Michael David McKee, Illinois vascular surgeon pleads not guilty in slayings of Monique & Spencer Tepe as FBI agent weighs in murder motive and how ex husband pulled off the slayings.
The ex-husband of Monique Tepe, 39, accused of killing her and her husband Spencer Tepe, 37, late December, appeared in court on Monday where he pled not guilty to upgraded charges of aggravated murder along with waiving his right to an extradition hearing.
The Monday developments follow a weekend report citing an FBI agent as to how Dr Michael David McKee, 39, pulled off the slaying and what ultimately led him to drive from his hometown of Chicago, Illinois to Columbus, Ohio on December 30.
Ex husband pleads not guilty to aggravated murder charges, waives extradition hearing
Michael McKee was being held in the Winnebago County Jail in Illinois following his arrest on Saturday. He is now charged with two counts of aggravated murder with premeditation in the Franklin County Municipal Court after upgraded charges were filed by Columbus police. McKee had initially been charged with two counts of murder.
McKee, a vascular surgeon, appeared in handcuffs and a jail jumpsuit during a Monday, Jan. 12 hearing, where he pled not guilty to upgraded charges, The Rockford Register Star, reported.
McKee’s attorney said, according to the Register Star, that the doctor would waive an extradition hearing, meaning he will be brought back to Franklin County. His attorney said the transfer back to Ohio is expected to happen this week.
Aggravated murder is a more serious charge than murder. In Ohio, murder is punishable by 15 years to life in prison. The aggravated murder charge means McKee could now face a maximum sentence of life in prison with no possibility of parole. He could also face the death penalty — although Ohio has not carried out an execution since 2018.
Premeditation is one of several aggravating circumstances that can justify an aggravated murder charge. To legally qualify, the killer must commit the murder with ‘prior calculation and design.’
McKee, Monique Tepe’s ex-husband, is charged in the Dec. 30 deaths of Monique Tepe (39) and Spencer Tepe (37). The couple was found shot dead in their home later that morning by a friend after Spencer, a dentist at an Athens dental practice, failed to show up to work.
Dr. Michael David McKee & ex wife Monique Sabaturski doomed marriage
McKee and Monique married in 2015, and Monique filed for divorce in May 2017, according to Franklin County Domestic Court records. The divorce decree was issued about a month later. The couple did not have any children together. Court records indicated the divorce was amicable.
At the time of the divorce filing, McKee had resisted the ending of the relationship and had fought to win back his wife. At the time of the then couple’s marriage, social media posts indicated McKee returning home one day to the Virginia residence that they shared only to find it empty, with his wife gone. Soon after Monique Sabartuski filed paperwork to end their marriage, after citing ‘incompatibility’.
Commenting on what may have led to the vascular surgeon to ‘hunt down’ his former wife, an ex-FBI agent suggested a years-long ‘deep-seated resentment and hatred’ was the catalyst in the slayings.
‘They were married for such a brief time,’ the former agent, Jennifer Coffindaffer, told NewsNation.
‘That is strange, but I think it was a deep-seated resentment and hate that just built up and finally came to this conclusion.’
Weinland Park dentist husband & wife slaying and motive
Monique went on to meet and date Ohio dentist, Spencer Tepe, with the couple marrying on Dec. 13, 2020, according to the couple’s obituary. The slain couple had two kids together who were found safe and unharmed at the time of their parents’ slaying.
Monique was shot once in the chest while husband Spencer was shot multiple times.
The violent attack happened between 2 and 5 a.m. in the upstairs of the home, cops said.
No gun was discovered at the scene, and there was no sign of forced entry.
Captured surveillance footage showed a ‘person of interest’ walking down an alley near the couple’s home around the time of the killings.
Coffindaffer, the former federal agent, speculated that the killer had likely staked out the home and obtained the passcode to unlock the door.
‘They had staked out the location well. It was also very clear they knew where the camera locations were because they evaded a lot of camera coverage, it would seem,’ the FBI agent said.
Authorities zeroed in on the alleged killer after tracking a vehicle that was in the vicinity at the time and later left for Rockford, Illinois.
The car was allegedly owned by McKee, and found close to the Rockford practice he worked at, police said.
McKee attended medical school at Ohio State University, holding medical licenses in both Illinois and California and living in various states since 2020, including Virginia, Nevada, and Illinois, public records show.
He worked as a vascular surgeon in a practice in the Rockford area.
