes someone else's life has got to be some. Some really lasting effect that I would.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Imagine so you have to be a sociopath in its purest form in order to be able to take another person's life. In the end, Marnie admitted to nothing. So one of the things the police do is they start pulling her trash, looking for incriminating information. And they hit some pager. There they find a bank statement that they read and it says purchase on her debit card, Ray Rawlings Arms. So they call Ray Rawlings arms and that's when they find out about the book how to make a disposable Silencer and the fact that she ordered volume one and volume two.

[Investigator/Reporter]

She actually went to Home Depot and purchased the items to build a silencer.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

She's got, you know, the drill, a circular clamp, a 1 1/4 inch metal pipe, some PVC piping and the duct tape and a hacksaw. So even with these new discoveries, the police still need more information. So they set up another sting operation. And now it's another woman, a so called psychic, who will upend the investigation. She may be goofy, but she knows how to press record.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Do you give your permission for the following conversation to be overheard and recorded?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Yes.

[Investigator/Reporter]

This overheard will now commence and what.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Unfolds inside this unassuming Denny's will surprise investigators. Very chilling. It was surreal. Save me. This show is supported by Quint's. When the seasons begin changing, I find it kind of challenging trying to find the right outfit. This summer has been scorching, but as we get closer to fall, I'm already thinking about sweaters and long sleeve shirts. But it's also kind of tricky to find comfortable fabrics that look good and feel great. Quince could be the answer. Their luxe essentials are chic and stylish. Cashmere and cotton sweaters Starting at just $40, washable silk tops and classic denim pants. Everything has a polished, timeless feel. And best of all, everything at Quint's comes at half the cost of similar brands. It's luxury made affordable. Plus you can rest easy knowing that Quince only works with factories that use safe, ethical and responsible manufacturing practices and premium fabrics and finishes. Elevate your fall wardrobe essentials with quince. Go to quince.com 20abc for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com 20 y a b c for free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com 20abc this show is supported by Unicorn Girl, an Apple original podcast. Meet Candice, mother of two Nurse, CEO and founder of multi million dollar companies. Candace went from being a stay at home mom to making millions, traveling the world and saving lives. There was just one problem. Was it all a lie or was it all true? It turns out the truth might be even harder to believe. From the creator of Scamanda. This is Unicorn Girl, an Apple original podcast produced by Seven Hills. Apple TV subscribers get special early access to the entire season. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts. We start with breaking news right now. A woman was shot to death this morning. Police say the victim was the girlfriend of former Bears player Sean Gale.

[Investigator/Reporter]

If you want to commit a murder and get away with it, keep your mouth shut.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

But some people just can't keep from talking. When you hit the gun, did you hide it real well? This is good chocolate. Talking about a murder like it was going grocery shopping.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Police say that they realize that that.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Question, do you want to go to dinner?

[Investigator/Reporter]

Was actually code for, I did it. I killed Ronnie.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

She started screaming. I took the first shot. She's being recorded by her friend Christy. I don't remember where the hell I was. Lonnie, the one who says she's a psychic. One who didn't see the trouble ahead. This will be an interesting conversation. You basically described the perfect crime. I knew perfectly well that I was being recorded. I saw the wire.

[Investigator/Reporter]

He slammed his hands onto the desk and told me, it's either gonna be you or your mother that's gonna go down for this.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

So you're saying you lied then, but how do I know you're not lying now? It sounds very much to me like someone's confessing to a murder. A former pro football star in the middle of an explosive murder. Police are searching for a suspect in the murder of a pregnant girlfriend of former Chicago Bayer, Sean Gale.

