A Texas man charged of killing his wife, who was pregnant at the time of her death, while their other young children were reportedly at home.
Authorities say 38-year-old Lee Mongerson Gilley strangled his wife, 38-year-old Christa Bauer Gilley, to death in their Houston home on Oct. 7. killed her and her unborn child.
“The circumstances were nothing short of shocking,” Christa’s friends wrote on a fundraising page on behalf of her family. “But the loss to everyone who knew and loved her is more than the nightmarish details of her death.”
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According to Houston police, 38-year-old Lee Gilley strangled his wife, 38-year-old Christa Bauer Gilley. (Facebook/Christa Bauer Gilley)
Officers arrived at Gilley’s home on the night of Oct. 7 after receiving a report of a suicide, authorities said in a news release. Christa was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead. Hospital staff said she had bruising and obvious trauma to her face.
Gilley originally told authorities that Christa had intentionally attempted to overdose and that he found her unresponsive, but an autopsy later revealed that was the case Injuries related to strangulation.
Her death was ruled a homicide – the cause of death was “compression of the neck.”
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Lee Gilley has been charged with the murder of his wife, Christa Bauer Gilley. (Houston Police Department)
Gilley was arrested on October 11 and taken to the Harris County Jail in Houston.
Christa, who was around eight weeks pregnant at the time of the alleged murder, leaves behind two small children.
According to testimony in the custody trial, Gilley allegedly told two relatives that he was considering leaving with the children shortly after authorities questioned him about his wife’s death Houston Chronicle reported.
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“Any allegations that Lee Gilley attempted to escape are categorically false,” Ed McClees, Gilley’s defense attorney, told Fox News Digital.
“It is a mischaracterization of comments that were made before any criminal charges were even filed, before an arrest warrant was even issued, when he was considering visiting his parents and his children’s grandparents at the family home in South Carolina,” McClees added . “He never had any intention of escaping… he complied with all bond conditions given to him.”
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Christa Bauer Gilley, 38, leaves behind two children and was pregnant at the time of her death. (GoFundMe)
A judge had previously banned Gilley out of contact with his two children, who were at home at the time of their mother’s death, and ordered the release of his passport, the outlet added.
Gilley was charged with murdering his wife. He was released from custody after posting $1 million bail, and a judge granted her maternal grandparents and Gilley’s sister-in-law temporary joint guardianship of the children, the local Houston affiliate reported.
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McClees confirmed to Fox News Digital that Gilley, who is reportedly working as software consultant, faces a murder charge and has been released from custody.
“As far as the murder charge is concerned, we are still in the process of obtaining all the material that law enforcement has so far,” he said. “They have not yet handed over the majority of the reports we are due…We were told we should receive these sometime after the new year, but we don’t have them yet. So we’re still at it They evaluated the state’s allegations to see how exactly they arrived at the conclusions they came to.
“Mr Gilley is devastated by the loss of his wife and the mother of his children and we are working hard to get to the bottom of what actually happened,” McClees added.
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According to Houston police, 38-year-old Lee Gilley strangled his wife, 38-year-old Christa Bauer Gilley. (Facebook/Christa Bauer Gilley)
Christa had a doctorate in physical therapy and worked with cardiovascular and pulmonary patients. WDBJ reported.
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“Christa was, at her core, a caregiver. It was no surprise that she moved into the healthcare field, excelling as a physical therapist and then as a professor,” her friends said on the fundraising page.
“What was most important to Christa was that she was a mother – the epitome of selfless care – to her two surviving children. They will turn two and four in the coming months, without their mother, who had already planned their birthday celebrations.”
