Accused Pregnant Wife Killer Breaks Silence Whining in Italy Courtroom

Added: 2026-05-13

[00:00:00]The husband and father accused of strangling his pregnant wife to death, then fleeing to Italy, may not be coming back to the US without a fight. Lee Gilly had plenty to say during his appearance in Italian court this week, and it appears he did his homework before allegedly escaping Texas just weeks before trial. His attorney back home insists he should return to the United States. But across the Atlantic, the suspected killer seems to have a very different plan. We're on the case presented by Law and Crime. I'm Chris Stewart.

[00:00:42]All right, guys. Real quick before we get into this episode of On the Case, I want to tell you about this app, Upside.

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[00:02:00]That is Lee Gilly's Italian lawyer speaking to reporters outside of court on Monday in Turin, Italy. This is per media outlet Lelay Republica. Now, right now, Gilly is in Turin after he was detained at the Milan airport on May 3rd when he landed there after flying from Canada. Now, there's still a big question, which is not only how he was able to get to Italy, but how was he able to get from Harris County, Texas, where Houston is, and across the border into Canada and on board a flight that we believe took off from Toronto, stopping in Montreal and then making its way across the Atlantic to Europe.

[00:02:40]What's interesting is Gilly's attorney back here in the US, Dick Darren, he's a high-profile criminal defense attorney who we talked about on our previous episode. Uh, notably, he defended Robert Durst, who you might remember from the movie The Jinx. So, he is certainly someone who knows how to defend very serious cases like this. He said that his advice to his client would be to get back to the US as quickly as possible where they are slated to go on trial May 29th. He said that when he learned that Gilly fled, he had not spoke to his client, but eventually was able to get in touch with him for a phone call, according to KPRC. But it doesn't seem like Gilly is taking his attorney's advice. Now, since he fled, Gilly also now faces new federal charges, which we're going to talk a little bit more about here in just a moment. Now, before we get into the shocking and potentially, frankly, bizarre statements that Gilly made to the Italian judge and what it means for when we could see him back in the United States, I want to talk a little bit more about how we got to this point. Now, Gilly was out on bond when he fled to Italy. You may be shocked to hear that because of the charges that he's facing, but a judge gave him a bond after his arrest that he was able to post. This is a picture of Gilly with his wife Christa. She's the victim in this story. She was a mom of two toddlers and she was allegedly strangled to death inside their home in Houston in 2024. Court documents say that Lee Gilly was the one who called 911 just before midnight. He allegedly told paramedics that Christa had ODed.

[00:04:21]Doctors say they found alleged evidence that this mom, who was nine weeks pregnant at the time, was strangled to death. Now, Gilly allegedly made statements to law enforcement saying that his wife was not suicidal. He said that she had no history of drug use, and he also said that they had been arguing that night. Now, Gilly and Christa married in 2017, and they had these two other children who were allegedly home the night that their mom was killed.

[00:04:50]That was on October 7th, 2024. Now, Gilly was arrested days later. This is video from his first court appearance in Houston per KHOU TV. And his bond was set at a million dollars, which is a lot of money for some people, but apparently not for Lee Gil.

[00:05:06]>> Just sitting out here with my coffee this morning thinking about software pricing.

[00:05:10]>> This is video that we found of Lee on his old LinkedIn page, and I just wanted to show you it because you can kind of just hear him and picture the type of person this is. This is someone who worked as a software engineer. Actually said that he owned his own company. He was someone in that business who appeared to be somewhat successful. And that million-doll bond with the help of a shity bond, he was able to post and be able to prepare for trial and live his life on the outside of a jail cell for more than a year. Part of his bond, though, was that he had to wear an electronic monitoring device. Now, we've learned since Gilly left the country, he may have been thinking about fleeing ever since he found out he was a suspect in Christa's death. Court records filed by prosecutors last month say they have evidence that on the day after Christa's murder, Lee allegedly claimed that he was being quote set up and he needed to leave the country. But that's not all.

