HOUSTON – A Harris County family court judge has not yet decided whether the young children of Lee Gilley and Christa Bauer will be required to return to Texas, as their father remains in custody in Italy after cutting off his ankle monitor and fleeing the country.
PREVIOUS REPORT: Harris County judge delays capital murder trial of Lee Gilley amid extradition limbo following recapture in Italy
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Judge Angela Lancelin said she plans to hear testimony June 18 on whether it is in the children’s best interest to remain in South Carolina with Bauer’s parents. Their attorney argued the children are now established out of state. The judge also said she will allow attorneys for Gilley’s brother to argue in mid-June that he and his wife should continue to have visitation with the children.
Lancelin reiterated that she never ordered — or otherwise approved — the children leaving Texas in the first place.
The family court dispute unfolds as the criminal case against Gilley remains in limbo internationally.
Gilley, 39, is accused in the October 2024 strangulation death of his pregnant wife, Bauer, and was out on bond when authorities say he removed his ankle monitor and fled to Italy.
A Harris County judge recently delayed his capital murder trial because prosecutors are still working with the U.S. Department of Justice on a formal extradition request to Italy, and no new trial date has been set.