Lee Mongerson Gilley, 39, from Houston, charged with the capital murder of his pregnant wife, cut off his ankle monitor on May 1 and fled to Italy via Canada just days before his trial was set to begin. He was taken into custody in Italy after claiming he feared the death penalty and was being wrongfully prosecuted. Officials are now working to bring him back to the US.
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Here are five things to know about case:
- Gilley’s ankle monitor sent a “strap tamper” alert on Friday, May 1 and he could not be reached by authorities in the days that followed. He had boarded a flight from Texas to Canada and then on to Italy, where he was taken into custody by Italian authorities, according to reports.
- Upon arriving in Italy, Gilley told authorities he was seeking asylum, claiming he was being “wrongfully prosecuted” and feared he could face the death penalty. His attorney Dick DeGuerin noted that Italy abolished the death penalty in 1889 and that prosecutors had never actually said they were seeking the death penalty in this case, as per KPRC.
- Gilley is accused of killing his wife, Christa Bauer Gilley who was nine weeks pregnant, on October 7, 2024, by “applying pressure to Christa Gilley’s neck and upper back,” according to charging documents obtained by People. He had initially told police she died of a drug overdose and that he had tried to save her with CPR. However, the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences ruled her death a homicide, with the cause listed as “compression of the neck.”
- Gilley was arrested in October 2024 and then released on a $1 million bond on October 21 and was required to wear an ankle monitor and stay within Texas. When Christa was brought to the hospital, staff noted she had “bruising and apparent trauma to her face,” according to a bond order obtained by People. Gilley later reportedly admitted to police that the couple had argued before her death and that she was neither suicidal nor a drug user, according to the reports of KPRC.
- Court documents reveal that while out on bond, Gilley had been in contact with a woman with whom he allegedly had an affair in 2023. Prosecutors claim the two discussed “a detailed plan” for cutting off his GPS monitor and fleeing originally to Mexico. Authorities allege Gilley also asked the woman “whether she knew of a Mexican identity he could acquire to facilitate his departure from the country.”
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Gilley’s lawyer, Dick DeGuerin has admitted that Gilley fled but said it does not mean he is guilty. “I’m concerned that the prosecution will try to say that it’s evidence of consciousness of guilt that he’s running from it but I think he’s just scared,” DeGuerin told KPRC. He also explained that Texas must assure Italian authorities that Gilley will not face the death penalty before he can be sent back.
Officials are now working to bring Gilley back to the United States. His trial was supposed to start next month.