[00:06:08]Last year, around the same time that he was indicted on a charge of capital murder in Christa's death, prosecutors say they have proof that he was talking to a woman who he allegedly had an affair with back in 2023 about fleeing the country. Then prosecutors allege between April and May of 2025, as he's out on bond and as he's accused of killing his pregnant wife, Lee contacted that woman he allegedly had an affair with and they say he talked about plans to flee to Mexico or other parts of the world. Lee allegedly said that he could remove his GPS monitor. He also reportedly talked to this alleged mistress about marriage and getting a new identity. and he even allegedly asked her if she knew of a Mexican identity that he could acquire to help get him out of the country. This is according to prosecutors and it is very shocking foreshadowing to what Lee is now accused of doing. And we should also note just as far as some of the evidence that prosecutors could present in this case if and when Lee Gilly returns to the United States and stands on trial in Harris County, Texas, they say that they found evidence that on Reddit Lee Gilly once talked about being bored in his marriage. So, you can see some of the case that prosecutors are putting together. You have the forensics of Christa's death where they say there is evidence that she was strangled to death, that she didn't die of an overdose like what Lee Gilly told law enforcement allegedly in that 911 call back in October. Now, it does appear in terms of following the conditions of his bond, Lee did that up until May 1st of this year when this story, of course, takes this incredible turn. Lee's trial is slated to start May 29th. Texas authorities say on May 1st, that's a Friday, around 900 p.m., they got a notice that Gilly's GPS monitor had a strap tamper alert. and they write that they tried to get in touch with Lee Gilly, but they didn't hear from him as of May 4th. That's the following Monday, and he was already in Italy by that point in time. So, you may be wondering, why didn't authorities seem to have more urgency in trying to find a man who was facing a capital murder charge? Court records show that they didn't know where he was for 3 days. the US Marshalss and the task force in charge of tracking down violent fugitives. They weren't called until May 4th, according to court records. And during the time between the 1st and the 4th, Lee Gilly allegedly made it from Texas to Canada on board a plane and then to Italy. Gilly allegedly took an Air Canada flight from Canada to Milan, specifically AC894 that regularly goes from Toronto. It goes through Montreal and then it goes to Milan. That flight landed in Milan on May 3rd. Again, it's unclear how he was able to get from Texas across the northern border into Canada. Now, as part of his bond, he had to wear this GPS monitor and right now he is accused of cutting that monitor off. So when he gets to Italy, the ID that he was apparently using did not pass the test for Italian authorities. They say the name he allegedly used was Lejan Jeanluke Olivier and he reportedly had a Belgian passport and other allegedly forged Belgian documents. We have yet to learn how he was able to get these documents that you have to think at least to get on board the plane and if you've flown internationally recently like they'll scan your passport. All of that was able to get him on the plane.

[00:09:54]Now Gilly was denied entry to Italy and he's taken into custody and at that point apparently Gilly came clean saying what his real name was and that he was awaiting trial in the US for allegedly killing his wife Christa. Gilly then claimed asylum in Italy. And we're going to talk why Italy specifically was the spot that he wanted to go to in a moment. But once authorities realized who he was in Italy, Interpol, the International Law Enforcement Agency in Rome, contacts authorities in Washington DC on May 4th. So this is the federal criminal complaint that has been filed after Italian authorities took Gilly into custody. US authorities. Not only is he facing the charges in Harris County, Texas of capital murder, but now he is facing a federal charge, a count of interstate flight to avoid prosecution. Now, Gilly just made his first Italian court appearance, and he apparently had plenty to say. NBC News had a reporter in the courtroom and that reporter said that the judge asked if he consented to extradition to the United States or if he wanted the international protection application process to proceed. And Gilly reportedly said, quote, "I do not consent." Now, the reporter then says that Gilly made unsolicited statements about his wife's death. He reportedly said, quote, "My wife is dead and they wrongly blamed me.

[00:11:19]That's why I no longer have faith in the justice system. I am innocent. I did not kill my wife. The only crime I committed was fleeing. I fled to avoid being killed. I went to great lengths to escape and seek protection in Italy.

[00:11:35]Now, it's important to note that Italy does not extradite people back to countries where they could be put to death. Gilly is charged with capital murder in Texas, but prosecutors haven't reportedly said whether the death penalty was on the table in this case.

[00:11:48]And then perhaps the most shocking and eyebrow raising comment that Lee Gilly allegedly said in this Italian court hearing that he wants to stay in Italy because quote the lifestyle, the culture, the international protection and to receive a fair trial.