[Investigator/Reporter]

The city was shocked. Here's Sean Gale, one of the good guys, always pleasant. And then suddenly there were a lot of people who thought, maybe Sean's involved. Sean Gale has been subject to rumors and watched his reputation become blemished in the months following the murder. I would say that the general public opinion was that it was him.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Sean bore the brunt of the suspicion for Ronnie Ryder's murder. But what people didn't know was that behind the scenes, he was working with law enforcement because they believed Marnie Yang was obsessed with him. So now Marnie Yang was the prime suspect.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Think of the evidence prosecutors lined up here against Marnie. She buys a book online about a silencer. She goes to Home Depot and shops for all these items. Now, that Police have all this incriminating evidence. They bring Marnie back in for questioning. She's pretty smart. You weren't going to just be to able to put her in a room and say, did you do it? And she confessed sobbingly. You know, we know that wasn't going to happen.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

One of the early questions you ask someone is, where were they at the time this murder was committed?

[Investigator/Reporter]

What happened when you got up?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Well, I looked at my phone and there was a message there. Andrew was calling me from the basement to let me know. I remember checking to see if he had a fever or not. And he felt warm, so he stayed home from school that day.

[Investigator/Reporter]

After checking on her son, Marnie says she went to the garage to try to get her truck to work and it wouldn't. Marnie Yang said that she was home during the murder and interviews with her son revealed that she was not home.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Police then introduce the information they have about that she had ordered this book about how to make a silencer.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Purchased this book.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Yes, I did.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Now, why would you purchase a book on how to make disposable silencers?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

It was a joke. Marnie Yang justified having those books by saying that they were for her longtime cop boyfriend. That was a gag gift that was supposed to be for Sal. Firearms are a hobby of his.

[Investigator/Reporter]

She gave it to him and he was like, what is this? And ended up just leaving it at her house. He said he had no idea why she would have given that to him. Did you ever try to make monitors?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

No. So that actually gave me a really good idea for putting together a science project. It turned out to be probably a little bit more complicated than I was prepared to.

[Investigator/Reporter]

There was no science projects for her kid at that time. That was a lie. As the interrogation progresses, police ask her about owning guns.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

My lure is a.40 caliber and my link is a.38. Police already know that Marnie owned another gun, a 9 millimeter Beretta, which happens to match the caliber of the gun that killed Ronnie.

[Investigator/Reporter]

She leaves out the 9 millimeter and all of a sudden it was, you sure that there's no more guns?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Oh, you know what? I think there was another one. It was black, it was semi automatic. I don't know what it was.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Where is that one?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

That one? I do not know. I want to say about a year and a half ago, something disappeared out of my house.

[Investigator/Reporter]

So in that interrogation, police confront Marnie with a damning piece of evidence.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Police had conducted a search warrant in Marnie's house. So they say to her in Your home. We found mailing labels with the names of the women in Sean's life who received. Received those harassing letters.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Bianca Camarena. These are all ladies. These are all the women who sent the letters. Copies of the leaks. You don't have any idea why these labels or packets of letters will be your help?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

You know, you had said that if there was a question that I didn't feel up to answer that I could.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Okay, that's fine.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

The introduction, the photograph of the unborn child.

[Investigator/Reporter]

This little girl. This child will never get to see her life or have her dreams or ever do anything.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

They don't really get a reaction. I mean, that's very telling. They held me for what I now know to be three days. We had the evidence of the silencer. We had the evidence of her having had a 9 millimeter. Still wasn't enough. The reason it's not enough. It still does not link Marnie to shooting Ronnie. And she knew it wasn't enough because after they questioned her for a few days, she still was able to walk out the door.

[Investigator/Reporter]

If you want to commit a murder and get away with it, keep your mouth shut. They have to let Marnie go, but police are gearing up for another sting operation.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

When you hit. Done, did you hide it for you? Well, it's cool.

