Lee Mongerson Gilley is shown in the 497th District Court at the Harris County Justice Center, 1201 Franklin, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Houston. He is charged with capital murder in death of his wife, Christa Gilley.
Melissa Phillip/Staff Photographer
Christa Gilley, 38, is shown in an undated photo. She died Oct. 7, 2024. Police arrested her husband, Lee Mongerson Gilley, days later on a capital murder charge. He reported she had committed suicide at their Houston Heights residence.
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Dick DeGuerin, a lawyer for Lee Gilley, leaves the courtroom after discussing motions in his case in front of Judge Peyton Peebles in the 497th District Court in Houston, Thursday, May 21, 2026. Two of the lawyers for Gilley, who is charged with capital murder in his wife’s death and seeking asylum in Italy after escaping the United States with falsified travel documents, asked the court to remove them from the case.
Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle
Mourners gather during a candlelight vigil honoring Christa Gilley at Marmion Park in the Heights on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Houston.
Karen Warren/Staff photographer
The parents of Christa Gilley, whose husband fled to Italy in May after being charged with killing her in 2024, have pressed Italian authorities to send him back to Texas to stand trial for capital murder.
The parents, Chris and Sharon Bauer, on Tuesday described their worries that the Italian court overseeing Lee Gilley’s case may reject his extradition despite assurances from U.S. authorities — including Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare’s office — that Gilley will not face the death penalty.
“We live in fear these facts aren’t enough,” the Bauers wrote in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece. “We decided to break our silence to say publicly that we don’t want the death penalty imposed in the case involving our daughter.”
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The plea for Lee Gilley’s return was published on the eve of a hearing in a Turin court overseas, where arguments were made Wednesday morning over whether the 40-year-old defendant should remain in the European nation.
While free on bond and awaiting trial in Harris County, Gilley ditched his ankle monitor and traveled to Milan through Canada in May under a fake identity. He’s being held in Italy pending the resolution of his asylum case.
Gilley requested asylum from prosecution, saying he was wrongly accused when Italian authorities tried sending him back to Canada.
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Lee Gilley’s defense attorney, Dick DeGuerin said Wednesday the Italian court did not immediately rule on the extradition request.
The Italian court has taken issue with Lee Gilley’s capital murder charge because it carries either execution by lethal injection or life imprisonment as a potential punishment and does not allow for parole.
Christa Gilley’s parents identified themselves as Catholics and said they are against the death penalty.
“We don’t believe justice for Christa involves taking another life,” the couple wrote.
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Their daughter, Christa Gilley, whose maiden name was Bauer, was nine weeks pregnant with the couple’s third child at the time of her Oct. 8, 2024, death. The couple had argued over Gilley’s purchase of a new car the night of Oct. 7.
He reported to authorities hours later that she had taken her own life through a drug overdose.
The Bauers are expected to file a wrongful death suit and other litigation as their daughter’s death reaches a two-year statute of limitations for probate proceedings, according to Mark Tinsley, their South Carolina-based attorney.
The Italian court’s deliberations followed questions for U.S. authorities over what punishment Gilley may face should he return to Houston. If convicted of capital murder, Gilley would automatically be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. The Italian court also asked whether he could be released from his life imprisonment should he show signs of rehabilitation.
DeGuerin said there have been no examples of a Texas prisoner sentenced to life without parole being released from prison through commutation since the punishment was created about 20 years ago.
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Teare and his prosecutors have maintained for months that they never planned to seek the death penalty against Gilley, alleging in a recent court filing that Gilley made false statements suggesting otherwise.
Prosecutors typically warn defense attorneys the death penalty will be sought several months, if not years in advance of trial.
A trial with that punishment requires more stringent testing of forensic evidence and more time to question prospective jurors about whether they are willing to consider the death penalty as a potential punishment.