[00:12:09]>> Gilly's Italian lawyer now says a judge will decide whether Gilly will be sent back to the United States. And at the time of this recording, that decision has yet to be made. Now, Gilly's American lawyer, Dick Dgaren, has stood by his client since Lee Gilly fled to the other part of the world. Dgarian said that the fact that his client fled to Italy doesn't show a consciousness of guilt that he allegedly killed his wife, but it just shows that he was scared because of the consequences he could face in a trial. He did say to local media in Houston that he advised his client to return to the US quickly, but it does not appear that Lee Gilly is going in that strategic direction. A judge granted the prosecution's request for a gag order in the case that Lee Gilly is facing here in the US. The prosecutor cited quote continued media relations efforts of defense council Dick Dgaren. Now, as for the family of Christa, there's obviously a lot of attention right now on her husband and what he's accused of and the efforts that he has apparently taken to flee facing the American criminal justice system. But there needs to still be attention on her and who she was. A mom and a friend, a hardworking professional, big fan of Clemson football, it seems. There's one friend who wrote on the Justice for Christa Instagram page, quote, "As the delusion continues overseas, let us remember who we are fighting for and honoring." And and on Tuesday's Christa supporters wear purple to honor her life. Joining us now once again to talk about this case is criminal defense attorney, former prosecutor, and former CIA officer Jack Rice. Good to see you again. So, uh, what happens now with Lee Gilly?

[00:13:54]>> Man, this gets so wild, Chris. It really does. When you start looking at criminal law within the states, it could change jurisdictions. Remember, we have federal jurisdiction, you have state jurisdiction, and each state has its own sort of approach on how they do things.

[00:14:07]And there's agreements on how states work. Well, there's also agreements on how government to government, meaning internationally, works. Remember, this is not Texas against Italy. Now, this is the United States against Italy. and how that works because the DOJ, the Department of Justice is actually going to step in and handle this for Texas.

[00:14:30]That's what happens next because when Mr. Gilly found his way to Milan, he was able to acquire at least jurisdiction as it applies to Italy. And what the Italians really, really care about is capital punishment and the death penalty. And this is a capital case. So this is really something that the Italians care about and are watching very very seriously >> because when you look at what he is facing and and it's hard to say is it a strong case? I mean there's apparently evidence according to what the prosecutors will say that this is a man who wrote online he was bored in his marriage. They alleged that he had an affair in 2023 that he was acting odd at the time that all of this happened. And then there's apparently forensic evidence um on the victim's body that they will allege that he strangled her to death and then lied about it, saying that she owed and and all of that. Um they have not said prosecutors whether they were going for the death penalty in this case. Um how does that factor into what is now this kind of negotiation back and forth potentially between the US and Italy of getting him back to face trial here? Well, and those are really good questions because we think about it. Let's let's start with the facts against him, the allegations against him in Texas. That's one piece of this. The second piece of it is how everybody's going to handle what it means. Yes, the allegations are very serious. According to prosecutors in Texas right now, they have a lot of evidence, including evidence of affixiation. And when we look at when we look at somebody that's strangled, there's a whole lot of things you can look at. you want and I talk about there's things like b retinal hemorrhaging when you get blood in the eyes, things like that. But you'll also see there's actually bones that can be broken or crushed in the neck. There can be injuries and collapsing of the esophagus and other things which apparently they do have some of and that really goes to support this argument plus some of the if you will and I use I use the term digital fingerprint evidence. the notion of what he has written online, how he is doing what he is doing and what he was thinking about.

[00:16:38]All of that is admissible and that's one piece. That's the evidence. But there's something else when we talk about capital cases and this is a capital potential capital case. There are three states in the country that dare I say this.

[00:16:54]If you get somebody who's convicted of these, these three states kill more people than the rest combined. and the the the ca the state that actually kills the most is Texas. And that's just simply what it does because this is a capital case. What happens is this puts this in a different position for the Italians, not for Texas, not for the United States, but for the Italians. And so it's not about the facts of what the state can prove or even the allegations of what they claim to be the truth. It's about what the state can do to him in the event that Mr. Gillas sent back from Italy to Houston to face prosecution >> because I mean not everyone you know it's it's you know he declares he says I'm claiming asylum when he lands in Italy and we've seen you know certainly in in different types of stories that are in the true crime space you think back to just you know not getting political but in in you know the idea of immigration and like what it actually means if someone claims asylum you can't just say I claim asylum and then you suddenly get it but as far as how he's gone about this. I mean, does this reach the bar? I mean, in terms of um being able to I mean, what h does he just stay in Italy forever potentially if Texas says that they're going to, you know, not take the capital part of this off the table?

