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Hi listeners, it's Vanessa. Before we get into today's episode, I want to tell you about another show I think you'll love. Hidden history with Dr. Harini Bhat. Every Monday, Dr. Bhat goes where history gets mysterious. Vanished civilizations, doomsday prophecies, paranormal phenomena and events that science still can't fully explain. Dr. Bot treats these moments like open case files. Not myths, not superstition, just incomplete explanations waiting for a closer look. Hidden History drops every Monday. Follow now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen, so you never miss a mystery.
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This is Crime House.
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All right friends, it's time for your daily true crime rundown. Grab your coffee, settle in, and let's talk about the cases everyone's going to be discussing today. We're starting with the biggest case. A Texas man charged with strangling his pregnant wife was weeks away from trial when he cut off his ankle monitor and fled to Italy on a fake passport. This past Monday, he stood before an Italian judge and claimed he's innocent. This is crime house 24 7, your non stop source for the biggest crime cases developing right now. Make sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Vanessa Richardson and we have quite quite a lineup for you today. Here's what you need to know. Lately I've been trying to take the stress out of getting dressed. Just focusing on pieces that feel easy, comfortable and still put together without a lot of effort. That's really what's been pulling me toward Quint. Their stuff just fits that effortless everyday vibe. 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That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com crimehouse 247 for free shipping and 365 day returns quince.com crimehouse24.7 this week, 39 year old Lee Mongerson Gilly appeared before a judge at the Turin Court of Appeals in Italy. He was wearing jeans and a white T shirt. He was supposed to be preparing for a capital murder trial in Texas. His trial was weeks away in instead, he was standing in an Italian courtroom pleading for asylum. And when the judge asked whether he consented to being sent back to the United States to face trial for the deaths of his wife and their unborn child, he said, quote, I do not consent, end quote. He told the court on Monday, quote, my wife is dead and they wrongly blamed me. That is why I lost faith in the justice system. I am innocent. I did not kill anyone. The only crime I committed was fleeing. I ran away to avoid being killed and to escape the relentless media persecution. I worked very hard to escape and request protection in Italy, end quote. And the lengths he allegedly went in order to get to Italy are extraordinary. But first, okay, who is Lee Gilly and what is he accused of doing? It was the night of October 7, 2024. Just after 11:30pm Houston Police responded to a call in the Houston Heights neighborhood. That's an affluent area about 4 miles northw of downtown. The call came from Gilly himself. He told dispatchers that his wife, Christa Bower, was not responsive. He described it as a possible overdose. Houston Fire Department medics arrived and transported Christa to Memorial Herman Greater Heights Hospital, but it was too late. She was pronounced dead in the early morning hours of October 8th. She was 38 years old. Hospital staff immediately noticed something that didn't fit the overdose narrative. There was bruising and what they described as apparent trauma to her face. The Harris County Institute of Forensic Scientists conducted an autopsy and on October 9th, two days after that 911 call, they ruled her death a homicide. Cause of death, compression of the neck consistent with strangulation. The autopsy also revealed something else. Christa was approximately eight to nine weeks pregnant at the time of her death. An arrest warrant was issued for Lee Gilly on October 11, 2024, and he was charged with capital murder for the death of wife and for the death of their unborn child. In Texas, that charge carries the possibility of the death penalty. He was taken into custody, appeared in court, and he pleaded not guilty. On October 17, 2024, he was released on a $1 million bond. But as a condition of that release, he was required to surrender his passport and wear a GPS ankle monitor at all times for the next year. And a Half the case moved through the courts. His trial was originally scheduled for May 29, 2026. Then it was pushed, rescheduled for June 5. Well, obviously, he never made it. On May 1, 2026, Harris County Pre Trial Services received an automated alert. Gilly's ankle monitor had been tampered with. Staff tried to reach him, but there was no response. According to a federal criminal complaint filed by the U.S. attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas, G had cut off his GPS monitor and fled the country. He made his way from Texas to Canada, and from there boarded air Canada Flight 894 bound for Milan, Italy. According to state and federal authorities, Gilly had assumed the identity of, get this, Leun Jean Luke Olivier and was carrying what turned out to be forged Belgian identification documents. On May 3, 2026, he landed at Milano Malpenza Airport. When he presented those documents to Italian BOR police, they were flagged immediately as forgeries. He was taken into immigration custody and held for deportation. That's when he told them who he really was. While awaiting deportation, Gilly disclosed his true identity and acknowledged he was awaiting trial in the United States for his wife's murder. Italian authorities alerted interpol Washington