HOUSTON – A criminal investigation into the attempted takeover of a murder home in the Heights has been opened as law enforcement returned to the home of Lee Gilley and Christa Bauer in the Heights on Monday.
“There’s a special place for this person,” Constable Alan Rosen said in announcing the investigation. “This family has suffered greatly.”
Rosen said no one was inside the home when investigators arrived on Monday and nothing appeared to have been stolen.
The development comes after Matthew Jackson & Save A Life Homes LLC filed a deed and claimed ownership rights through adverse possession, while Bauer’s family has said no one should have access to the home, which they still partially own.
The deed was filed in Harris County Real Property Records on May 21, with a signature date showing May 8, two days after investigators and prosecutors executed a search warrant at the home on Allston Street while looking into Gilley fleeing the U.S. for Italy.
Gilley is accused of murdering Bauer inside the home in October 2024 before cutting off his ankle monitor in May and flying to Milan, Italy, where police caught him using a fake name and forged travel documents, according to court records.
Investigators took down newly-installed surveillance cameras Monday, hauling away at least two boxes of evidence. Paperwork was also removed from the windows and a trespass affidavit was posted in the front door window.
A locksmith was also seen at the home Monday changing the locks after Bauer’s family said Jackson installed cameras and changed the locks without their knowledge.
“He seems to be picking houses where there’s been a crime or there’s a death,” Rosen said.
KPRC 2 News first reported last month that Jackson was arrested by Houston police last year after claiming to have a lease agreement for a home on Edgebrook, which he said he saw on TV, after investigators executed a search warrant and discovered a missing man’s remains.
Jackson is also tied to a nearly $2 million Memorial-area home, where he claimed ownership rights in the midst of a foreclosure sale that blocked a sale from proceeding, as well as other lawsuits tied to different properties.
“There’s much bigger process that’s going on right now, but I don’t wanna go into any details about the current investigation,” Rosen said.
While Rosen would not identify Jackson as a suspect, KPRC 2 News asked if the investigation is looking at the whoever is behind the property transactions holistically and all of the possible cases.
“Absolutely, and as many cases as we find that point to him, ‘wWe’re going to do our best to investigate those and add those to our investigation,” Rosen said.
The Harris County Attorney’s Office is also investigating on the civil side, and a spokesperson confirmed Monday the investigation continues.
“No one can make this family whole again, but we took possession of the home and returned it to this family, to the guardians for the children who are survivors of this terrible ordeal,” Rosen told KPRC 2 News. “We have launched a criminal investigation to hold accountable those who sought to steal this home and that investigation is ongoing.”
Rosen urged others dealing with attempted property takeovers to contact his office or the relevant constables, saying that this case has made him realize there are several other similar cases.