Authorities probe disputed deed at Heights home linked to murder case
A deed filed after a search warrant put the Heights home tied to Christa Bauer’s killing under criminal investigation, after locks were changed without the family’s knowledge.
Investigators returned Monday to the Heights house tied to the Christa Bauer murder case after a disputed deed filing turned the property fight into a criminal investigation. No one was inside when deputies arrived and nothing appeared to have been stolen, Harris County Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen said. He called the conduct criminal and said the family had already suffered greatly.
The dispute centers on a deed filed in Harris County Real Property Records on May 21, 2026, with a signature date of May 8. Matthew Jackson and Save A Life Homes LLC claimed ownership rights through adverse possession, while Bauer’s family said they still partially owned the home on Allston Street. The filing came two days after investigators executed a search warrant at the property.
The home is also tied to the murder case against Lee Mongerson Gilley, who is accused of killing Bauer inside the house in October 2024. Gilley cut off his ankle monitor and fled to Milan, Italy, in May 2026, after a June 8 capital murder trial date had been set. A formal U.S. extradition request was later sent to Italian authorities in June.
Texas law gives would-be adverse possession claimants different limitation periods depending on the facts, including 3, 5, 10 and 25 years. Under the five-year version, a claimant needs a registered deed and proof that taxes were paid; the ten-year version depends on peaceable, adverse use, and the 25-year version applies in certain deed-recorded situations.
For homeowners in Harris County, the warning signs are concrete: a deed filed without notice, a signature date that does not match the timeline of possession, locks changed without family approval, or a stranger claiming rights to a vacant or inherited home. Harris County’s clerk office records real-property documents, but its online database is not the official repository and does not always reflect a complete or unaltered record, so families should compare online entries with their own deed copies, tax records and title documents and flag any mismatch quickly.
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