[Investigator/Reporter]

After. We have to let Marnie angle. We spent a good year and two months revisiting everything. Now we're looking. We're looking really hard at Kristi Passion. Christy Passion was a close friend of my mom's. I know that Christy was involved with, like, you know, tarot card readings.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I wouldn't refer to her as a friend at all. She was an acquaintance. An acquaintance. But clearly there seems to be a long record of pretty intense friendship. Well, I mean, I was looking at real estate for her as well. Marnie had said that. That she was gonna go over and stay at her House on October 3, the day before the murder, and that she had chosen not to. I was scheduled to take some real estate listings over there. That's when I began having car troubles. When law enforcement initially talked to Kristi, Kristi, you know, followed through with that story. Law enforcement never really believed it, but they didn't know how involved Christy Pashen was. As police. Police start digging into Christy Passion, they learn about this phone call which she gets from Marnie on the day of the murder at work, where phone calls are recorded. Christy Passion, how can I help you? Do you want to go to dinner? Okay, that's fine. Is everything all right? Yeah, I'm fine. Okay. Okay. Not a problem. All right, I'll call you later. Okay.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Bye.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Bye.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Do you want to go to dinner? That statement bothered me for a year because it just didn't make sense. In the months that police spent investigating this crime, they start thinking about that black car that was seen fleeing the scene. But that car doesn't match anything that Marnie has. And so a logical thing to do.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Is see if they can find a car that Marnie may have rented in or around the area. They got lucky. Police find a record of a car that's rented in Marnie's name. But using Christie's address. Marnie Yang rented a car two days before the murder. It was a blue sort of bright color. The next day, she decided she wanted a darker car.

[Investigator/Reporter]

She didn't like the first rent a car, thought it stuck out too much and sends it back to get something that that's going to blend. The rental car that she had at that time was a Volkswagen Rabbit. That was similar to what they found on surveillance video near the area of the scene around the time of the murder. This car was used for 40 miles. That is exactly from the rental place to Kristi Passions to the murder scene, back to Kristi Passions and then to the rental for the drop off. It is exactly 40 miles.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

They decided to interview Christy first because her address comes up on the Enterprise location. Investigators approach Kristi Pashen and tell her that she's going to be a co conspirator and murder if she doesn't work with them.

[Investigator/Reporter]

My feeling is that Christy just got tired of lying. She realized we'd obviously done her homework, and I just think she just had enough.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

She was going to go ahead and kill Ronnie. I was like, don't do this. You know, what are you gonna do? Go kill all the women? And she said, but she's the one that he spends all of the time with, so she's got to go.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Christy tells police that Marnie had come to visit Christy at her house the night before the murder. Told her that she was gonna kill Ronnie. Marnie said, if I do this in the morning, I will call you at work after I have done it, and I will ask you out to dinner. Police say that they realize that that.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Question, do you want to go to dinner?

[Investigator/Reporter]

Was actually code for, I did it. I killed Ronnie. And it was like, okay, now this makes sense. Police convinced Christy to start cooperating with them, and they got her to make several phone calls and record several phone calls with Marnie.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

What? Relax, will You. I just got a call from Mr. Wonderful. Oh, really? What did he want? He wants to talk to me now. I don't remember where the hell I was, Lonnie. Wait, what are you talking about? When? The night of the. Oh, the night before that stupid murder. Oh, when they're not really calling you in because they think you were or were not where you said you were the night before. Okay, that is the room they're gearing up for.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Some police want Christy to do something else for them. They say, okay, now set up a meeting with Marnie.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

