Hes a guy what a lot of women in his life. Are there other people who had relationships with shaun that didnt end well . Someone literally took that child out. She may want to get rid of other women in his life. The police bug his house and hes asking her, do you think these letters were sent from the killer. I think the person is a little unbalanced. Got a few screws loose. When you hid the gun, did you hide it well . Gone. Sounds very much to me like someone is confessing to murder. This is a story that has shocked an entire city over and over. We start with breaking news. A deadly shooting nearby. Shes dead . Ill have to have an investigator call you. Shes dead . [ screams ] this was an execution. A pregnant 42yearold woman gunned down as she was going to work. Was it a robbery . Was it a contract killing . Was it revenge . It turns out, she is the girlfriend of a former chicago bear, shaun gayle. Save me the bears. Shaun gayle was this legendary Football Player for one of the greatest football teams of all time, the 85 bears. And his pregnant girlfriend, rhoni reuter, when she is murdered, it turned this city upside down. The story really starts in 1985 when mike ditka and the Chicago Bears ruled the town of chicago. Chicago is a huge football town. [ cheers and applause ] chicago go bears bury em in 1985, the bears were on fire. This was something the city had not seen. I was a young local reporter working in chicago. I was not a Sports Reporter. I was a news reporter. But the bears were so big that they were leading the newscast, not the sportscast. The 1985 bears, arguably one of the greatest football teams in nfl history, theres no question. Picked off by dave duerson they had just the strangest, wildest group of players youll ever see on one squad. Play mcdonalds playoff payoff. Its a good time for the great taste of victory. I venture to say that almost every guy in that 53 man squad did at least one commercial. This cat knows exactly what he wants. Thats my kind of cat. Whiskas. Thats going to be intercepted. Shaun gayle. Shaun gayle was a great contributor. A starter, just a rocksolid, really wellrespected player that would knock you out. You wanted him at safety. The kick is blocked shaun gayle, number 23, scored the touchdown. Shaun was this charismatic, laidback, softspoken guy. Were not going to, you know, break our arms patting ourselves on our back with what weve 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. Shaun, of course, youre a bachelor, still a heartthrob among female bear fans. What do you do after a Football Game . And players you got to watch him. Usually the single guys, we get together get a bite to eat. [ coughing ] in 1985, they were perfect through the first 11 games. They won all of them. So there was this building excitement in chicago. Were going to bring home a winner, for them. For chicago and the fans. Its 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, lets do it. We are the bears shuffling crew shuffling on down doing at for you the corniest, worst music video youre ever gonna see. It was sort of a rap song. Not really. Strutting our stuff on everyone nobody could dance. And look, shaun couldnt dance either. Hell tell you he was smooth. You saw him stuck in the back there. He needed to be in the back. Everybody assumed they were going to win the super bowl, and they did. So mike ditka, hungry chicago, finally champions on this january day in new orleans. They just destroyed the new england patriots. 4610, the final. 46 to 10 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 dont care what it is, its the world champion. The 85 bears are still the most popular players in the history of chicago sports. Were number one 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 shaun gayle is after football, he was still a success. What do you think about that . 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. Shaun was seen as a ladies man, very smooth. Despite all appearances that he was an eligible bachelor, he actually had a longterm relationship with a woman named rhoni reuter. Rhoni was from wisconsin. And not too terribly far from chicago. Shes in the area between bears fans and packers fans. But obviously, she became a bears fan when she started dating shaun gayle. They met at a Bears Charity event. Rhoni was in the crowd with some friends. Rhoni reuter was into fashion. She worked at macys. I first started digging into this story more than ten years ago. Thats when i met rhonis family. Her devoted younger brother thad and her sisterinlaw anna. She was a big city woman, but she never lost that smalltown girl quality. She liked her chicago life, but she knew where she came from. Im going to zoom in. Hello. Oh. Youre my sister. Really, rhoni made you feel at ease. She could be your friend in an instant. She just had a big smile and she would always hug you and greet you, and she made you be comfortable no matter where you were. Did you know who shaun was . Oh definitely, im a bear fan, so i mean, i and the bears practice in our hometown. So, heres your sister, shes dating a professional Football Player, what was your reaction . It was great for me being a Chicago Bears fan. Yeah, we were happy for her. I really just wanted her to be happy. It wouldnt have mattered if she would have been with a guy who was selling peanuts on the corner, as long as she was happy. They were together a long time. 18 years. Was it a true love affair . Yeah, i believe it was. I think so. Shaun gayle and rhoni reuter never lived together. They never got married. Which according to friends raised some awkward questions for her family. In your opinion, why do you think they werent married . I know rhoni wanted to be married, im thinking it was probably because shaun wasnt ready. Truthfully. You never asked rhoni. We had asked her that prior, but uh, you know, at a certain point you just stop asking. I only saw shaun four or five times the whole time theyd been dating. Over 18 years . Does that strike you at all . Yes, especially being the way rhoni was, very familyoriented. But then, at the age of 41, rhoni got an unexpected gift. Something she always dreamed of actually she found out she was pregnant. Tonight, abcs, 20 20, has an exclusive interview with shaun gayle. Youve got to watch jujus report on this fatal attraction at 9 00 right here on abc 7. I was the only reporter that shaun gayle granted an interview to back in 2009. Shaun gayle speaks very openly with you, it seems. 