An Aug. 31 deadline now governs whether Lee Gilley returns to Texas to face trial. Italy's Turin Court of Appeal temporarily blocked his extradition on July 20, demanding written assurances from the U.S. government on the death penalty and on any sentence of life without parole before a follow-up hearing scheduled for early September.
Gilley seeks Italian protection as extradition fight continues
Gilley, 39, was charged in the October 2024 capital murder of his pregnant wife Christa, who was nine weeks along at the time of her death. The Harris County medical examiner ruled the death a homicide caused by neck compression. Gilley has pleaded not guilty, and his attorneys contest that finding.
Federal investigators allege he removed his ankle monitor on May 1 and fled Texas before trial, later arriving at Milan Malpensa Airport under a false name with forged travel documents. Italian authorities took him into custody. At a July 15 hearing before the Turin Court of Appeal, he told judges he was seeking protection in Italy for himself and his children.
His Italian attorney, Monica Grosso, told NBC News that Texas authorities provided only an embassy note offering assurances rather than a formal written guarantee that prosecutors would drop the death penalty. Grosso also told NBC News the defense believes Christa Gilley had a blood disorder and that blood found in the couple's bedroom did not match the prosecution's account.
Separate criminal probe opens over vacant Houston home
While Gilley remained jailed in Italy, a dispute over the couple's vacant Allston Street home in Houston drew its own investigation. Lee and Christa Gilley purchased the property in 2018. Houston Police Department officers responded to a trespassing complaint there at approximately 6:30 p.m. on June 17.
A man at the property claimed a right to be there and said he would go to court to establish it. The Harris County District Attorney's Office referred the matter to the Harris County Precinct 1 Constable's Office as a civil dispute; no charges resulted from that initial response.
PEOPLE magazine reported that a warranty deed signed May 8 and filed May 21 purported to transfer the home to Save a Life Houses LLC, a Missouri-based company, with Matthew Jackson signing as an authorized representative. Harris County Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen announced July 6 that his office had opened a criminal investigation into the attempted property takeover.
Deputies who entered the home found no one inside. They removed newly installed surveillance cameras, paperwork displayed in windows, and at least two boxes of potential evidence, then had a locksmith change the locks, according to KPRC. Rosen said investigators were examining whether the claim was connected to similar filings on other vacant properties. No criminal charges have been announced, and Rosen did not publicly identify Jackson as a suspect.