[00:18:20]>> Boy, you put me in a corner there, didn't you?

[00:18:22]>> Yeah.

[00:18:23]>> Or how likely is it? I mean, how strong of a case does it seem that he has? not really going in the the strategy of his defense team back here in the US. But how strong of a case does he have that he's this prisoner of, you know, this political prisoner because the US justice system?

[00:18:39]>> Remember if we're making that that that hope you watch me back correctly, right?

[00:18:43]Sure. This is what I'm thinking about.

[00:18:45]The 1983 US Italian expedition treaty is really what this is based upon. And when they look at this issue, one of the things that has to happen is not only does the state does the the US have to establish not just probable cause, but it also says that it can't be a capital case. So it's not about the facts or allegations of case. It's not. It's actually about what it is that what that the ultimate arbiter can do to him. And so in this case, could this be a capital case? Yes.

[00:19:25]And that's what makes it wild because all of a sudden, just because he leaves one jurisdiction ends up in another, it can change what Texas US can do to him.

[00:19:37]And does this reach that far?

[00:19:41]It's a good country to do in it. Now you can think about this in other countries, even in Europe. And there was actually something called the the European uh committee on human rights and they talked about this too. And that's part of what the Italians are doing. But the Italians are even stronger about it than the Europeans in general are. They have Supreme Court law that goes back from theirs um back to 79 86 and elsewhere that applies this for them that says they have no choice. And so for them, what this could very well mean is to the United States, to the Department of Justice, and ultimately to Texas, is that in the event that you want Mr. Gilly back, you have to agree to take the capital piece of this off the table.

[00:20:32]And that's actually where we sit right now. And that's even before the good people of Texas can make a decision on whether or not Mr. Gilly is even guilty of this crime. I >> I find it fascinating, too. I mean, it seems like he just does not I mean, he's been out on bond since he was arrested in 2024. Like, he does not want to go.

[00:20:51]You know, I would assume that it's not just the death penalty. It's the idea of standing trial, being found guilty, and then potentially spending the rest of his life in prison. But at the same time, you know, if Texas says, "All right, fine. this won't be a death penalty case. Even though you could look at it and say because there was an unborn child that also lost their life that that this could reach the threshold of being something where it would be a capital case, especially in Texas. I mean, if Texas takes it off the table, like what argument could he potentially have to remain in Italy and not be on a plane and brought back to Houston where seems like the case got even a little stronger for prosecutors considering he fled the country. Yeah, I think those are the arguments that prosecutors in Houston are really thinking about making. Now, uh what I do think is in the event that Texas takes this off the table, meaning the capital piece of it, I think that the Italians will expedite will agree to the expedition. They have a process just like states do. Right? So in other words, I if if you're in Oklahoma and Texas wants you, there is a process just like there is whether in New York and New Jersey even and you can run through those. This one's a little bit different because this one also requires what's called probable cause.

[00:22:07]So you actually have to establish something. But what would be required is that capital piece to be removed from the equation because then what you get is basically a standard expedition process plus the probable cause piece.

[00:22:22]And once you establish that in an Italian court, you would have to get an agreement that the death penalty would never apply. And technically the way it would work in Texas or really anywhere else in the states is that is that what they would do is they would say even if they wanted to give him the death penalty, they couldn't actually do it.

[00:22:42]There's a more technical description for what it is. But even if they said the jury is going to give him the death penalty, the court would ultimately required not to give him the death penalty, which means he would get life in prison without the possibility of parole in the event that he were convicted. You know, it's wild to watch this to me sometimes. I mean, I've done a lot of work, not just in the stage.

[00:23:03]So, when I was doing some things at the International Criminal Court, I've taught lawyers on how to practice all over the world. And so, I've watched how they've dealt with these jurisdictional issues, too. And the states sometimes we like to think of ourselves as bigger, more, and we are in some ways because we're such a big player in the world.

