‘She was terrified.’ New details emerge in Ohio couple’s killings

As new details emerge about the Chicago surgeon accused of killing his ex-wife and her new husband in Ohio, investigators said they believe they’ve recovered the murder weapon.

One of multiple guns found in the Chicago condo of Michael David McKee has preliminarily matched to the scene of Spencer and Monique Tepe’s shooting deaths, Columbus police Chief Elaine Bryant said at a news conference on Wednesday, Jan. 14.

“This was a targeted attack,” Bryant said.

The Tepes were found shot dead in their home on Dec. 30. Their 1- and 4-year-old children were in the home, and crying but were physically unharmed, as was the couple’s dog. McKee, who is Monique Tepe’s ex-husband, was arrested in the Chicago area 11 days after the killings and was charged with premeditated murder in the case.

His attorney has said he will plead not guilty to the charges once he’s extradited to Ohio and will remain silent.

Meanwhile, one of the Tepe’s family members told NBC News on Jan. 14 that McKee had been emotionally abusive to Monique Tepe.

“She was terrified because he had threatened her life on multiple occasions when they were married,” brother-in-law Rob Misleh said. “She wasn’t shy about talking to people about traumatic experiences she had with her ex and just how emotionally abusive he was to her. It affected her to this day.”

He told Good Morning America that Monique Tepe “was willing to do anything to get out of there” and that she was a “very strong person.”

Here’s the latest in the case.

City mayor calls killings an ‘unspeakable crime’

Outside of the revelation about the murder weapon, police released very few new details at a news conference on Jan. 14, saying they don’t want to risk compromising the prosecution against McKee, a 39-year-old vascular surgeon who lived about seven hours away from the Tepe home in Columbus, Ohio.

Chief Bryant did say that Columbus police had no record of any complaints of violence or harassment connected to the Tepe house. Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther thanked members of the community who came forward with video and tips that led to the arrest in the case, calling it an “unspeakable crime.”

“The tips that were submitted in this case mattered,” Ginther said. “This was a targeted domestic violence attack that resulted in the deaths of two people and irrevocably changed the lives of their children, families, colleagues, and friends. Our hearts remain with Spencer and Monique and their loved ones, especially the children impacted by their unimaginable loss.”

What do the divorce records show?

On paper, Monique Tepe and Michael McKee’s less than two-year marriage ended on unremarkable terms, according to divorce records obtained by USA TODAY on Jan. 14.

“Differences have arisen between the parties, and they are now living separate and apart from each other,” according to their separation agreement, filed on April 28, 2017.

McKee kept the couple’s home in Roanoke, Virginia, where he was working on his residency after graduating from Ohio State University in 2014. The home, worth about $230,000 at the time, was only in McKee’s name, as was the mortgage, records show.

No one was ordered to pay spousal support, and McKee and Tepe each kept their own vehicles and debts.

The couple had married on Aug. 22, 2015, in Columbus and got divorced in May 2017.

There was no further activity in the divorce case for years until June 2025, when a court docket showed that a hearing had been scheduled.

A court spokeswoman told USA TODAY that the case had a trial date scheduled in September but that it was canceled. Court records filed Jan. 14 show the September date was mistakenly set, due to a clerical error on the case’s docket number.

When did Monique remarry?

Monique and Spencer Tepe married on Jan. 30, 2020, and were one month shy of their fifth wedding anniversary when they were killed.

In her wedding vows, Monique Tepe said she had “quite the journey” to get to Spencer.

“Countless bad Bumble dates, wrong relationships, and waterfalls of tears,” she said as she cried. “But it was worth every cringing moment because it led me to you. Throughout all of this, I knew that God was guiding me to my person, and that when I met him, it would be the most magical thing ever. And boy, is that an understatement.”

In his vows, Spencer told Monique that she was his best friend.

“We’re so lucky,” he said. “I vow to never stop loving you and to always keep working on us … I vow to do my best to always keep making you laugh because your smile is my favorite thing.”

What has the Tepe family said?

In his interview with NBC News, Misleh said that he was unaware of any physical abuse between McKee and Monique Tepe or whether there had been any recent threats. “If any of us had known that these threats were actually grounded in possibility, we all would have acted differently,” he said.

He told Good Morning America that more than 1,000 people attended the Tepes’ funeral, saying it showed just how kind and well-liked they were.

“We just want justice,” Misleh said. “We want this person that took so much from, not just us as a family, but so many more people. And obviously the kids, especially. We want this person to pay for what they did.”

Spencer and Monique Tepe case: Dentist’s wife did not make tearful 911 call months before couple was found dead, police say

In previous statements to USA TODAY, the Tepe family said they were devastated by the loss.

“They were extraordinary people whose lives were filled with love, joy, and deep connection to others,” they said. “We are heartbroken beyond words.”

They described the 37-year-old Spencer as “a devoted and proud father, a loving partner, and a friend to everyone he met, and 39-year-old Monique as “a loving, patient, and joyful mother whose warmth defined her.”

The continued: “We will continue to honor their lives and the light they brought into this world,” they said.

This story has been updated with the reasons a September court date was canceled. It was mistakenly set due to a clerical error.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New details emerge in Ohio couple’s killings: ‘She was terrified’