HOUSTON – KPRC 2 News has learned exclusive new details on how Lee Gilley, the Harris County man accused of killing his pregnant wife and fleeing to Italy while on bond, got out of the United States in May.
Gilley’s GPS ankle monitor started generating a strap tamper alert around 9 p.m. on May 1, according to court records.
Gilley left his Heights home on Allston Street on a bike, according KPRC2 sources with direct knowledge of the case. We are told investigators have reviewed surveillance video of his departure.
RELATED: Lee Gilley sued over pregnant wife Christa Bauer’s death two years after alleged killing
What investigators still don’t know, according to our sources, is how Gilley then got to Memphis, where they say he took a private jet to Canada.
Law enforcement at Lee Gilley’s home (KPRC 2)
The new details raise additional questions about what help Gilley may have had in escaping the country just weeks before he was scheduled to stand trial. No one else faces criminal charges connected to his transatlantic flight.
Federal investigators said Gilley used a fake name and forged travel documents to board a commercial flight from Canada to Milan, where border police stopped him and had questions about his identity.
RELATED: Lee Gilley transferred to new Italian prison amid reported inmate threats
In Italy, Gilley claimed asylum and the FBI in Rome contacted Harris County authorities after he was detained.
Attorneys and the judge involved with the case seemed unaware of his escape until Monday, May 4, days after the GPS tamper alert. Harris County has since funded 24/7 staffing to monitor ankle monitor alerts received from the vendor.
Oct 14, 2024: Christa Bauer Gilley’s family shared this photo. (Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)
He’s charged in the Oct. 2024 strangulation death of his pregnant wife Christa Bauer. He has pled not guilty and claimed he fled the U.S. because he was being wrongfully prosecuted and lost faith in the justice system.
That has set off a back-and-forth between the two countries, as the U.S. government seeks to extradite Gilley and Italy seeks assurances he won’t face the death penalty if convicted.
An Italian court heard new testimony this week related to the extradition request but so far a ruling has not been issued.
Bauer’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Gilley this week, seeking to block him from any financial benefit that arises from her alleged murder.
Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.