Michael David McKee, the 39-year-old surgeon arrested and charged with murder in the deaths of Monique and Spencer Tepe, is believed to be the person seen walking near the couple’s home on surveillance footage, police said Wednesday.
McKee was arrested Saturday, Jan. 10, in Rockford, Illinois — nearly two weeks after the Tepes were found fatally shot inside their home in Columbus, Ohio.
A vascular surgeon based in Rockford, McKee is awaiting extradition to Ohio to face charges of aggravated murder. Through his public defender, McKee has said he plans to plead not guilty.
At a Wednesday press conference, Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said investigators believe McKee was the hooded “person of interest” captured on video walking through a snowy alley near the Tepes’ home.
Bryant, who declined to share several specifics about the investigation, said a vehicle linked to McKee was seen arriving in the area shortly before the killings are believed to have occurred and leaving soon afterward.
She also said officers recovered weapons from McKee’s home, including one that preliminary ballistics testing linked to the homicides.
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“This was a targeted attack,” Bryant said, alleging it was connected to domestic violence.
Monique married McKee in 2015 and filed for divorce in 2017, citing that the two were “incompatible,” according to court records.
The Tepes were found dead inside their home while their two children — ages 4 and 1 — were just feet away in the house. The children were not physically harmed.
The couple had been married for five years and were described by a friend as “madly in love.”