The two ladies meet at Denny's, but unbeknownst to Marnie, there's a full sting operation that's about to take place.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Today's date is March 1, 2009. For voice identification, please state your name.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Christy Passion. Christy Passion's there. There's two police officers undercover at another booth somewhere. I'm scared, Marnie. You're not the only one. I helped you do something you knew I didn't want any part of. When you hit done. Did you hide it real well? I put it into a bucket of cement. I threw it in a dumpster. It has gone under a year and a half's worth of Chicago garbage at the City Dome. This is good chocolate. They're sipping tea and eating ice cream and talking about a murder like it was going grocery shopping. It was surreal. We walk away from that and we're like, there has to be more. Christy then goes back to Marty and said, I really need to talk to you again. They sent the psychic back to Denny's the next day. Do police see a full confession in the cards? This episode is brought to you by Greenlight. Get this. Adults with financial literacy skills have 82% more wealth than those who don't. From swimming lessons to piano classes, us parents invest in so many things to enrich our kids lives. But are we investing in their future financial success? With Greenlight, you can teach your kids financial literacy skills like earning, saving and investing. And this investment costs less than that. After school treat start prioritizing their financial education and future today with a risk free trial at greenlight.com Spotify. Greenlight.com Spotify this episode is brought to you by cars.com on cars.com you can shop over 2 million cars. That means over 2 million new car possibilities. Like making space for your growing family. Becoming the type of person who takes spontaneous weekend camping trips or upgrading your commute wherever life takes you next. Or whoever you're looking to be. There's a car for that on cars.com visit cars.com to discover your next possibility. You know me comes up when I'm asleep. What came up, what woke me up was we dumped the wig, we dumped the lights, we dumped that stuff for the gun.

[Investigator/Reporter]

We learn in this country conversation that Christy and Marnie actually went on this dumpster tour going around the night of the murder, dumping all the evidence. And then Marnie starts sharing the details about how she says she killed Ronnie.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Ronnie was leaving for work and she was met at the door by Marnie Yang. Okay. But he has dark makeup on my face and handcuffs. Okay. Marnie is describing her elaborate disguise which seems to match witnesses description of the suspect on the day of the murder. She started screaming. I took the first shot. It was at that point I realized we are disappointing and I just started emptying.

[Investigator/Reporter]

The matter of fact tone with which she described it is terrifying.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I took maybe one or two steps into the kitchen to finish the job. Right around the head of Ron are live rounds. There was some jamming occurring probably because she had the silencer on and the live rounds were falling out until it didn't jam anymore. Then when she went down, she took her foot and she took one good kick at me. Got me in the shin. It's like weak. By that time it was like, like that. That was it. I just, I took one last shot. The final wound, the kill shot to Ronnie itself was right. You see your share of cold, calculated, evil people in this business, but it really is hard to wrap your head around a mother of three who's going to execute a pregnant woman. Two shots, right to the abdomen, right to the fetus. It's extreme.

[Investigator/Reporter]

With Marnie's confession securely on tape, they now have enough evidence to make move in and arrest her. When they told us that they had made an arrest, it was just like thank you, thank you. She eluded police for nearly a year and a half. Marnie Yang, the 41 year old, has.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Been charged with the murder of Ronnie Reiter.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Marnie, I need you to have a seat over here, please. Thank you. When we arrested her, we brought her into the station. We provide her a segment of the wire with her and Christy as she.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Was doing the screening until she went down. I would like to talk to my attorney.

[Investigator/Reporter]

She basically lawyers up and is done with us. And she's seen on tape after we leave the room, curling up in the corner of the room practically in the fetus position. She was obviously defeated and I think she realized she lost, was like gotcha. Finally.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

She is charged with Killing the girlfriend of former Chicago Bear Sean Gale.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Nearly three and a half years after the murder, Marnie Yang is going to trial. And when I really sit down and just think that this all happened because someone had a crush, it makes no sense to me.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Yang has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, Marnie Yang faces life in prison.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Marnie Yang's main goal was to eliminate the competition. And the evidence showed that she was obsessed with Mr. Gayle. And her obsession was mainly directed at the other women. She wanted to get rid of them so that she could have him for herself.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Former Chicago Bears player Sean Gale takes a witness stand this morning.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Gayle testified that he had sex with Marnie Yang the night before. She's accused of the 2007 murder of Ronnie Reiner. The fact that he had slept with Marnie the night before the murder raised a lot of eyebrows, but it wasn't enough to change the narrative.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Prosecutors wanted to portray Marnie as a jealous woman.