[00:23:22]The one thing that I think this does highlight though is that in the end we are part of a multi-jurisdictional system and whether or not we think we can ever if you want to use the term go it alone we really can't because we don't control every other jurisdiction whether it's European and in this case particularly whether it's attack >> and in in his situation or let's go to the the prosecutors because there may be a prosecutor there and I don't know if they're they say all right fine we'll take the death penalty off the you're still going to spend the rest of your life in prison. But like when you're making that decision, and I don't know how often someone is able to make it to a country like Italy when they're facing charges like this, like what do you have to factor in of whether you can actually do that? because then I'm sure there could be another person facing a completely different type of charge and they're able to get to a country where they can um be able to make a particular argument like does the precedence that you would be setting by saying Lee Gilly we will not put you to death um if you're found guilty of this like how does that factor into the decisions that Harris County, Texas has to make? No, it's a great question and you know, Harris County has actually dealt with this issue more than many other counties have. It's a huge county in the first place >> and what they've dealt with is a lot of cases uh involving those who have fled uh to Central and and South America. And so what has happened is they tried to come back and deal with those cases themselves. But here's what we can know for sure is that we've had it happen where if it was a way the Italians have refused to expedite.

[00:25:01]So we do know that. The real question is is does this does this limit the ability of prosecutors to prosecute? And I mean prosecute to the point of a capital conviction and execution. Can they do that? I don't think this limits their ability. it simply applies to this one particular case, not their ability in the future to do what it is that they do. However, what I do think that it might do is it may change what happens when you're dealing with a capital case.

[00:25:35]Meaning, when you're talking about the questions of bail, whether or not you might ever give bail to somebody because of the fear that they could flee to a jurisdiction that could limit the ability of Texas to prosecute the case in the way that they see fit. And that could change how they approach every case that could be capital in nature.

[00:26:01]Because because I also think I know we talked about it last time like they got the alert that there was something wrong with his GPS monitor on the 1st and the task force with the US Marshalss didn't even get going till the 4th and he was in Italy on the third, you know. So that's like a whole other part of this um for him and I know you you work you know murder cases and I just think of Lee Gilly and if if he's guilty of what he's accused of, he's an absolute monster. But also like this is a guy who seemed to be living up until that day in October 2024 a normal life. didn't seem like there were calls to the home for domestic issues. He owned like a software company. And then it's like here he is, you know, accused of this terrible crime. He's in Italy. He's speaking Italian to the judge. He's saying he wants to stay there because of the lifestyle and the culture and he's declaring, you know, it seems like he thinks he's the smartest guy in the room. Just like what stands out to you just like as someone who has seen many of these cases play out. like what stands out to you about just his personality and who he seems to be?

[00:26:59]>> You know, these are can be extraordinarily difficult, Chris. And and I have to look back at my time working at the agency, too. And so, as a former CIA case officer, one of the things that I saw even back then was this level of narcissism, which you don't see as much in the general populace. You're talking about somebody who's highly capable, somebody who has extreme intelligence. I'm not talking off the charts necessarily, but certainly far far above average and has the ability and sometimes the resources to do extraordinary things. I was able to see this from operatives from around the world. And that's this. But I've seen this uh as as a former prosecutor and as a defense attorney that the nature of what happens when you have somebody like this. You know, it makes it really difficult and and frustrating from my perspective because you would think >> my radar should be higher than almost everybody else's. And I've had those instances in my life, in my career, where I came across people that I kind of like, people who I thought, "This person's fascinating. This is somebody who I really would like to know more, if you will." And only subsequently did I find out that person killed a partner, put his head in a box, uh, buried somebody over here, did this terrible thing over there. I mean, all of a sudden, what what I really want is I want to be able to see the horn and tails. I do. I want to see the horn and tails, but that's not how the world works sometimes. And part of the narcissism piece, part of the capability of some people like this is that they can operate at multiple layers and at multiple levels. And so, when they're talking to you directly, they can come across as very competent. It it's just that it makes them not necessarily psychotic.

[00:29:02]It can it can actually make them something else, but not necessarily completely incompetent. And and that's the reason they can be and should be prosecuted for the crimes that they commit so long as they can prove them.

[00:29:16]>> And and we'll see what happens. I mean, I just, you know, cameras were not allowed in the courtroom for his Italian court hearing, but if and when he makes it back to Houston, where there will be cameras, I assume, in the courtroom because we've seen them there before. Um just very interested to see how this all plays out and and again if and when that happens because it's unknown uh when he could be on a plane back to the United States. Jack Rice, criminal defense attorney, former prosecutor, former CIA officer. Great to talk about this case with you. It's a wild one.

[00:29:41]>> Thank you, my friend.

[00:29:42]>> That will do it for On the Case presented by Law and Crime. Subscribe to us on YouTube and Spotify. And we're also now streaming on Peacock. I'm Chris Stewart. We'll see you next time.