The December 30, 2025, slayings of an Ohio dentist and his wife rocked the community. Columbus Police found Dr. Spencer Tepe and Monique Tepe dead from apparent gunshot wounds and determined very quickly that the case didn’t look like a murder-suicide. An investigation began to determine who shot the couple in cold blood inside their home. The Tepe’s children, a 4-year-old girl and a 1-year-old boy, were at home at the time of the shootings but were not harmed. On January 10, police announced they’d arrested Monique Tepe’s ex-husband, Michael David McKee, in connection with the murders. Now investigators are doing their best to determine a motive.
According to court documents obtained by the Columbus Dispatch, police identified McKee through surveillance in the Tepes’ Weinland Park neighborhood. Investigators reported linking McKee “to a vehicle which arrived just prior to the homicides and left shortly after.” Police later found the vehicle in Rockford, Illinois, and confirmed McKee had used it both before and after the Tepe killings.
Early in the investigation, police released surveillance video of a person of interest walking through an alley near the Tepe’s home. They now believe McKee was the person in the video, the Dispatch reported.
Gera-Lind Kolarik told ABC 7 she lived near McKee in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood and never suspected he could kill anyone.
“He did not seem like somebody that would do something like this,” she told the outlet. “You never know. You meet people everywhere, and you don’t know if they’re a serial killer.” She added that the news disturbed her because she’d spent time with McKee in casual conversation like a friendly neighbor would.
“I sat down with this man, and talked with him at the pool, barbecuing, about what a beautiful day it is, and then he turns out to be a killer. It’s kind of shocking,” she told ABC 7. “How do you explain to a child that mom and dad are here one day and gone the next. Those are the real victims of this whole case, are the children.”
According to multiple sources, including Fox 28, McKee worked as a vascular surgeon in Roanoke, Illinois, where police arrested him on January 10. He graduated from medical school at The Ohio State University in 2014.
Police arrested McKee, and he’s sitting in Winnebago County Jail waiting for his scheduled court appearance on January 12.
Following McKee’s arrest, the Tepe family released a statement obtained by the Dispatch.
“Nothing can undo the devastating loss of two lives taken far too soon,” the statement read. “We thank the community for the continued support, prayers, and compassion shown throughout this tragedy. As the case proceeds, we trust the justice system to hold the person responsible fully accountable.”
Police haven’t released a motive in the killings. McKee and Monique Tepe did not have any children. Hopefully, investigators will get to the bottom of this case, and the families can begin their healing journey.