[Investigator/Reporter]

A big part of the prosecution's case was that Marnie sent these letters to other women that Sean was seeing. And as part of that, they put Marnie's daughter Emily on the stage. And she says exactly that.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I do remember being on the stand. I was really hesitant. Emily says that her mom had told her that she had sent those letters so that the women could find out about each other. That said, testifying could not have been easy for either mother or daughter. It hurt to see her there. The question we support her testimony today from Kristi Pashtian, who says that she's a psychic and a friend of Yang's.

[Investigator/Reporter]

She was on the stand for a day and she said a lot, and much of it was damning evidence against Marnie. The next day when they cross examined her and started asking her about being a psychic and a hypnotist, being a pow, you get the feeling that the jury didn't necessarily believe the truth of those things, and that obviously affected her credibility.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

But as Ari Fizz said, she may be goofy, but she knows how to press record. Marnie's defense at the trial was that she had no idea she was being recorded, but that she was just spinning a tail for her friend Christy Pashen. She started screaming and I just started emptying. I'm the mother of three girls, seen baby Skyler with a bullet that ran through her. Just have chills. I will never get that picture out of my head, ever. A jury finds Marnie Yang guilty of first degree murder and intentional homicide of an unborn child.

[Investigator/Reporter]

I can't even begin to tell you how difficult this has been for me and of course Ronnie's family. At least I feel that, you know, Ronnie and baby, they're at peace. Marnie is sent away to life in prison.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

But now, eight years later, Marnie has filed a petition saying she was wrongfully convicted. Among her claims that her daughter was pressured and her son threatened by police.

[Investigator/Reporter]

He slammed his hands onto the desk and told me, it's either going to be you or your mother that's going to go down for this. Marnie Yang has already served eight years in prison. She was sentenced to two life terms for the murder of 42 year old Ronnie Ryder and her unborn baby.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

It took a jury only four, four hours to convict Marnie Yang. Today she continues to maintain her innocence. Now she has a high profile lawyer and a team of experts committed to proving the state got it wrong.

[Investigator/Reporter]

We filed a petition for post conviction relief alleging Marnie's actual innocence.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Tonight one of Ryder's friends, she was like a sister, says she believes Yang is innocent of murder. The real killer is out there and that person needs to be held accountable. The petition filed by Marnie's new defense team includes a number of allegations from Marnie's children about the investigation and about the case against their mother.

[Investigator/Reporter]

My mother was forced to confess to something she didn't do. Things just need to be set right. Much warmer conditions were will be with us all weekend long. The thaw has begun. So the morning that the Lake county task force came to serve the search warrant, I was dead asleep in my room. They were knocking on the door. I was only 11. I told them about my brother and sister who were sleeping in the basement.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I woke up to a bunch of police officers yelling, search warrant. Get up. Marnie's children were home alone when they say their house was ransacked. I was just watching them tear our house apart.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Emily and Andrew were 16 years old children when this occurred.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

They took Brandon and I in one squad car and Andy in another. The children were separated and taken to different police stations. They bring me into an interrogation room. I didn't know anything. They wouldn't accept that. And the mental frustration, it really broke me. And it got to the point where I started banging my head on the table. It's like I'm there and I know what gonna happen, how maybe I could have stopped it, but I can't.

[Investigator/Reporter]

One of the task force investigators came into the room. It was like a movie almost. He slammed his hands onto the desk and told me, it's either gonna be you or Your mother, that's gonna go down for this. And that's when I really started getting scared.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Marnie's children are turning the tables on the police using. Using the way in which they say they were interrogated as a weapon to fight to free their mother. They told me to write that I had seen my mom write these letters to Sean's 16 other girlfriends, which I had never seen these letters ever in my life.

