A Texas man has been charged with killing his wife, who was pregnant when she died, while their other young children were reportedly home at the time.
Lee Mongerson Gilley, 38, allegedly strangled his wife, Christa Bauer Gilley, 38, in their Houston home on Oct. 7, authorities said. Resulting in the death of her and her unborn child.
“This situation is beyond heartbreaking,” Krista’s friends wrote on the fundraising page on behalf of her family. “But for everyone who knew and loved her, the loss was more than just the nightmare of her death. details.”
Susan Simpson’s DNA found on murder suspect’s husband’s metal-cutting saw
Houston police say 38-year-old Lee Gilley strangled his wife, 38-year-old Christa Bauer Gilley. (Facebook/Krista Bauer Gilley)
Police arrived at Gilli’s home on the evening of Oct. 7 after receiving a report of a suicide, authorities said in a news release. Krista was taken to the hospital where she was later pronounced dead. Hospital staff said she had bruising and obvious trauma to her face.
Gilley initially told authorities that Krista had intentionally overdosed and that he found her unresponsive, but an autopsy later revealed that her injuries were consistent with strangulation.
Her death was ruled a homicide – the cause of death was “neck compression.”
The teacher’s fiance was found with 20 stab wounds on his body and she revealed what led her to “suicide”
Lee Gilley has been charged with murder in the death of his wife, Krista Ball Gilley. (Houston Police Department)
Gilly was arrested Oct. 11 and booked into the Harris County Jail in Houston.
Krista was about eight weeks pregnant at the time of the alleged killings and left behind two young children.
According to testimony in the child custody lawsuit, Gilley allegedly told two relatives shortly after authorities questioned Gilley about his wife’s death that he was considering leaving with the children, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Sign up for the True Crime Newsletter
“As far as any allegation that Lee Gilley attempted to escape, these are absolutely false,” Gilley’s defense attorney Ed McLeese told Fox Digital News.
“This is a mischaracterization of comments made before criminal charges were filed, before any arrest warrants were issued, and when he was considering visiting his parents and his children’s grandparents at their home in South Carolina,” McLeese added. “He never intended to run away… He has complied with every bail condition given to him.”
Brian Walshe charged with murder of missing real estate executive’s wife, trial date set
Christa Bauer Gilley, 38, left behind two children and was pregnant at the time of her death. (go support me)
The outlet added that a judge had previously banned Geely from contact with his two children, who were both at home when their mother died, and ordered him to surrender his passport.
Gilly has been charged with murder in his wife’s death. According to local media reports in Houston, he was released after paying a $1 million bail, and the judge gave temporary joint custody of the children to their maternal grandparents and Gilly’s sister-in-law.
Get real-time updates directly true crime center
McLeese confirmed to Fox News Digital that Geely, who reportedly worked as a software consultant and faces capital murder charges, has been released from custody.
“As far as the capital murder charge goes, we’re still getting all the material that law enforcement has to date,” he said. “They haven’t handed over most of the reports that we’re supposed to submit yet… We were told that we were supposed to receive those reports sometime after the new year, but we haven’t received them yet. So we’re still working on that.” Assessing the state’s allegations, Look how accurate their conclusions were.
McLeese added: “Mr Gilley is devastated by the loss of his wife and mother of his children and we are working hard to find out exactly what happened.”
Follow Fox’s True Crime Team on X
Houston police say 38-year-old Lee Gilley strangled his wife, 38-year-old Christa Bauer Gilley. (Facebook/Krista Bauer Gilley)
Krista has a doctorate in physical therapy and has worked with cardiovascular and pulmonary patients, WDBJ reported.
Click here to get the Fox News app
“Krista is a caregiver at heart. It’s no surprise that she went into the health care field and became an excellent physical therapist and then a professor,” her friend said on the fundraising page.
“Most importantly, for Krista, she was the embodiment of selfless care as a mother to her two surviving children. In the coming months, they would be two and four years old respectively, without that A mother who has prepared birthday celebrations for them.
