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AND A man from Texas has been charged of the murder of his wife, who was pregnant at the time of her death, while their other young children were allegedly at home.
Authorities say Lee Mongerson Gilley, 38, allegedly strangled his wife, 38-year-old Christa Bauer Gilley, to death in their Houston home on Oct. 7. killing both her and their unborn child.
“The circumstances were excruciating,” Christina’s friends wrote on a fundraising page on behalf of her family. “But the loss to all who knew and loved her is greater than the nightmarish details of her death.”
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Houston police say 38-year-old Lee Gilley strangled his wife, 38-year-old Christa Bauer Gilley, to death. (Facebook/Christa Bauer Gilley)
Officers arrived at the Gilleys’ home on the night of Oct. 7 after receiving a report of a suicide, authorities said in a news release. Christa was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Hospital staff said she had bruises and visible trauma to her face.
Gilley originally told authorities that Christa had deliberately tried to overdose and found her unresponsive, but an autopsy later showed that she injuries consistent with strangulation.
Her death was ruled a homicide – caused by “squeezing the neck”.
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Lee Gilley has been charged with the murder that killed his wife, Christa Bauer Gilley. (Houston Police Department)
Gilley was arrested on Oct. 11 and booked into the Harris County Jail in Houston.
Christa, who was about eight weeks pregnant at the time of the alleged murder, leaves behind two young children.
According to testimony in the child custody case, Gilley allegedly told two relatives he was thinking about leaving with the children shortly after authorities questioned him about his wife’s death, The Houston Chronicle reported.
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“As far as any allegations that Lee Gilley tried to escape, they are categorically false,” Ed McClees, Gilley’s defense attorney, told Fox News Digital.
“That’s a mischaracterization of comments that were made before the criminal charges were even filed, before any warrant was even issued, when he was thinking about trying to visit his parents and his children’s grandparents at the family home in South Carolina.” , added McClees . “He never intended to run away … he abided by all the terms of the bond that were placed on him.”
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Christa Bauer Gilley, 38, left behind two children and was pregnant at the time of her death. (GoFundMe)
A judge had previously barred Gilley he had no contact with his two children, who were at home at the time of their mother’s death, and ordered his passport to be handed over, the media added.
Gilley is charged with his wife’s death. He was released from custody after posting $1 million bail and a judge awarded temporary joint custody of the children to their maternal grandparents and Gilley’s sister-in-law, a local Houston newspaper reported.
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McClees confirmed to Fox News Digital that Gilley, who reportedly works as software consultant, was accused of murder and was released from custody.
“As far as the manslaughter charges are concerned, we are still in the process of gathering all the materials that the police have to date,” he said. “They haven’t given us most of the reports that we need … we’re told we should get them sometime after the new year, but we don’t have them yet. So we’re still in the process of evaluating the state’s allegations to see how accurate they were in reaching the conclusions they reached .”
“Mr Gilley is devastated at the loss of his wife and the mother of his children and we are working hard to get to the bottom of what really happened,” McClees added.
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Houston police say 38-year-old Lee Gilley strangled his wife, 38-year-old Christa Bauer Gilley, to death. (Facebook/Christa Bauer Gilley)
Christa has a doctorate in physical therapy and has worked with cardiovascular and pulmonary patients, WDBJ reported.
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“Christa was, at her core, a caregiver. It was no surprise that she went into the healthcare field, excelling as a physical therapist and then as a professor,” her friends said on the fundraising page.
“Most importantly, for Christa, she was a mother – the epitome of selfless care – to her two surviving children. They will be two and four in the coming months, without their mum who has already planned their birthday celebrations.”