on May 4th. That's the same day prosecutors, defense attorneys, and Judge Payton Peebles, who was presiding over the Texas case, all learned that the they were supposed to be preparing to try was sitting in custody in Milan. All right, here's where this story gets legally complicated. And it's important to understand why Italy specifically matters. A formal extradition treaty between the United States and Italy has been in place since 1983. But under Italian law, the country will not extradite someone unless it receives guarantees that the death penalty will not be imposed. The Because Gilly is charged with capital murder in Texas, a state that has already executed three people in 2026, his Italian defense attorney, Monica Grosso, is arguing that extraditing him would put his life at risk. She cited the case of Pietro Venezia, an Italian man accused of killing a Florida state tax collector in 1993, a case in which the Italian Constitutional Court found that US Assurances were not sufficient to guarantee Venezia would be spared the death penalty. Grasso told reporters outside the courtroom that Gilly is calm and confident about obtaining international protection. She said he believes a US Media campaign made it impossible for him to receive a fair trial. She's also working to have him transferred from his current placement, solitary confinement at the larusso Acutuno prison in Turin, to an administrative detention facility While his asylum process plays out, this week's hearing was not an extradition proceeding. It was a validation hearing confirming that the terms of Gilly's arrest were lawful under Italian law, meaning Italy can keep him in custody until a formal extradition request is made. The Harris County District Attorney's office declined to comment, citing a gag order put in place on May 8th. That was the same day Gilly's US defense attorney, Dick Degaran, said publicly that he had advised his client in a phone call to consent to extradition, and Gilly did not take that advice. Before the gag order, Daguerrean said he intended to argue that Christa's death was not a homicide at all, but rather the result of a rare blood disorder called methemoglobinemia, a condition she'd been diagnosed with in 2023. According to Pre trial filings, prosecutors alleged that while Gilly was out on Bond in 2025, he had been actively planning his escape, including researching how to obtain foreign identification documents, inquiring about acquiring a Mexican identity, and devising a detailed plan for removing his GPS monitor. The filings also alleged he had discussed the possibility of a sham marriage to obtain a new identity. All of this, prosecutors alleged, was done with the help of a woman he'd been having an extramarital affair with in San Diego. Okay. The critical question now, the one that may determine whether Lee Gilly ever comes back to stand trial, is whether Harris county prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty. That answer matters, because under Italian law, the country will not extradite someone unless it receives guarantees that the death penalty will not be imposed. As of this week, no formal extradition request has even been filed by the US Government. The Harris County District Attorney's office has declined to comment, citing the gag order for Krista Bauer. Gillies family the last two weeks have been, in the words of their attorney, Tim Ballingy, devastating. In a statement released to the press, he said, quote, the family has grappled with the loss of Krista and has struggled to see the man accused of killing her free on bond while the legal system progressed for a year and a half to a trial that the defendant has now attempted to avoid, end quote. Balanji added that the family is, quote, outraged by Gilly's claims of innocence. Christa's family welcomes a trial based on the truth and evidence that will provide justice for Christa and her unborn child, end quote. We will continue to follow this case as it develops, and from Italy, we bring you back to the United States to Cleveland, Tennessee where a man who shot his ex wife to death in her own driveway while she begged for her Life on a 911 call, pleaded in guilty to murder and was sentenced to life in prison.
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what they did to your family, you're lucky to make it out alive.
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Streaming on Peacock these men are going
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to come after me. Taking them out. It's my only chance. Put a bullet in her head from the co Creator of Ozark Looks like a family was running drugs execution style Killing it's rare for the Keys. Any leads on who they might have been running for? The cartel killed my family. I'm gonna kill them. All of them. MIA streaming now only on Peacock Karen Liner was 51 years old, a nurse turned realtor and a mother of two in Cleveland, Tennessee. She was building a second career doing something she loved, helping people find homes in the town she'd grown up in. In late January 2025, her ex husband Charlton Craig Liner showed up in her driveway and shot her to death while she was on the phone with 911 on Monday, May 11, 61 year old Liner walked into a Bradley county courtroom and pleaded guilty to her murder. A judge sentenced him to life in prison and under Tennessee law he won't be eligible for parole for 51 years. Shortly before 9am on the morning of January 27, 2025, Karen Liner called 911 from her home on Arthur Lane in Cleveland, Tennessee. She gave the dispatcher her address, 135 Arthur Lane. As surveillance cameras from a neighboring home captured a vehicle pulling into her driveway, she could be heard saying what she was seeing quote get out