COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The arrest of a Chicago doctor in the murders of his ex-wife and her husband in Ohio caps off nearly two weeks of unanswered questions surrounding the mysterious killings.
Police found Dr. Spencer Tepe, a 37-year-old dentist, and Monique Tepe, 39, with gunshot wounds on the second floor of their home in Columbus at about 10 a.m. on Dec. 30 after officers were asked to conduct a wellness check, authorities said. Medical personnel
later pronounced them dead.
The couple’s two young children were also in the home but were unharmed, police said.
Michael David McKee, the 39-year-old former husband of Monique Tepe, has been charged with two counts of aggravated murder.
McKee was arrested Saturday, nearly two weeks after the Tepes' killings drew national attention. Prosecutors charged him with premeditated murder, upgrading the case from initial charges.
McKee and Monique Tepe, then-Monique Sabaturski, married in 2015, according to Franklin County court records. They filed for divorce two years later.
Police asked for the public's help last week in identifying a person of interest caught on a surveillance camera in an alley near the Tepes' home around the time investigators believe the couple was attacked. Detectives believe the couple was shot between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Dec. 30. The person of interest, later identified as McKee, was wearing light colored pants and a dark hooded jacket, police said.
McKee appeared on Monday in court in Winnebago County, Illinois, about 90 miles (145 km) northwest of Chicago. He waived his right to an extradition hearing and was expressionless while he walked into the courtroom wearing a yellow jumpsuit with shackles around his wrists.
A judge scheduled a hearing next week to confirm McKee's transfer to Ohio, where the case will be prosecuted.
In a written statement, the Tepes' family called the arrest “an important step toward justice” and that they trusted the justice system to hold the person accountable.
Dispatchers first received calls of concern when Spencer Tepe didn’t show up on Dec. 30 at the dental practice where he worked in Athens, a college town about 75 miles (120.70 kilometers) southeast of Columbus.
“Sometimes people don’t show up to work,” the dispatcher said, according to 911 calls.
Tepe's manager told police his tardiness was “out of character.”
Someone else called to request a wellness check before a distraught man who described himself as a friend of Spencer Tepe’s called police at 10:03 a.m. and said, “Oh, there’s a body. There’s a body. Oh my God.” He said he could see Spencer Tepe’s body was off the side of a bed in a pool of blood.
The Franklin County Coroner’s Office deemed the killings an “apparent homicide by gunshot wounds.”
No obvious signs of forced entry were found at the Tepes’ home. Police also said no weapon was found there, and murder-suicide was not suspected. Further, nothing was stolen, and the couple’s two young children and their dog were left unharmed in the home.
According to the Tepes’ obituaries, Monique married Spencer Tepe in 2020.
Family members described the couple as “extraordinary people whose lives were filled with love, joy and deep connection to others.”
Spencer Tepe was a graduate of the Ohio State University. He was a member of the American Dental Association and had been involved with the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization. Monique Tepe was described as a “loving, patient, and joyful mother,” an avid baker, and a “thoughtful planner.”
“They were the proud parents of two beautiful children, and every day they showed up with unwavering love and devotion to their family," wrote a cousin, Audrey Mackie.
The couple's family said in a statement, “Monique and Spencer remain at the center of our hearts, and we carry forward their love as we surround and protect the two children they leave behind. We will continue to honor their lives and the light they brought into this world.”
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Kruesi reported from Providence, Rhode Island. AP reporters Mark Scolforo and Leah Willingham contributed to this report from Harrisburg, Pa and Boston.
