COLUMBUS, OH – A surgeon allegedly used a silencer when he crept into his ex-wife’s home and killed her along with her new husband, but he made one critical mistake: he left shell casings behind that led investigators straight to him.
Dr. Michael McKee now faces four counts of aggravated murder and one count of burglary after being extradited from Illinois to face charges in the December 30 slayings of Monique Tepe and Spencer Tepe.
The couple was found shot to death inside their Columbus residence. Despite McKee allegedly using a sound suppressor, three 9mm shell casings were recovered at the scene.
Security cameras captured McKee’s vehicle cruising through the neighborhood between 2 and 5 a.m. on the morning of the killings. Investigators believe the murders occurred around 3:42 a.m.
The break in the case came when authorities ran the shell casing markings through the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network. The system matched them to a firearm that was later found at McKee’s apartment in Rockford, Illinois.
McKee was arrested on January 10 at his Rockford residence. He’s been sitting in an Illinois jail ever since, waiting to be sent back to Ohio to face justice.
Former prosecutor Darryl Cohen noted the irony of the silencer potentially becoming key evidence. “Silencers themselves can serve as incriminating evidence linking suspects to crimes,” he explained.
The relationship between McKee and his ex-wife had apparently remained contentious after their divorce. Spencer Tepe was her current husband at the time of the murders.
McKee remains in custody awaiting his first court appearance in Ohio.
