Houston Man Charged with Strangling Pregnant Wife After Reporting Her Death as Suicide

A Houston man has been charged with capital murder in the death of his wife.

Lee Mongerson Gilley, 38, called 911 on Monday, claiming his wife, Christa Gilley, who was about eight weeks pregnant, had committed suicide by drug overdose. He also told the emergency operator that he was performing CPR on her, per KHOU and other local media outlets.

Christa Gilley was taken to an area hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Hospital staff identified inconsistencies in Lee's claims and reported bruising and apparent trauma to her face. An autopsy by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences later reported that her injuries were "due to compression of the neck," Houston Police revealed on Saturday.

According to a KHOU report, authorities said Lee and Christa were at their home that night with their two young children. The couple reportedly argued before Christa went to bed and later succumbed to her injuries.

Lee subsequently admitted that his wife was neither suicidal nor a drug user. He was arrested on Friday, four days after Christa's death, and is currently booked into the Harris County Jail, where a judge denied bond for him on Saturday.

Following the news, people who allegedly knew the couple shared their reactions on Reddit. "Knew him socially some years ago. This is shocking," one user wrote. Another user commented, "They used to come in the coffee shop I worked at, she was really nice."

Lee is the founder of multiple tech companies, according to a LinkedIn account under his name, where he describes himself as a "Microsoft Excel guy." He was highly active on LinkedIn, where he posted Excel tutorials until the day before his wife's death.

Lee is due back in court on Monday.