New court records filed Wednesday in Harris County appear to indicate at least two of Lee Gilley’s three U.S. defense attorneys are seeking to withdraw from the case.

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.

A Harris County judge issued a gag order restricting public statements by attorneys and others involved in the capital murder case against Lee Gilley, who is accused of killing his pregnant wife and fleeing to Italy.

Judge Peyton Peebles has ordered the forfeiture of Lee Gilley’s $1 million bond after Gilley fled to Italy before his capital murder trial, initiating the process for the state to recover the bond from the bonding company and co-signers.

A major development is unfolding on Friday in the case of a Houston man accused of killing his pregnant wife and fleeing the country weeks before his capital murder trial was set to begin.

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.

Law enforcement returned to the home of capital murder suspect Lee Gilley on Wednesday afternoon, days after the 39-year-old cut off his GPS ankle monitor while on bond and arrived in Italy, claiming asylum.

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.

The 39-year-old man accused of murdering his pregnant wife in October 2024 in the Houston Heights neighborhood was supposed to be in court downtown Houston Tuesday morning, but after a bailiff called his name three times in the hallway, prosecutors detailed what broke in the news last night: Gilley cut off his ankle monitor and fled to Italy.

Gilley was scheduled to be in court this week and begin his murder trial later this month, according to court records.

A trial date has been set for a man, charged with capital murder in connection to the death of his pregnant wife in The Heights in 2024.

"We are deeply disappointed that the Defendant, [Lee Gilley] made bond just a week after Christa’s death, but we are focused on the safety and well being of Christa’s children," the family's attorney said in a statement.