[Investigator/Reporter]

The only way that I got out of that situation was to write down a statement that my mother wasn't home the morning of the murder. But she was home that morning. She was.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Later on at the courthouse, some lady came in the room and told me, you're gonna testify what you wrote. And I'm just like, I can't. It's all made up. It's not true. And she. And she's like, well, if you don't, you're going to get in trouble. So I testified. The state attorney's office denies the children's statements were coerced. They say Emily's lawyer wouldn't allow prosecutors to talk to her until she took the stand. And when she did testify, she never said her statement to police was a lie. As for Andrew, the state said they repeatedly torn told Marnie during her three day interrogation that he wasn't a suspect.

[Investigator/Reporter]

I had a nervous breakdown.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Andrew says that as a result of the police questioning, he had to be placed into a mental institution.

[Investigator/Reporter]

I was hospitalized. I was put on a psychiatric unit for probably a good like, month and a half.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

The Major Crimes task force has told us they can't comment on the petition because of the pending court case. So now we're in. Every prison has a different look. We went to see Marnie at this Illinois women's prison where she sat down with us to speak on camera for the first time. Hello, Marnie. This will be an interesting conversation you have. You haven't spoken about any of this for more than a decade. That is correct. Why speak now? I feel like prior to this, I don't think it would have mattered. I feel like there is a time that time is now. Before discussing her new defense, I asked Marnie about Shawn. Remember, police believe that her motive for murder was jealousy. You never sent menacing letters to the women in Shawn's life? I did not. I was. I was one of the recipients of them. Were you obsessed with Shawn? I'm not. Being in a relationship is one of the biggest mistakes that I ever made. I regret it. I wish that I had never met him.

[Investigator/Reporter]

The crux of Marty Yang's defense at this point is that she claims that she falsely confessed to Kristi Pashen in order to protect Andrew, her son.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

What made you think that the police were going to be able to pin it on your son? That's what they told my children. You met up with Christy McDennings. You basically described the perfect crime. I knew perfectly well that I was being recorded. I saw the wire. We may have trouble. Folks came out and was hanging down.

[Investigator/Reporter]

We hear on the tape that Christy was having trouble with the wire.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I don't know if she saw it or not. Hopefully she didn't see the piece. You're a very convincing actress. Because on that tape, it sounds very much to me like someone's confessing to a murder. I wasn't confessing to her. I was confessing directly to law enforcement. Marnie claims that even before the meeting at D. Denny's, she told Christy in a phone call recorded by police that she was going to falsely admit to it.

[Investigator/Reporter]

She told Christie she was just going to make some up. Pardon my word.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

All right, once we're making up. This is the transcript of the entire conversation you mentioned. Just the last line. There's no mention of her son. There's no mention of her falsely confessing to save her son.

[Investigator/Reporter]

We have statements from Francine Marar and from Larry Marar, divorced parents of Marnie, before this conversation took place. She said, I'm just gonna go meet Christy and make up a story that I committed the murder and let the attorneys sort it out with the police. The lawyers will take care of it. Oh, what a stupid idea.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

It was a rash, an ill conceived decision to protect my children.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Marnie took a polygraph and the polygrapher said she's being honest in her answers. The state attorney's office says this whole idea of Marnie just making stuff up is nonsense.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

They say days before Christy and Marnie met at that Denny's, Christy had already given police all these details about what Marnie had told her in the past about the murder.

[Investigator/Reporter]

And then when she and Marnie meet, Marnie's repeating the same details. How would she know unless she did the killing?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Jed, if you're facing life in jail, wouldn't you say? You know, guys, I was kidding. I was confessing on behalf of my son. But that was never brought up at trial.