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 rhoni were feeling about the pregnancy. Shaun told me we were both excited about it. There was some disappointment because our relationship wasnt at a point where we hoped it would be having a child. This was a happy surprise for us because we didnt think shed have children. Every time you talked to her thats all she talked about. She talked about the baby kicking. We were so looking forward to her having a kid, because she never had one and always told us how to raise our kids, so i mean, that was what she wanted to do was be a mother. Rhoni gets the gift of a lifetime, but what comes next, its not wedding bells. Shes about to open the door to an unexpected visitor. Save me le is real. Mom look take something that can wipe you out . Or dont, and fight through every second. New quickdissolve nurtec™ can bring you back when migraines attack. Just one dose can work fast and last so you can keep going. Dont take if allergic to nurtec. The most common side effect was nausea. Nurtec one migraine. One dose. Onederful™ one migraine. One dose. As important as ever. Most visionworks locations are open and were here to help. If you have an essential eyecare need, visit our website to get connected to one of our doctors. Visionworks. See the difference. 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Its an incredible stretch of its definitely going to feel like summer. Its an incredible stretch of warm days we have coming up. October 4, 2007, was an unseasonably warm day for the chicago area. Its usually starting to get cold around that time. Its almost like beach wetter here. Instead of oktoberfest were calling it summerfest. Rhoni lived in deerfield, illinois, which is a quiet, affluent, beautiful little suburb of chicago. Lots of people go out there to get away from the city. People flock there to live a quiet life. Its a cute place to be and very relatively safe place to be. Kids would have been heading off to school. Rhoni was in her kitchen, on her way out to work, grabbed her stuff, opened her door. And in the shadows, gets hit with seven bullets, forced back into her apartment from, from the blast. Two shots were directly to the fetus. Its just shes executed. Rhoni, its christa downstairs. Are you okay . I heard a woman screaming. And i dont know. Then it went quiet. Would you give me a call, please . Thank you. Deerfield police. I heard a woman screaming. And then a pop, pop and then it went totally silent. I called and she does not answer. We need an ambulance. Theres a female down. I suspect it maybe a gunshot. When Police Arrive at rhonis 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. I heard about a shooting. Because the town is in a panic. Can you tell me whats going on . Why is that helicopter hovering . We have some Police Activity maam. There was fear that there was some gunman running around town on the loose. Have they caught the person . I dont have the details on that yet. 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. Theyre doing that right now. The link to shaun gayle emerged almost immediately. When officers enter her apartment, they see pictures of shaun gayle throughout the condominium. The officers knew those were pictures of rhoni and shaun gayle, because shaun gayle is a celebrity in the chicagoland area. Shaun got a phone call by a Sports Reporter who had heard that a pregnant woman in deerfield had been murdered. So, shaun calls Deerfield Police. Deerfield police department. I am calling about that shooting in deerfield. Yes. Listen, ive been getting calls from the media. This is shaun gayle. Theyre trying to say they are naming me as a suspect . Hold on, please. Is she was it rhoni reuter . Is she okay . Yes, it was. And no, shes not. She shes dead . Shes dead . Shaun, dont go to her house, okay . Shaun, come to the police department. Do you know where it is . Yes. Where are you right now . Im on deerfield road. Okay. I got to 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, uh, dropped my phone and headed out the door. Its just something you never think is going to happen to your family. And i still think im going to wake up and its going to be just a dream. My sister. There were a ton of questions in my mind. And everythings spinning through my head. What could have happened . What what happened . Youre thinking, well, was she downtown shopping when this happened . We just knew she was gone, and we didnt understand why. When did things start becoming a little bit more clear . Actually after i got to mom and dads. What did they tell you . That she had been taken inside her apartment. Right, well, i know exactly right in her kitchen. Is that from rachy . Yes. Did it cross your mind, like, did she have any enemies . Was anyone out to get her . No. If you knew rhoni, theres 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 was somebody rhoni knew. We had to look at shaun. Shaun gayle was the first guy. Youd be foolish to not look at him. Hes dating her. Shes pregnant with her child. Does he want to eliminate her from his life . Does he not want this pregnancy . Police find rhonis purse at the scene, and inside that purse is a letter. That letter might provide clues as to what really happened here. Right now, theres over a million Walmart Associates doing their best to keep our nation going, while keeping us safe. Weve given masks to all our people and were helping our customers practice social distancing in stores. 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Pop my 100 allwhitemeat classic or spicy popcorn chicken combo for just 5. 99. Good morning. Good morning. It is thursday october 4, 2007. This is abc 7 news at 11 00. 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 ive seen in many years. Police say the victim was the girlfriend of former bears player shaun gayle and that she was pregnant with his child. Her friend also tells us, and i am quoting him here, that shaun gayle was her whole life. That he meant everything to her. 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 gosh. I think people were shocked and horrified just by the act itself. Hello it seemed obvious from the beginning it wasnt a random crime. Whoever did this was after not only rhoni, but after the unborn child. Someone deliberately took that child out. The Lake County Major Crimes Task force headed up this murder investigation. The shooting sparked a heavy police response. 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. Investigators say that someone reported seeing a teenager running across the street shortly after she was shot. Several witnesses apparently told police that they saw a young africanamerican boy in the area right after the shooting. Another witness said this person was wearing a disguise. And that it was a very petite person. Maybe around 5 feet tall, baggy track suit, something dark possibly over the persons face. We get a report of a small black car leaving the scene. Was it a robbery . Was it a contract killing . It just didnt add up. It didnt make sense. Police want to question shaun about the crime. Now remember, shaun called police to find out about the crime, and thats when they told him about rhoni. Deerfield police department. Im calling about that s