of my driveway, end quote. And then, quote, no, no. Craig, please stop. End quote. Multiple gunshots rang out over the call. Karen Liner went silent. An additional shot was recorded approximately one minute after she stopped screaming. The driver of that vehicle was Charlton Craig Liner, her ex husband of more than 20 years. Their divorce had been finalized just four months earlier, in September 2024. Surveillance footage reviewed and described at a preliminary hearing earlier this year by Cleveland police detective Don Nation showed what happened in the moments around that recording. Liner pulled into the driveway, fired multiple shots, and initially walked away toward a white sedan. Then he turned around. Prosecutors say footage showed him ducking underneath Karen's closing garage door to get back inside the property, even as she was actively trying to shut him out. Roughly 15 minutes after the shooting, Liner showed up at the home of his first cousin, Jay Collins. Collins testified at a preliminary hearing in February that Liner showed up at his house the morning of the shooting saying he needed to get rid of several guns. According to Collins, Liner told him, quote, it's over and I finished it, end quote. Collins said Liner arrived driving his son's Lincoln, then left in his personal Range Rover and wanted to leave three firearms at Collins house, including, in Collins words, the one he'd used to take care of his problem. Collins added, quote, he didn't act like he'd done anything, end quote. Craig Liner was arrested that same day and charged with first degree murder. He's been held without bond ever since. Karen and Craig Liner had been married for over 20 years and had two children together. When Craig initially filed for divorce, he cited inappropriate marital conduct, an allegation that was later removed from the final decree. The divorce was ultimately finalized on the grounds of irreconcilable differences. Four months later, Karen was dead in her own driveway. District Attorney General Stephen Hatchett described the weight of the evidence in no uncertain terms After Monday's plea, He said, quote, you cannot listen to that 911 recording or watch that video and not have your heart break for an innocent person being victimized by someone who clearly had no remorse and no regard for her life. When you see it and you hear it, that makes it different for the public. It's brutal murder committed in real time. That is not something as I can recall that we've ever had in Bradley county, end quote. But hold on. The murder charge isn't all, not even close. While he was being held at the Bradley county jail awaiting trial, prosecutors say Liner attempted to arrange the killing of a second person, Karen's mother, his former mother in law, a fellow inmate named William McDaniel testified that liner was furious with Karen's mother and approached him about carrying out the killing. According to McDaniel, Leiner offered him a 2017 Malibu boat and an SUV as payment. Investigators seized both as evidence after obtaining a search Warrant and equipped McDaniel with court recording devices to document their conversations. That murder for hire case moved separately through the courts and as of this recording is pending. Karen Leiner's family had previously stated publicly that they didn't want the state to pursue the death penalty in this case. Prosecutors did not seek it. Craig Leiner pleaded guilty the day before his trial was set to begin to three charges, first degree murder, felony murder and aggravated burglary. The judge sentenced him to life in prison. District Attorney General Hatchet was clear about what that means in practice. He said, quote, I have no doubt he will never see the light of day again, and it's certainly a punishment he absolutely deserves. He added, this was a horrific crime and it is my sincere hope this brings a small measure of peace and closure to Karen Lerner's family, friends and loved ones. End quote. Cleveland Police Chief Mark Gibson said he was, quote, honestly just relieved, end quote, that Liner chose to plead and didn't drag Karen's family through a trial. He said Karen's mother was pleased with the outcome and that everyone involved had been bracing for proceedings that would have been extraordinarily difficult to endure. Karen Liner's family had spent the better part of a year and a half watching the legal process unfold. They never had to sit through a trial and hear that 911 recording played in open court. Thank goodness. And the man who killed her will likely never walk free again. Stay with us on crime house 24 7. We'll continue to follow the most important true crime cases as they develop.
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He gets a patent one month before the Wright Brothers. Oh my God.
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Okay, before I let you go, you know we can't end without giving you a little something extra. Over on Murder True Crime Stories Today, Carter Roy is diving into the case of unsolved hotel murders. In 1892, a woman calling herself Lottie Bernard checked into the Hotel del Coronado alone, sick and afraid, and was found dead five days later, the bullet in her body not matching the gun she bought over 40 years later, a young man registered as Roland T. Owen sat alone in a dark Kansas City hotel room with the door unlocked as if waiting for whoever came to kill him. In this episode of Murder True Crime Stories, Carter Roy investigates both cases, separated by decades and a thousand miles, but united by fake names, unanswered questions, and killers who were never found. We grabbed a clip from today's episode. Take a listen and if you like what you hear, don't forget to follow Murder True Crime Stories.
