An Italian court has partially granted the United States government’s request to extradite Lee Gilley back to his home country, but only under certain conditions. Gilley fled from Texas to Italy in 2024 seeking asylum after his pregnant wife was murdered, and investigators began to look deeply into him.

The accused said he fled because of his stance on the death penalty, and he lost faith in the system finding him innocent of his wife’s murder.

Double Homicide

Gilley was charged in October 2024 for the fatal strangulation of his pregnant wife, Christa Bauer Gilley, after compression marks were discovered on her neck. However, police say that he reported on October 7 that his wife had committed suicide through a drug overdose. She was rushed to the hospital where she was pronounced dead the following day.

Gilley was arrested but granted a $1 million bond on the condition that he surrender his passport and wear an ankle monitor. On May 1, 2026, he broke free from house arrest, cutting off his ankle monitor, and fleeing to Milan. He used a fake Belgian passport at the immigration checkpoint, was denied entry, and was taken into custody.

If convicted, he could face life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty, but because the Italian court sought reassurance from U.S. officials that Gilley would not face either of those, he will be extradited back.

Extradition Partially Granted

While the Italian court initially denied Gilley’s extradition for capital murder, it has granted the request if he is given a lesser charge of murder. Italy has abolished the death penalty, making it the perfect place for those seeking refuge from it, and the country refuses to extradite people who are charged with capital murder.

The Harris County District Attorney’s Office said in September it would not seek the death penalty in the case, and on Monday, October 19, 2026, the Italian court issued an order granting partial extradition if the defendant were to be given a lesser charge.

“It would deprive the prisoner of any real hope of release and would, in substance, seek their permanent exclusion from society,” the court wrote.

“It’s kind of a complicated ruling,” Gilley’s attorney Dick DeGuerin said of the Italian court’s decision. “Basically, it says that they refused extradition for capital murder but granted extradition for the lesser offense of murder, which carries a wide range of punishment.”

Unborn Child Excluded

At least Gilley would not face the most extreme punishments, potentially for a crime he did not commit, as a suspect in Texas convicted of capital murder could be sentenced to death or life without parole. However, a murder conviction only carries up to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

The Italian court did note that the extradition does not include the murder of the unborn child, as under their law, the fetus was unable to live on its own outside of the womb; therefore, it can not be considered a murder, but a termination of pregnancy.

“The death of the fetus, which was not yet capable of surviving independently because the pregnancy was at an early stage, does not constitute a second murder under Italian law, but rather the separate offense of non-consensual termination of pregnancy,” the court wrote.

Gilley’s attorneys and prosecutors have 15 days to appeal the Italian court’s decision, and his defense intends to.

Lack of Faith

After he was apprehended for providing false identification in Europe, he appeared at a hearing on May 11, where he asked the judge for asylum. He said he was unjustly blamed for his wife’s death and was concerned with what was to come, although prosecutors had not said they intended to seek the death penalty.

“That is why I lost faith in the justice system,” Gilley said. “I am innocent. I did not kill anyone. The only crime I committed was fleeing.”