What Police Now Say About the Grisly Slayings of an Ohio Couple

COLUMBUS, OH - Authorities in Ohio reveal what they believe led to the killings of Monique and Spencer Tepe in their home in December 2025.

The couple, 39-year-old Monique and 37-year-old Spencer, were fatally shot in the early morning hours of December 30, 2025, just steps away from their young children, ages four and one, PEOPLE reported. On January 10 of this year, investigators arrested Monique's ex-husband, Michael David McKee in Rockford, Illinois — a nearly 500-mile drive from the couple's Columbus, Ohio home.

Monique and McKee got divorced nearly a decade ago. Investigators have kept many of the details of the case quiet, but at a press conference this week, Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant alluded to what could have led to the horrific double-murder.

"This was a targeted attack," Bryant alleged. "This was a domestic violence-related attack." During the press conference, police declined to give a specific motive. However, Bryant's statement echoes what the Tepes' family members had suspected from early on in the investigation.

Monique had been "terrified" of her ex-husband, said Rob Misleh, who is married to Spencer's sister. He'd heard stories from Monique about McKee's alleged emotional abuse, which he says "changed her as a person." Monique also allegedly told Misleh that McKee had threatened her life several times during their marriage, which lasted less than two years.

McKee has not been charged in connection with the allegations of emotional abuse or threats. Investigators tracked McKee to Illinois using surveillance footage that showed a vehicle near the Tepes’ residence during the time frame in which they believe the murders occurred.

Bryant said that multiple weapons were taken from McKee's property and that there is a preliminary link through the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) tying one of those firearms to the killings, Fox News reported. A preliminary investigative report, reviewed by Fox News Digital, documents that authorities discovered three spent 9mm casings in the couple's home, but no firearm was reported as recovered.

Separate court filings show that McKee was facing several allegations of medical malpractice and negligence in the months prior to being charged in the deaths of Monique and Spencer.

Federal court records reveal that McKee, a vascular surgeon, was named as a defendant in a civil rights and medical negligence lawsuit filed June 7, 2024, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada.

In a separate matter, state court records in Clark County show that McKee is also the primary defendant in an active medical malpractice lawsuit slated for a jury trial. According to Las Vegas-based lawyer Dan Laird, McKee managed to evade legal justice before he allegedly killed Monique and Spencer.

McKee, who was arrested on murder charges, now faces upgraded charges of aggravated murder. He is set to be extradited to Ohio to be arraigned on those charges. His public defender recently said that McKee plans on pleading not guilty.