A Texas man is accused of killing his wife, who was pregnant at the time of her death, while their other young children were home.
Authorities say Lee Mongerson Gilley, 38, strangled his wife, Krista Bauer Gilley, 38, to death in their Houston home on October 7, killing both her and their unborn child. I have doubts.
“The situation is nothing short of infuriating,” Krista's friends wrote on a fundraising page on behalf of her family. “But the loss for all who knew and loved her goes beyond the nightmarish details of her death.”
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Houston police say Lee Gilley, 38, strangled his wife, Krista Bauer Gilley, 38, to death. (Facebook/Christa Bauer Gilley)
Authorities said in a press release that officers arrived at Gilley's home on the night of October 7th after receiving a report of a suicide. Christa was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Hospital staff said her face had bruises and obvious trauma.
Gilley initially told authorities that Krista was unresponsive in an intentional overdose attempt, but a subsequent autopsy revealed that Krista had sustained strangulation injuries. It turns out.
Her death was ruled a homicide, with the cause of death being “neck compression.”
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Lee Gilley was charged with murder in the death of his wife, Krista Bauer Gilley. (Houston Police Department)
Gilley was arrested on October 11 and booked into the Harris County Jail in Houston.
Krista was about eight weeks pregnant at the time of the murder and left behind two young children.
Testimony in the child custody proceeding said Gilley told two relatives shortly after authorities questioned him about his wife's death that he was considering leaving the home with his children. The Houston Chronicle reported.
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“As far as the allegations that Lee Gilley is trying to flee, they are completely false,” Gilley's attorney Ed McCleese told FOX News Digital.
“This is based on comments made before any criminal charges were filed, before any warrants were issued, when he was planning to visit his parents and the child's grandparents at home in South Carolina,” McCleese said. “This is a wrong expression,” he added. . “He was never going to run away…He has complied with every bond condition given to him.”
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Krista Bauer Gilley, 38, left behind two children and was pregnant at the time of her death. (GoFundMe)
The judge previously ordered Gilley to have no contact with his two children, who were in the home at the time of their mother's death, and to hand over their passports, the paper said.
Gilly was sentenced to death for his wife's death. He was released from custody on $1 million bail, and a judge granted temporary joint guardianship to the children's maternal grandparents and Gilley's sister-in-law, local Houston newspapers reported.
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McCreese told Fox News Digital that Gilley reportedly software consultant, The death row inmate was charged with murder and was released from custody.
“As far as the capital murder charge goes, law enforcement is still in the process of obtaining all the materials that they have to date,” he said. “They have not yet submitted most of the reports that we are supposed to submit…We were told that we should receive those reports after the new year, but they have not submitted them yet. So we're still in the process of submitting the report and evaluating the state's accusations to see how accurate their conclusions are. ”
“Mr Gilley is devastated by the loss of his wife and the mother of his children, and we are working hard to find out what really happened,” Mr McCleese added.
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Houston police say Lee Gilley, 38, strangled his wife, Krista Bauer Gilley, 38, to death. (Facebook/Christa Bauer Gilley)
Krista has a doctorate in physical therapy and treated patients with cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases. WDBJ reports.
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“Krista was a caregiver at heart. It was no wonder she went into the health care field, excelled as a physical therapist, and then became a professor,” friends said on the fundraising page.
“Most importantly, for Christa, she was a mother, the embodiment of selfless compassion, to her two surviving children. They will be 2 and 4 years old in the next few months, but already No mother planned a birthday celebration.”
