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HOUSTON – Harris County capital murder suspect Lee Gilley appeared in a courtroom in Turin, Italy, around 3 a.m. local time Monday, for a hearing to validate his arrest at the Turin Court of Appeals.

The 39-year-old, accused of killing his pregnant wife Christa Bauer in the Heights in Oct. 2024, cut off his ankle monitor while out of jail on a $1 million bond, and flew to Italy earlier this month just weeks before his trial.

RELATED: Judge forfeits $1 million bond for capital murder suspect who fled to Italy before trial

He was stopped by border police when he arrived at the airport in Milan while presenting forged travel documents and using the name “Lejeune Jean Luc Olivier,” according to a federal criminal complaint.

In the Italian courtroom Monday morning, Gilley did not consent to being extradited to the U.S., although his U.S. defense attorney Dick DeGuerin said that’s what he advised Gilley to do during a phone call last week.

An NBC News journalist in the room reported that Gilley then made unsolicited statements to Judge Marta Sterpos.

“My wife is dead, and they wrongly blamed me; that’s why I no longer have faith in the justice system. I am innocent. I did not kill my wife. The only crime I committed was fleeing. I fled to avoid being killed. I went to great lengths to escape and seek protection in Italy,” Gilley reportedly said.

Gilley told the court he chose Italy from the very beginning — a place his late wife loved dearly, according to friends — and said he’d like to live in the European country because of the lifestyle, culture, international protection, and to receive a fair trial.

RELATED: ‘She loved Italy’: Houston murder victim’s friends frustrated over husband Lee Gilley fleeing U.S. ahead of trial

The judge asked if he wanted to move to another country, and Gilley reportedly responded: “I chose Europe because of its due process guarantees, and Italy because there is strong public opposition to the death penalty.”

Harris County prosecutors have never indicated an intent to seek death for Gilley, although the other punishment option for capital murder is life without parole, which also isn’t in compliance with European law, Gilley’s Italian defense attorney Monica Grosso told reporters Monday.

Italian newspaper la Repubblica reported that Gilley also expressed distrust of the U.S. justice system, citing the removal of his two children after Bauer’s death despite a non-violent history.

Gilley thanked the judge in Italian twice, while wearing jeans and a white shirt.

The Italian Ministry of Justice told NBC News a decision hasn’t been decided yet over Gilley’s extradition, noting that there haven’t been any requests from the Trump administration.

KPRC 2 News reached out to the White House Monday, which referred any requests related to Gilley’s extradition to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Outside the courtroom, Grosso said Gilley believes he’s been the subject of a media campaign in the U.S. that would not have allowed him to obtain a real fair trial, and for that reason, “terrified,” he left the country.

Grosso, who declined to comment when contacted by KPRC 2 News over the weekend and is not subject to the gag order issued in the Texas capital murder case late Friday, described Gilley as tired but “calm and confident” about obtaining international protection.

MORE ON THE GAG ORDER: Judge issues gag order limiting public comments in Lee Gilley capital murder case

She is working to have him transferred to the CPR of Turin, an administrative detention center, where he would await the process for international protection away from prison restrictions, la Repubblica reported.

According to la Repubblica, it will take five days to determine if Gilley will remain in his cell at the Lorusso e Cutugno prison in Turin, where he’s been held in solitary confinement, or if he will begin fighting for political asylum from the CPR of Turin.

“At the CPR he would be waiting to be summoned before a territorial commission that will decide on his political asylum,” la Repubblica journalist Giado Lo Porto said. “Freedom is excluded because he has no support or a home here in Turin, therefore ... he must wait for the commission’s decision.”

For now, Gilley’s Harris County capital murder trial remains scheduled to start late this month.

HOUSTON – Earlier this week, capital murder suspect Lee Gilley was captured in Italy just days after he allegedly cut off his GPS ankle monitor and boarded an international flight while allegedly in possession of a fake identity.

Gilley, 39, was just weeks away from his trial for crimes related to the death of Christa Bauer—his pregnant wife—in October 2024. Officials determined Bauer died by strangulation in the couple’s Houston Heights home.

OUR FIRST REPORT: Lee Gilley faces federal charge after allegedly using fake name, Belgian identification to flee before murder trial

Now, Bauer’s friends are sharing new insight into how their memories of her make Gilley’s decision to flee to Italy especially heartbreaking.

New photos shared with KPRC 2 News show Christa on a girls’ trip to Sicily in May 2024, months before her death. She also studied abroad there while in college, according to her high school friend, Cara Kelly.

According to federal investigators, Gilley used a different name and fake Belgian travel documents in an attempt to enter Italy on Sunday.

However, after arriving on an Air Canada flight, Milan border police recognized the documents as fake.

