The Harris County District Attorney’s Office filed a formal notice on Friday, September 18, that the state will not seek the death penalty against Lee Gilley, who is charged with capital murder in the 2024 death of his wife, Christa Bauer. ABC13, KPRC 2 and KHOU 11 each reported the filing, quoting District Attorney Sean Teare’s written notice to the court. Teare’s office described the decision as binding on the office going forward.
Gilley has pleaded not guilty. He is in custody in Italy. Prosecutors allege he cut off an ankle monitor and left the country using forged identification in the weeks before his trial was scheduled to begin. An appeals court in Turin had sought assurances about capital punishment before ruling on extradition, and the case remains before the Italian courts. No trial date has been set in Harris County, and Gilley has not been returned to Texas.
Why This Matters in the Lake Houston Area
Kingwood, Humble, Atascocita, Huffman, Summerwood and Fall Creek all sit inside Harris County, so the district attorney’s office prosecutes felony cases arising here and the county’s pretrial supervision covers defendants from these communities. This case is also the one commissioners pointed to when they voted on ankle monitoring last week. On September 17 the court approved $1.4 million to staff ankle monitor supervision around the clock, an item brought forward after a defendant awaiting trial on a murder charge removed his device and left the country. See Harris County Approves $1.4 Million for Around-the-Clock Ankle Monitor Staffing.