[Investigator/Reporter]

I can't account for the trial lawyers strategy at that trial.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

You're telling me now that you lied when you confessed to all those things that led up to the murder of Ronnie Reuter and the COVID up. I did. I lied. So you're saying you lied then, but how do I know you're not lying now? I have nothing to lose at this point. But you have everything to gain by lying. I mean, when you say that I have everything to gain by lying, I don't think that you. The evidence lies. Part of the evidence.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Her defense says that there's evidence that the gun that prosecutor's claim was used wasn't even in her possession at the time. And they have a witness coming forward on video saying exactly that.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

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[Investigator/Reporter]

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[Narrator/Interviewer]

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[Investigator/Reporter]

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[Narrator/Interviewer]

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[Investigator/Reporter]

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[Narrator/Interviewer]

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[Investigator/Reporter]

Five, my mom uses it. Are you playing me off? That's what's happening, right? Okay, give it a try.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

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[Investigator/Reporter]

This was an execution, a cold blooded.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Murder with a Super bowl winning bear on the stand. And now, nearly a decade after Marnie Yang's conviction, she is throwing what some see as a Hail Mary pass.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Prosecutors talk about how this is all coming forward now after Marnie Yang has exhausted every other type of appeal that she can. But Martin Yang's defense team is pretty convincing as well. The Major Crimes Task Force got it wrong. I filed a petition. We're going to present the evidence of actual innocence. No DNA, no fingerprints. She was at home. She wasn't there. They point out all the time the long history in Lake county of wrongful prosecution. They would like everyone to believe that Marnie Yang is one of those wrongly prosecuted people. One of the key pieces of evidence that the defense is talking about is that police said that there was surveillance video from the gas station of the car that Marnie Yang had rented, the Volkswagen Rabbit, leaving the neighborhood right about the time after the murder, we didn't know that whether or not this was or was not a Volkswagen Rabbit. So we wanted to test it by renting an identical vehicle, which we did. This was ours. You could see they're different shapes. This has a longer body, and this is a shorter body. This one looks like it's a little taller. This one's a little shorter to the ground. It's been examined by forensic experts, and they looked at this, and they concluded that these are different vehicles.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

In response, the state attorney's office says that Marnie's defense made similar arguments during the trial, and the jury rejected it.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Regardless of the video, it's not like she's been consistent with her story on it.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

The purpose of the rental car was for a photo shoot. Do you have the name of the photographer? I don't remember. I just remember he was from Wisconsin. Here's a guy who could potentially clear you of murder, and you can't remember his name? No, it was that long ago.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Another point the defense is hammering on is that their experts are saying you can't attach a silencer to this kind of gun. It's got a little tiny barrel on it. And you can see when this gun comes forward, this is a moving piece. You don't have enough to attach it to.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

We talked to Peter Diechik. He's a firearms expert and a forensic science professor who's taught at both Penn State and John Jay College. We asked him for his insights on the competing arguments.

[Investigator/Reporter]

The length of the barrel is quite short, but can accept a homemade suppressor. But it may interfere with the function of the firearm, and it may not remain attached properly. The state attorney's office says she could hold the silencer up to the barrel while she's shooting him. If this thing is just held in place sort of superficially, you're putting yourself in grave danger.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

The big point of the gun in the defense's petition is that they claim she didn't even have possession of the gun at the time of the murder.

[Investigator/Reporter]

May I have your name, please? My name is Jesse Delgado.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

They have a person who claims he told police that he stole that gun from Marnie's house months before the murder.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Like, is this about the gun I stole? And they're like, well, what are you talking about? And I was like, did I stole a gun from Marty? I remember there was a party, and everybody was there, and especially this one guy that's always there, and he's a sketchy guy, but in reality, I guess I was a Sketchy guy. There were so many people in the house, nobody knew who took it.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

When you realized your gun was missing, did you report it to the police? I remember calling my inside insurance company and talking to them about it. The insurance company told me that my policy did not cover personal items other than the house itself, and so I didn't bother.

[Investigator/Reporter]

The prosecution's point of this is if Delgado is her son's friend, wouldn't that be something she would have known about at the trial?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And that's the state's main argument, that many of the claims raised by Marnie's current legal team could have been raised at the trial, but weren't or had already been argued at trial.

