A Texas man facing charges for allegedly killing his pregnant wife cut off his ankle monitor and fled abroad, according to reports.
Lee Mongerson Gilley, 39, is accused of murdering his wife, Christa Bauer Gilley, and their unborn child in Houston in 2024. according to Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Gilly was scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday but instead flew from Texas to Canada and eventually to Italy, where he told authorities he was seeking asylum after being “wrongfully prosecuted” and feared being sentenced to death, his lawyer told the outlet.
Defense attorney Dick DeGuerin reportedly said: “I’m worried that the prosecution is going to try to say this is evidence of a sense of guilt on his part to get away with committing a crime, but I think he was just scared.”
Active-duty Navy reservist accused of murdering wife, believed to have fled to Hong Kong
Geely, whose murder trial is set to begin later this month, is reportedly in custody by Italian authorities. His ankle monitor alerted authorities on Friday that it had been tampered with, the outlet reported.
Read it on the Fox News app
DeGuerin told the outlet that before Gigli can be returned to Texas, the state must prove to Italy that he is not eligible for the death penalty – which prosecutors are not seeking in his case.
Send us a tip here
Gilley is accused of killing his wife, Krista, and their unborn baby by “pressuring him to do so.” [her] According to charging documents, the “neck and upper back” occurred on Oct. 7, 2024 Obtained from people.
Husband charged with murder of pregnant physiotherapist wife after giving different story to police
Defense attorney Ed McClees and his client Lee Mongerson Gilley appear in 497th District Court at the Harris County Justice Center in Houston on October 17, 2024. Gilley is charged with murder in the death of his wife, Christa Gilley.
(Getty Images)
Prosecutors reportedly alleged that Gilley initially claimed Christa, who was nine months pregnant, had overdosed and tried to save her with CPR, but the medical examiner later pointed to evidence of strangulation and ruled her death a homicide.
Listen to the new “Crime & Justice with Donna Rotunno” podcast
After his arrest days later, Gilley admitted that his wife was not on drugs or suicidal and that the couple had been arguing before her death, KPRC reported.
In 2025, while out on bail, prosecutors reportedly accused Gilly and an unnamed woman with whom he had an affair in 2023 of hatching a plan to flee to Mexico and other countries.
Missing father of three may have faked death and fled ‘somewhere in Europe’: officials
“The defendant also asked her if she knew he could obtain Mexican status to facilitate his departure from the country,” the document states.
Geely also allegedly “provided a detailed plan” to remove his GPS monitor and conduct a sham marriage to obtain a new identity, prosecutors said.
Click here to download the Fox News app
Authorities are working to extradite Geely back to the country, according to KPRC.
Geely’s defense attorneys and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.
Original source of the article: Texas man charged with killing pregnant wife allegedly cut off ankle monitor and fled to Italy
