"Potosi family mourns: Family of murder victim Rhoni Reuter issues a statement, while Deerfield police investigate killing
Posted on 03:50, under murder, Rhoni Reuter
POTOSI, Wis. -- On Saturday, even as they sorted through a time of unbearable pain, Reuter family members expressed their gratitude for the kindness of strangers.
Meanwhile, Deerfield, Ill., investigators searched for a person of interest in the death of Rhoni Reuter, a pregnant Potosi native who police say was murdered Thursday morning in the suburban Chicago condominium she shared with a former Chicago Bears football star.
In a statement to the media, the family of Rhoni Reuter, thanked the investigators and the many tri-state people who have offered their respects during the family's nightmarish past couple of days.
"We ... would like to express our deep appreciation for the thoughts and prayers and comfort of friends and sympathetic strangers who have been moved by the tragedy suffered by our family in the senseless loss of Rhoni and her child," said a statement issued to the Telegraph Herald Saturday through Platteville, Wis., attorney Christopher Stombaugh.
"We are grateful for the efforts of law enforcement to solve this unspeakable
Police say the subject has been described as a male teenager.
"The subject was seen running across a street near the victim's residence shortly after the shooting is believed to have taken place," the law enforcement press release stated.
Police say Reuter, 42, who grew up in Potosi, and was at least seven months pregnant at the time of her death, suffered multiple gunshot wounds Thursday morning in her Deerfield home she shared with former Chicago Bears defensive back Shaun Gayle, a member of the 1985 Super Bowl champion team. Gayle told police he was the father of the unborn child.
Gayle was not considered a suspect.
Court records show Gayle had complained that a former girlfriend allegedly harassed Reuter and other female friends last year, and he had sought an order of protection. Terry Rizzo, Gayle's attorney, said she filed a new complaint against the woman on Thursday, before she knew of Reuter's death, claiming the woman had violated the order last month.
The shooting was believed to have happened about 7:55 Thursday morning, Deerfield police said. There was no sign of forced entry and nothing was taken from the third-floor condo.
A 1983 graduate of Potosi High School, Reuter has lived in the Chicago area for nearly 20 years. Her parents are Douglas and Landa Reuter, who still live in Potosi. Reuter was about 10 weeks away from giving birth, friends said. She had already named the unborn child, a girl, Skylar Reyne.
Drafted out of Ohio State, Gayle joined the Bears in 1984 and was a nickel back and special teams captain for the '85 team. He stayed with the Bears longer than any member of the championship team, leaving after the 1994 season to play a final year in the NFL with the San Diego Chargers.
The Reuter family asked that the public honor a request for privacy.
"We ask at this time of unbearable pain that our privacy and that of Shaun Gayle be respected so that we can grieve our loss in peace," the family said. "We need time and space for this, especially at the time of the wake and funeral." The press statement implored the media not to attend Reuter's funeral, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Monday, Oct. 8, at St. Thomas Catholic Church in Potosi.
