Ohio couple Monique Tepe i Spencer TepeHer brother-in-law talked about her relationship with her ex-husband Michael McKee after the surgeon was arrested in Illinois for killing them both.
“She was terrified because he had threatened her life on several occasions when they were married.” Rob Misleh he said NBC news about Monique in a video interview shared on Tuesday, January 13.
Misleh added that Monique, 39, “isn’t shy about talking to people about the traumatic experiences she had with her ex and how emotionally abusive he was to her.” He later said that Monique’s past with McKee “affected her to this day.”
After Misleh said Monique was “worried” when she divorced McKee in 2017said he did not know if the doctor had threatened the couple in the weeks before their murders. He also said he did not know if McKee physically abused Monique.
“If any of us had known that these threats were actually based on a possibility, we all would have acted differently,” Misleh concluded.
Monique and Spencer’s bodies were found in their Columbus, Ohio home on December 30, 2025, when their co-worker requested a welfare check after she failed to show up for work. Upon the police officer’s arrival, Spencer, 37, was found with multiple gunshot wounds and Monique was shot at least once in the chest.
The couple’s two children and their family dog were found unharmed in the house.
McKee was later identified as a suspect after surveillance footage showed his car near the Tepes’ home. Authorities said the vehicle “arrived just prior to the homicides and left shortly thereafter.” McKee was eventually arrested when police confirmed he owned the vehicle at the time of the murders.
He was arrested in Rockford, Illinois, on murder charges on Saturday, January 10, according to the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office. A day later, McKee’s charges were updated to aggravated murder.
After McKee was arrested, the Tepe family released a statement reacting to the major update in the case.
“Today’s arrest represents an important step toward justice for Monique and Spencer. Nothing can undo the devastating loss of two lives that were taken too soon, but we are grateful to the Columbus Police Department, its investigators and the assisting law enforcement community whose tireless efforts helped capture the person involved,” the family said, per ABC 6“We thank the community for their continued support, prayers and compassion during this tragedy. As the case progresses, we trust that the justice system will hold the individual fully accountable.”
Michael McKee’s employer has broken his silence after the vascular surgeon was arrested for the murders of his ex-wife, Monique Tepe, and her Ohio dentist husband, Spencer Tepe. At the time of the murders, McKee, 39, was working at OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford, Illinois. Three days after being arrested, the (…)
“Monique and Spencer remains at the center of our heartsand we carry their love forward as we surround and protect the two children they leave behind,” the family added. “We will continue to honor their lives and the light they brought into this world.”
McKee did his thing first court appearance on Monday, Jan. 12, where his attorney shared his intention to enter a not guilty plea. In addition, the lawyer said he was waiving his right to an extradition hearing.