[Investigator/Reporter]

I think the strongest piece of evidence that we have is the scientific evidence of the bullet trajectories showing that Marnie Yang, because of her height, could not have fired the bullets that killed Ronnie Rider. The defense's argument is the shooter had to be 510 or taller, and Marnie's only 5ft. We're looking at the mannequin that we developed that represents Ronnie. These are rods, are protrusion rods. We place them on the bullet path that the medical examiner has identified in his report. This is Marnie's shot. This line right here goes to the heart of the manor. Because if she had been the shooter for this wound, it would come out in a different place completely.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

There's a lot made about wound.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Be that wound is a downward angled wound fired by a taller person than Marnie, someone who's at least 5, 10.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And yet when the ME testified, after examining the tissue, the ME said it was actually going up.

[Investigator/Reporter]

He's wrong. Here's the thing. When somebody is getting killed, they don't stay stationary. Think about what must have been going through Ronnie's mind. Was she begging for her life? Did she get on her knees? Did she try to move away? All of that would affect Marnie's positioning relative to Ronnie's.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I know that you've taken apart each and every piece of evidence that was presented, and it's everything from the fact that she told friends, that she had access to Shawn's emails, the fact that she bragged about him and her relationship with him every chance she could, that she purchased those suspicious items at Home Depot, that she rented a car, that she told Christy that she wore a disguise, her own words on tape about Ronnie Reuter's murder. Any one of those details you could pick apart and say, okay, maybe, but in toto, doesn't it paint an alarming picture to you?

[Investigator/Reporter]

Yes, it does. And that is why it's so important to adversarially test those little pieces, find out the truth of them, and then put the picture back together, showing actual innocence.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

But will Marnie Yang get a new trial?

[Investigator/Reporter]

It's a terrible tragedy for really everyone involved, certainly for Ronnie's family. But it's also a tragedy for Marnie Yang and her family. Her kids have grown up without their mother. I would just say to her that no matter everything that she's been through, you know, be proud that she's raised a really good young man, and that's all thanks to her.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I'm glad you're still here. I know I haven't been there, but I'm hoping that we can all get through this together. Could it be that Marnie's lying to her own children and using them for her defense?

[Investigator/Reporter]

She loves and loved those children. I reject that as a possibility. I don't think Marnie was using her children as pawns.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I have to ask you, did you kill Roni Ryder? I did not. And I am not capable of doing anything. Like I'm a mother myself. Like that's unconscionable to me. Absolutely not. The state's attorney's office filed a motion, as you well know, to dismiss your petition, and they described it as skillfully lawyerly rebranding of the facts and the overwhelming evidence against Marnie.

[Investigator/Reporter]

I agree that it was skillful. It's not a rebranding of the facts. It's a taking a look at the facts and putting them in a light of truth.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

The state also argues that many of the statements that were filed as a part of Marnie's petition are not notarized or are not sworn to, and that those claims should therefore be dismissed. It's now up to a judge as to whether or not Marnie Yang deserves a new tr. Ronnie's family said that this was finally over as soon as she was convicted. So it's difficult to see that Ronnie's family will have to go through this again.

[Investigator/Reporter]

You're my sister. Ronnie was kind of the hub, but the family. She brought us all together.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

During our interview, one of the most poignant answers Sean gave me was to the question of whether he blamed himself. And he told me the issue was not so much blame. It's the fact that I have to live with knowing that Ronnie and the baby died because I knew this morning.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Yang, she took a piece of all of our lives. She took a piece of all of our hearts.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

You've been listening to the 2020 True Crime Vault Friday nights at 9 on ABC. You can also find all new broadcast episodes of 2020. Thanks for listening.

[Investigator/Reporter]

FX presents the Lowdown what I've uncovered is insane. Starring Ethan Hawke. Behind every great fortune e is a great crime. And from the co creator of Reservation Dogs, Sterling Harjo, hidden tunnels, kinky sex stuff. I don't know how it all connects, but till I do, I just keep bluffing. FX's the Lowdown premieres September 23rd on FX, stream on Hulu.