Yen Yang, Marni Yang’s Ex-Husband: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Marni Yang

ABC News\' 20/20 Marni Yang

Yen Yang is the ex-husband of Marni Yang, who was convicted in the 2007 murder of Rhoni Reuter and her unborn child. According to a 2009 interview with the Chicago Tribune, Marni Yang displayed some disturbing behavior while she was still married to Yen, including threatening to commit suicide if he ever left her.

Marni Yang is featured on ABC’s May 8 episode of 20/20, where she will be opening up about her “false” confession and continued claims of innocence. According to ET, this is the first TV interview with Yang, who received a double life sentence for Reuter’s murder and is currently serving time at the Logan Correctional Center in Illinois.

Here’s what we know about Yang’s ex-husband Yen ahead of the new episode of 20/20:


Yen Remarried & Had a Daughter With His New Wife

According to the Chicago Tribune, Yen and Marni were married on June 10, 1990, but separated five years later in April 1995. They were divorced by August 1997, and Marni was awarded custody of their three children.

Yen remarried shortly after he and Marni split, and he and his new wife welcomed a daughter to the world in 2008, the Tribune reports. Yen refused to comment publicly on his ex-wife’s case after she was arrested, although a source told the Tribune that Yen “fears retribution against his new family if Marni Yang is ever released.”


Marni Threatened That She Would Commit Suicide If She & Yen Broke Up

In the same Chicago Tribune interview, a source told the publication that Marni exhibited strange and erratic behavior before she and Yen even started dating.

She met her future husband at Illinois State University in the late 1980s, and Marni was “possessive to the point of stalking Yen,” according to the Tribune. “She followed him to his volleyball games and to classes,” the source said.

Marni also threatened to take her own life if Yen ever left her, the source reports. She “displayed behavior that made [her ex-husband] uncomfortable even during their courtship, threatening suicide if they broke up by scattering pills around the bathroom,” the source told the Tribune.


Marni Filed an Order of Protection Against Yen for Her & Their Children After Their Divorce

Marni Yang filed for an order of protection against her ex-husband in December 2001, which was extended through February 2002, according to divorce records. She took out the restraining order after Yen allegedly called her and threatened their children, the Chicagoist reports.

The restraining order covered herself and her children, and prohibited Yen from entering any of Marni Yang’s residences in Chicago, Skokie and Niles, and from tampering with her vehicle, according to the publication.


Yen Said The Reason for Their Divorce Was Marni’s Infidelity

Yen claims his and Marni’s marriage ended due to her infidelity, according to the Chicago Tribune. Marni allegedly had an affair with several other men, including at least one Chicago police officer, the source reports.


Marni Yang Opens Up About the Murder on 20/20

Marni Yang is featured on the May 8 episode of ABC’s 20/20, where she is interviewing for the first time ever on national television. Check out the press release below:

“A case that sent shock waves through Chicago began when police discovered seven-month pregnant Rhoni Reuter, longtime girlfriend of legendary Chicago Bears defensive back Shaun Gayle, murdered inside her home in a quiet suburb. A media frenzy ensued as authorities searched for the killer and over three years later a jury convicted Marni Yang, a single mother of three children, who had been romantically involved with Gayle. Now, nearly a decade after receiving a double life sentence, Yang breaks her silence to “20/20” in her first television interview. “Nightline” anchor Juju Chang sat down with Yang who claims she made up a false confession and was wrongly convicted. Yang also opens up about what she says was the motivation behind her false confession as well as her current petition for a new trial. “20/20″ also features the first national network interview with Yang’s children, Andrew, Emily and Brandon Yang. They discuss the terror they felt as police searched their home, questioned them and allegedly coerced them into making false statements, an allegation the prosecution denies. The two-hour program reports on what Yang’s team sees as new evidence that questions if the right person is in prison and includes interviews with Jed Stone, Yang’s current attorney, and forensic reconstruction experts who firmly believe in Yang’s innocence.”

ABC News’ 20/20 interview with Yang airs Friday, May 8 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

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