Lee Gilley, 39, is charged with capital murder in the October 2024 killing of his pregnant wife, Christa Gilley
Credit: Christa Bauer Gilley/Facebook
NEED TO KNOW
- Lee Gilley is charged with capital murder in the October 2024 death of his wife, Christa Bauer Gilley, who was nine weeks pregnant at the time of her death
- Gilley initially told police Christa had died by suicide, but an autopsy ruled her death a homicide caused by compression of the neck, prompting his arrest
- Gilley fled the U.S. for Italy this month to seek asylum
The Texas man who fled to Italy this month, just weeks before his scheduled capital murder trial in connection with the strangulation death of his pregnant wife, spoke at a court hearing on why he left the U.S.
"I ran away to avoid being killed and to escape the relentless media persecution," Lee Gilley, 39, said in an Italian court where he pleaded for asylum on May 11. "I worked very hard to escape and request protection in Italy."
"I did not kill my wife," he also said. "I fled because I was afraid of being killed."
Gilley is accused of strangling his wife Christa, 38, who was found unresponsive in their home in Houston on Oct. 7, 2024, after he called 911 to report she had taken her own life through an overdose. Christa was nine weeks pregnant with their third child at the time of her death.
After the Harris County medical examiner ruled her death a homicide caused by compression of the neck, Gilley was arrested on Oct. 11, 2024 and was subsequently charged with capital murder. He pleaded not guilty and was released on bond. He was required to surrender his passport and wear an ankle monitor per the terms of his release.
Gilley claimed during his court appearance Monday that he has been unjustly blamed for Christa's death.
"That is why I lost faith in the justice system," he said. "I am innocent. I did not kill anyone. The only crime I committed was fleeing."
Italy has abolished capital punishment and may refuse extradition if the death penalty is a possibility. The Harris County District Attorney's Office, which is prosecuting the case, has not publicly said whether it intends to seek the death penalty.
According to prosecutors, on Friday, May 1, Gilley cut off his court-ordered ankle monitor.
Authorities have not publicly said how Gilley fled Texas, but according to a federal criminal complaint filed last week, he traveled from Houston to Canada with a fake Belgian passport — under the name Lejeune Jean Luc Olivier. In Canada, he boarded an overnight flight to Milan.
He was taken into immigration custody in Italy for allegedly using forged documents. He is now seeking asylum there to avoid extradition to the U.S. The Harris County DA's office said it is coordinating with U.S. and Italian authorities to secure his return.
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On Friday, May 8, Judge Peyton Peebles, who is overseeing the case, ruled to limit what Gilley's attorneys and prosecutors can publicly say about the case after his attorney Dick DeGuerin told PEOPLE he planned to argue at trial that Christa’s death was caused by methemoglobinemia, a rare blood disorder that she was diagnosed with in 2023.
Tim Ballengee, the attorney who represents Christa's family, told PEOPLE before the gag order was issued that news of Gilley's escape "was devastating to the family."
"I think that they were hoping to have the trial and to have him held accountable," Ballengee said.
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