Surgeon ex in Ohio dentist murders job hopped across country, dodged lawsuits after divorce
In the eight years between his divorce and his arrest, Michael McKee built a medical career that spanned four states, even as the woman he is now accused of killing built a new life and family in Ohio.
McKee, a 39-year-old vascular surgeon, was indicted Friday on four counts of aggravated murder, each with firearm specifications, according to an indictment filed in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.
Three of the aggravated murder counts include specifications alleging the use or display of an automatic firearm or silencer, while the fourth alleges a firearm was displayed or brandished. McKee is also charged with one count of aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony.
Authorities allege McKee shot and killed his ex-wife Monique Tepe, 39, and her husband Spencer Tepe, 37, at their home in Columbus’ Weinland Park neighborhood between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. Dec. 30. McKee was arrested in Illinois on Jan. 10 and is being held at the Winnebago County Jail in Rockford, awaiting extradition to Ohio.
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According to USA Today, the divorce case between McKee and his ex-wife, Monique, was mistakenly revived just months before McKee allegedly murdered the couple.
Divorce records obtained by Fox News Digital show that McKee and Monique got married on Aug. 22, 2015, and separated by March 2016, with the marriage lasting seven months.
According to the initial divorce complaint filed by Monique, she and McKee were "incompatible." By March 2016, Monique and McKee were living separately.
"Differences have arisen between [the couple] and they are now living separate and apart from each other," according to the complaint. Monique and McKee kept most of their personal assets, including bank accounts, and split personal property to their "mutual satisfaction," the records show.
The pair had no children together and their divorce was finalized in Franklin County Domestic Relations Court on June 15, 2017.
Monique Tepe married her new husband, dentist Spencer Tepe, in December 2020.
Court records and medical licensing boards provide a roadmap of his whereabouts in the years following the separation.
2005 to 2009: Undergraduate student at Ohio State University.
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2009 to 2014: Studied to earn his medical degree at Ohio State University.
2014 to 2015: General surgery internship at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio.
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2015 to 2020: General Surgery residency at Virginia Tech Carilion Clinic, Roanoke, Virginia.
2020 to 2022: Vascular Surgery fellowship at University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland.
2022 to 2025: Was licensed in several states, including California, Nevada and Illinois. From 2023 to 2024, he worked as a vascular surgeon at Las Vegas Surgical Associates.
2025 to 2026: Vascular surgeon at OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford, Illinois.
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Following McKee's arrest, family members have said that Monique's ex-husband was a "monster," and was abusive.
Rob Misleh, Spencer's brother-in-law, told NBC News that their family "quickly believed" that McKee was involved in their deaths.
"He was an emotionally abusive person when they were together, that is all I know," Misleh said.
Court filings reviewed by Fox News Digital show that McKee was facing several allegations of medical malpractice and negligence in the months prior to being charged in the deaths of the Ohio couple.
Federal court records reveal that McKee was named as a defendant in a civil rights and medical negligence lawsuit filed June 7, 2024, in 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 the Tepes.
"They tend to be highly responsible people," he told WSYX. "They’re not the kind of people who just disappeared suddenly, and this was very surprising to us."