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The Hotel del Coronado, known locally as the Dell, first opened its doors in 1888 on the Coronado Peninsula just across the bay from San Diego, California. It was advertised as a modern, luxurious Marvel for about 250 a night, roughly $85 today, guests could enjoy ocean view, fine dining, and escape from the stress of everyday life. Honestly, sign me up. It's the kind of place people went to feel at peace. And peace was exactly what Kate Morgan seemed to be looking for when she arrived on November 24, 1892. She was in her mid-20s, although she looked older and worn down, like someone carrying a heavy burden. But Kate didn't check in under her real name. She told the front desk she was Lottie A. Bernard from Detroit, Michigan, and from the very first moment, something about her seemed off. For starters, Kate had no luggage. She explained that she'd been traveling with her brother, but he'd gotten off the train in the city of Orange and accidentally taken their luggage claim checks with him. She didn't really explain why he'd left her, but she promised the staff he'd be arriving soon. She also said her brother happened to be a doctor. This was important because Kate did not look good she was pale and visibly sick. She told the hotel staff she had stomach cancer, though some people at the time had a different theory, which we'll get into later. Despite all that, Kate was well dressed and seemed like she could afford the room. So the Dell let her stay on credit while she waited for her brother to arrive and settle the bill. Over the next several days, Kate checked in with the front desk, repeatedly asking if her brother had shown up. He never did, and no one else came to visit her either. And the longer she waited, the worse things got. At around noon on November 28, the fifth day of her stay, Kate called down to the front desk and asked for a bellboy named Harry west to come up up and help dry her hair. She said she'd accidentally fallen into her bath and was too weak to manage on her own. It's not clear why she asked for Harry specifically. It's possible he was just the bellboy she dealt with most during her stay. Harry immediately noticed that Kate was in rough shape. She was really weak, barely able to move around the room on her own, and yet she made sure to mention once again that her brother would be joining her soon. But that wasn't the only strange detail the staff noticed. Over the course of her stay, Kate had repeatedly asked Harry to bring her drinks from the bar, glasses of wine and whiskey cocktails. Given how sick she seemed, this was pretty concerning. But no matter how many times the hotel staff urged her to see a doctor, Kate refused every time. At this point, the Dell's clerk, a man named as Gohmer, was getting suspicious. When Kate came down to the lobby, he asked her point blank whether she actually had the money to pay for her room. Kate didn't flinch. She told Gohmer to send a telegram to a man named G.L. allen in Hamburg, Iowa, and he'd take care of everything. Now, we'll come back to GL Allen shortly, but for the moment, Gomer sent the telegram and left it at that. Then later that afternoon, Kate called for the bellboy, Harry west, again. This time she said she needed matches. She also asked him to bring up some papers she'd left at the front desk. Kate burned the documents in her fireplace, the though nobody knows what they contained. By 4 or 5pm Kate left the hotel. And despite how sick she was, she told another guest she was heading into San Diego to get her luggage from the train station. But that's not where she went first. Kate's first stop was a gun shop. The owner later told investigators that Kate said she wanted to buy a pistol as a Christmas present for a friend. He sold her a revolver and cartridges and even showed her how to use it, no questions asked. After that, Kate returned to the hotel. She never stopped at the train station for her luggage. At around 6:30pm that evening, Harry west spotted Kate standing alone on a balcony, looking out at the ocean. I think about this moment a lot. A woman clearly sick, completely alone, a gun now in her possession, just standing there watching the waves. It's heartbreaking. After that, Kate went down to the front desk one last time and asked Gomer if anyone had sent her a letter or a telegram. Nobody had. That was the last time anyone at the hotel spoke to Kate Morgan. The next morning, November 29, 1892, at around 7:30am the hotel's electrician found Kate's body outside the building. She was lying on a set of steps that led from an upper level down toward the beach. The steps were covered in blood and a pistol was lying beside her, apparently the same type she'd bought the day before. Working under the assumption that this was a suicide, the hotel contacted the coroner who came to collect Kate's body. That same morning, the funds for Kate's room arrived from G.L. allen in Iowa. Gohmer sent a reply informing Allen that the guest he'd been supporting, the woman Gohmer knew as Lottie Bernard, had died by suicide. Gohmer never heard from G.L. allen again. The next day, the coroner opened a formal inquest into the death. At that point, the authorities still had no idea that Lottie Bernard was an alias. Her death was officially ruled a suicide, but the physical evidence told a very different story.
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That's Carter Roy on Murder True Crime Stories. And that's just a taste. The full episode on Unsolved Hotel Murders is out right now on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Just search Murder True Crime Stories and make sure you follow so you don't miss any episodes. You've been listening to Crime House 24 7, bringing you breaking crime news. I'm Vanessa Richardson. We'll be back Monday morning with more developing stories. Stay safe and thanks for listening. I'm Katie Ring, host of America's Most Infamous Crimes. Each week I take on one of the most notorious criminal cases in American history. Listen to and follow America's Most Infamous Crimes available now wherever you get your podcasts. Looking for your next listen? Check out hidden history with Dr. Harini Bhatti. Every Monday, Dr. Bot goes where history gets mysterious. Vanished civilizations, doomsday prophecies and events that science still can't fully explain. Follow Hidden history now on Apple podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.