After being confronted by officials, Gilley ultimately gave up his identity and claimed asylum.

At this point, it is not clear when he could be returned to the United States, and his murder trial—scheduled later this month—may not proceed as planned if he is not back in time.

“It was a meaningful place to her and to her friends... but I don’t know if there was anything between her and Lee that was pertaining to Italy,” Kelly said. “It was very special to her.”

Gilley’s defense attorney, Dick DeGuerin, has said prosecutors may have to assure Italy that they are not seeking the death penalty—since capital murder is a death-penalty-eligible offense in Texas—in order for the country to move forward with extradition.

Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Gilley’s home on Wednesday afternoon, searching through trash and bagging certain pieces of evidence.

MORE ON THE SEARCH: Law enforcement seizes capital murder suspect Lee Gilley’s car after he flees U.S. to Italy

It is not clear what was taken, although KPRC 2 News cameras captured Gilley’s Kia SUV being towed away.

Prosecutors allege Gilley bought the vehicle on the same day police were called to the couple’s home and Christa was found unresponsive, without her knowledge of the purchase.

Gilley, who was required to surrender his passport, has been out on a $1 million bond since October 2024.

Harris County clerk records show about two dozen other capital murder suspects are currently out on bond in cases filed since January 2020.

A judge has ruled that the wife of a Green Beret found dead in Fayetteville will remain in custody without bond as she faces a murder charge.

A judge has ruled that the wife of a Green Beret found dead in Fayetteville will remain in custody without bond as she faces a murder charge.

Shana Cloud is charged with murder and concealing a death in connection with the death of her husband, Clint Bonnell.

Bonnell was reported missing in January 2025 after he failed to show up for class at Methodist University, where he was studying to become a physician assistant. A university employee contacted the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office on Jan. 28. That same day, Cloud told deputies she had not seen Bonnell since the day before.

Investigators later found Bonnell’s body in a pond about three miles from the couple’s home. An autopsy report confirmed the body had been dismembered, with the arms, legs, and head missing.

The girlfriend of former Green Beret Clint Bonnell claims he planned to divorce his wife before his disappearance and subsequent death.

In court, Cloud appeared emotionless, only turning to her defense attorney to write a note as prosecutors argued she should remain jailed without bond.

District Attorney Billy West said the state agrees with the judge's decision. 

"We were pleased that Judge Gregory kept the [no bond] in place. With this being a first-degree murder case, we felt that was appropriate." 

West noted that discovery is ongoing but should be coming to an end soon. 

Some of the details of that ongoing discovery came out in court. For instance, the state revealed that discovery showed a mechanical reciprocating saw is what was used to dismember Bonnell. 

According to the district attorney, a trial date in 2027 is realistic.

HOUSTON – Lee Gilley, the 39-year-old Houston man accused of strangling his pregnant wife in 2024 and cutting off his ankle monitor before being caught in Italy this week, is facing a new federal charge connected to his international flight just weeks before his capital murder trial.

A federal criminal complaint filed Tuesday alleges that Gilley used the name “Lejeune Jean Luc Olivier” to board an Air Canada flight to Milan, Italy, which arrived on Sunday.

He also allegedly presented a passport and other Belgian identification documents to Milan Border Police, which investigators say were false and forged.

It’s not clear how he got from Texas to Canada initially, which is where prosecutors said the flight to Milan originated.

Gilley was denied entry at Milan airport and taken into immigration custody, investigators wrote, and while awaiting deportation, he admitted his real identity.

While in custody, Gilley claimed asylum and admitted he was awaiting trial for the murder of his pregnant wife, Christa.

Gilley has been charged federally with interstate flight to avoid prosecution.

INTERPOL Washington received an alert from INTERPOL Rome about Gilley’s whereabouts late Monday evening, according to federal court documents.

Gilley’s defense attorney, Dick DeGuerin, said the federal charge is not unusual or unexpected, adding that it gives the U.S. Marshals jurisdiction to arrest him.

Since Gilley was not actually admitted to Italy, DeGuerin said he is hopeful this could expedite Gilley’s return to stay on track for the capital murder trial; however, he still has not been able to make contact with Gilley.

During court Tuesday, DeGuerin said his advice to Gilley, should he be able to contact him, is to waive extradition and return to the U.S. immediately.

Prosecutors and the defense have been preparing for a May 29 trial date, according to Harris County court records, and DeGuerin has said in court he plans to argue Christa Gilley died of a pre-existing medical condition.

During a hearing on Tuesday, District Court Judge Peyton Peebles kept the court date set under the assumption Gilley would be back from Italy by then.

However, everyone involved in the case could not give a clear timeline for how long Gilley’s return to the U.S. may take.

Gilley had been required to surrender his passport and wear a GPS ankle monitor as a condition of his $1 million bond.