Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare has filed notice that his office will not seek the death penalty against Lee Gilley, who is charged with capital murder in Harris County, Houston Public Media reports. The filing, a state’s punishment notice, was entered on Friday, September 18.
Gilley, 40, was charged in 2024 with capital murder in the death of his wife, Christa Bauer Gilley. He posted a $1 million bond and was released in late October of that year. He has not been convicted, and the case has not gone to trial.
Gilley was reported arrested in Turin in May and is in Italian custody fighting extradition to the United States. Italy has no death penalty, and his attorney has said the Italian court asked the U.S. Department of Justice to clarify whether death was a possible punishment. In his filing Teare argued the Italian court had misinterpreted Texas law, under which capital murder carries either death or life without parole. Teare’s office declined further comment, citing a gag order. An Italian court is expected to take up the extradition in October.
