His trial was set to begin in weeks. Now federal prosecutors say he cut off his ankle monitor and ran.
HOUSTON — A Houston man awaiting trial on capital murder charges allegedly cut off his GPS ankle monitor and fled the country last week, only to be stopped at an Italian airport using a fake Belgian passport, according to federal court documents filed Monday.
Note: The video above is from a prior report.
Lee Mongerson Gilley, who was scheduled to stand trial May 29 in the death of his pregnant wife, is now in custody in Italy after being detained at Milan’s Malpensa Airport on May 3, the documents say. A federal criminal complaint charging him with interstate flight to avoid prosecution was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
According to the affidavit, Gilley allegedly cut off his court-ordered ankle monitor and left the United States on May 1, 2026. His defense attorney, Dick DeGuerin, told KHOU 11 that his client fled to Canada before flying to Italy.
Federal documents say Gilley was traveling under the name “Lejeune Jean Luc Olivier” when he landed in Milan on an Air Canada flight. Italian border police determined that the passport and other Belgian identification documents he presented were false and forged, and he was taken into immigration custody.
While awaiting deportation, Gilley admitted to authorities that he was actually Lee Mongerson Gilley and that he was awaiting trial in the United States for the murder of his wife, according to the affidavit. He has since claimed asylum in Italy.
The case stems from the death of Christa Gilley, who was found unresponsive at the couple’s home on Allston Street in Houston’s Heights neighborhood on the night of October 7, 2024. Lee Gilley called 911 that night, telling dispatchers his pregnant wife was not responding. She was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead.
The Harris County medical examiner determined her cause of death was compression of the neck and upper back. An arrest warrant for capital murder was issued October 11, 2024. Gilley was released on bond six days later.
DeGuerin told KHOU 11 he did not know exactly when his client left the country or how long he had been gone.
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