Dr. Michael David McKee, Illinois vascular surgeon arrested in the murder of his ex wife, Monique Sabaturski and her new husband, Spencer Tepe. Suspect’s former wife filed for divorce less than 2 years after marriage as then couple struggled financially, including ex wife buying her own engagement and wedding rings.
An Illinois man accused of shooting dead his former wife and her new husband had fought to keep their marriage alive before the former spouse filing for divorce just two years into their marriage.
Going on to eight years later the aggrieved man, Michael David McKee, 39, a then doctor in residency would hunt Monique Tepe, 39, and her new husband down and shoot them both dead at their Columbus, Ohio home last month.
Ex husband pleads not guilty in court as FBI agent cites motive in Weinland Park killing
Dr. Michael David McKee a vascular surgeon from Illinois was arrested on Saturday, for fatally shooting his ex-wife, formerly Monique Sabaturski and her dentist husband Spencer Tepe, 37, at their home in Columbus, Ohio, in late December.
McKee, 39, a vascular surgeon living in Chicago, was taken into custody on Saturday and booked on two counts of first degree murder, ABC 6 reported.
According to reviewed divorce documents, Michael McKee and Monique were married from 2015, until she filed for divorce in 2017, which appeared to be amicable, according to the Columbus Dispatch. He was living in Virginia at the time the divorce was finalized.
A search through social media revealed the former couple meeting in 2012, becoming engaged in 2013 and marrying on August 22, 2015 and separating just 7 months later in March 2016. The official divorce proceedings began in May 2017 and were finalized quickly by June 2017.
In 2016, Monique reportedly opened up to her family about being deeply unhappy living in Virginia, which the then couple had moved to a month after marrying. She was working from home, while Michael was described as more introverted. McKee and Tepe had no children together.
In the complaint for divorce, the plaintiff, Monique, stated they were ‘incompatible.’
People familiar with the relationship say the two had very different political views, interests, and lifestyles. Monique enjoyed socializing, while Michael did not, and the relationship was not going well.
At some point, while Michael was at work, Monique packed up her belongings and left. He reportedly returned home to an empty house.
Divorce proceedings revelations
Divorce proceedings included Monique stating that she had paid for her own rings according to her Affidavit of Property. Monique listed her engagement and wedding rings as ‘Separate Property’ rather than marital assets.
Notably, under the column asking ‘Why do you claim this as a separate property?’, Monique explicitly wrote ‘I paid’ for both the engagement ring ($2,500) and the wedding ring ($3,500).
At the time of the divorce, both Monique and Michael were earning around $50,000 a year each.
The Separation Agreement includes a strangely specific and punitive financial clause. It stipulates that Monique had to pay Michael exactly $1,281.59 for ‘reimbursement of miscellaneous debt’. The agreement further mandated that if she did not pay by July 1, 2018, interest would accrue at a rate of 23%.
At the time of the divorce filing, the couple lived in different states. Monique was living in Westerville, Ohio (working for Nationwide), while Michael was living in Roanoke, Virginia (working for Carilion Clinic).
The exes paid their own attorney fees and Monique paid the filing fee and fee for a private judge, in a bid to expedite the proceedings privately.
Unresolved questions
Throughout the documents, Monique is referred to as Monique Frances Sabaturski, not McKee. This suggests she either never legally took his name during their short marriage or had already resumed using her maiden name before the paperwork was filed.
Monique later shared text messages alleging that Michael did not want the divorce and refused to sign the paperwork.
According to those accounts, Michael allegedly continued contacting her after the separation and signed letters as ‘your husband’ even though the relationship was over. He is also alleged to have said he would never be out of her life and planned to use a future doctor bonus to purchase a home next to her.
It remained unclear the last time the former husband had contacted his ex wife and whether there had been episodes of stalking and whether Monique had sought an order of protection. No such filing existed. No incidence of domestic assault or violence between the former couple existed.
At some point after divorcing Michael, Monique met and began dating Spencer Tepe, with the couple marrying in 2021. At the time of their December 30 slaying, Monique and Spencer Tepe were one month shy of celebrating their five-year wedding anniversary.
Spencer suffered multiple gunshot wounds, and Monique was shot once in the chest. Their one-year-old son, four-year-old daughter, and dog were found alive and unhurt inside the family Weinland Park home, where they had been for hours before the couple’s bodies were discovered.
No known murder motive
The former husband was tracked down through his vehicle, which was caught on neighborhood surveillance feeds, with investigators later finding it near where McKee worked in Rockford, Illinois, court documents stated according to FOX News.
His car was seen arriving shortly before the time the murders were believed to have been committed in the early hours of December 30 and was recorded leaving shortly after, according to court documents. A warrant was put out for McKee’s arrest on Saturday, shortly before he was taken into custody.
Prior to his arrest, a surveillance video allegedly showed McKee, then unidentified, as a person of interest in the murders, after he was seen walking in an alley around the believed timeframe of the murders — 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. on Dec. 30.
McKee has active medical licenses in Illinois and California and graduated from medical school at Ohio State University, according to the Dispatch.
He also has family in Zanesville, Ohio, east of Columbus, the outlet reported.
He will next be extradited to Franklin County, Ohio, and is scheduled for a hearing there on Jan. 12. Police have not given a motive in the shooting.
