A jury has decided who will raise the two children of Lee Gilley and Christa Bauer, bringing to a close a highly emotional custody trial that unfolded alongside the ongoing criminal case stemming from Bauer’s death.
The jury ruled the family of Christa Bauer has custody of the children. As the verdict was read, there was a joyful outburst among members of the Bauer family in the courtroom.
The jury also ruled there would be no geographic restrictions as to where the children can go.
At the heart of the dispute was whether the children should remain with their maternal grandparents, Chris and Sharon Bauer, in South Carolina, where they have lived since their mother’s death, or be placed with their paternal aunt and uncle, Cristin and Matthew Gilley, who argued the children should maintain strong ties to their father’s side of the family.
Jurors heard testimony from the Bauers that the children have found stability, support and routine in South Carolina. Chris Bauer also described a deep mistrust that developed between the families after his daughter’s death, recounting concerns about passports, travel plans and whether the children could eventually be exposed to their father through relatives.
The Gilleys, meanwhile, testified they had been active participants in the children’s before the tragedy and argued the children should not lose an entire side of their family because of allegations against Lee Gilley. They also disputed claims that the children had improper contact with their father after he fled to Italy.
The trial repeatedly touched on the criminal case against Lee Gilley, who is accused of killing his pregnant wife and is fighting extradition from Italy. While that case loomed over much of the testimony, jurors were ultimately tasked with answering a different question: what arrangement would be in the children’s best interests.
The jury deliberated for about two hours before returning the verdict Friday evening.
The Bauer Family released a statement following the verdict:
“The Bauer Family is relieved and deeply grateful that the jury reached the appropriate verdict entrusting the care of Christa’s children in the loving hands of the Bauers. From the week Christa and her unborn child was taken, the Bauers have given the children a stable, loving home, and today’s verdict ensures that the care, community and stability the children have known from the beginning will continue with the Bauer Family in the Summerville, South Carolina community.
This verdict closes one chapter, but it does not end the Bauers’ fight for justice. The Bauers pray for Christa’s husband to be extradited back to the United States so he can be held accountable for the charges against him. Chris and Sharon Bauer remain committed to raising Christa’s children with the love their mother would have wanted for them. The Bauers will continue, as they have every day since her murder, to pursue justice for Christa and her unborn child."
