HOUSTON (Court TV) — A man accused of cutting off his ankle monitor and fleeing to Europe while awaiting trial on murder charges now faces a lawsuit from his dead wife’s parents.
Lee Gilley is charged with murder in the death of his wife, Christa Gilley. (Law & Crime)
Lee Gilley, 39, pleaded not guilty to charges of capital murder in the death of his wife, Christa Gilley, 38. Lee Gilley’s trial had been scheduled to start in May, but investigators said he absconded to Europe while he was out on bond.
In a lawsuit filed on Wednesday, Christa Gilley’s parents, Christopher and Sharon Bauer, accused Lee Gilley of wrongfully causing their daughter’s death. The filing, reviewed by Court TV, says the defendant “intentionally attacked Christa. During that attack, Defendant intentionally and knowingly applied force and pressure to Christa’s neck and upper back,” causing her death on Oct. 8, 2024.
Investigators said that Lee Gilley initially claimed his wife took her own life by taking drugs, but prosecutors quickly determined that the victim had been strangled to death.
At the time of her death, Lee and Christa Gilley shared two children, identified in court documents as M.B.G. and G.E.G.; Christa Gilley was pregnant with the couple’s third child. “Defendant therefore did not merely cause the death of one member of this family,” the lawsuit said. “His intentional conduct caused the deaths of Christa and her unborn child, leaving M.B.G. and G.E.G. without their mother and unborn sibling and leaving Christopher and Sharon Bauer without their daughter and unborn grandchild.”
The lawsuit notes that at the time of the filing, Lee Gilley “is presently outside the United States.” Italian authorities have made clear to both Lee Gilley’s attorney and prosecutors in the case that they will not return the defendant without written confirmation that Lee Gilley will not face the death penalty.
Federal investigators said that Lee Gilley cut off his ankle monitor on May 1 and landed in Milan on an Air Canada flight on May 3; prosecutors said the defendant used forged Belgian documents that said his name was “Lejeune Jean Luc Oliver.” Sources now tell KPRC that Lee Gilley initially fled his home on a bicycle and took a private jet into Canada before boarding the Air Canada flight. No charges have been filed against anyone else, and prosecutors have not named anyone who may have helped Lee Gilley flee.
The Bauers’ lawsuit seeks more than $1 million in damages.
Court TV reached out to Lee Gilley’s attorney, Dick DeGuerin, for comment, but did not receive a response. In an interview with Fox26 Houston, DeGuerin said that at an extradition hearing earlier this week, the Italian court took the issue under advisement and said it would issue a decision within days.
