A 39-year-old man was arrested in Rockford, Ill., and charged with killing Columbus dentist Dr. Spencer Tepe, 37, and his wife, Monique Tepe, 39, who were found shot to death in their Weinland Park home on Dec. 30, authorities said Saturday.
Police identified the suspect as Michael David McKee, the ex-husband of Monique. Detectives said they followed surveillance video and license plate leads from the neighborhood to a vehicle later located near Chicago. McKee was booked in Winnebago County and awaits extradition to Ohio. The Tepes’ two children — a four-year-old daughter and a one-year-old son — were inside the home but were not harmed. The case, which began with a wellness check when Spencer failed to arrive for work, has alarmed neighbors and drawn regional attention during a holiday week when many offices were closed.
Friends called for help on Dec. 30 after they could not reach the couple and heard concerns about the children. Officers entered the North Fourth Street home that afternoon and found both adults with gunshot wounds, investigators said. There were no signs of forced entry and no firearm at the scene. Detectives mapped a window of time in the early morning hours when the shooting likely occurred, then released an image of a person and a car seen in the area. “This case is disturbing,” police said in a brief statement as they appealed for tips. By the first weekend of January, investigators had identified a vehicle of interest and began coordinating with Illinois authorities to locate it and the person connected to it.
McKee, a surgeon who once attended medical school in Ohio and later worked in the Chicago area, was arrested without incident on Jan. 10 after the vehicle was found in Rockford, officials said. Records show McKee and Monique married in 2015 and divorced in 2017; she married Spencer in 2020. The Franklin County coroner ruled the deaths homicides. Detectives said they recovered digital evidence tied to the suspect’s movements and submitted items for lab testing, including shell casings collected inside the house. A precise motive remains unknown. Police have not said how the shooter entered or exited the home and have not announced the recovery of a weapon connected to the killings.
Weinland Park, a neighborhood north of downtown Columbus, mixes older homes with new apartments and has several doorbell cameras and business systems pointing toward side streets. Investigators canvassed those sources for footage that captured a car arriving before dawn and leaving a short time later. License plate readers in Columbus and along interstates helped narrow a path toward northern Illinois, according to officials familiar with the search. Detectives also reviewed phone records and radio traffic to lock down the timeline between the missed work check-in, the 911 calls and the discovery inside the house. Neighbors described a heavy police presence on Dec. 30 as crime-scene tape went up and officers worked into the night under portable lights.
Early case records outline the steps ahead. McKee faces two counts of murder in Franklin County. Because he was arrested in Illinois, extradition proceedings come first. If he waives extradition, Ohio authorities could transport him quickly; if he contests it, an Illinois judge would schedule a hearing. In Columbus, prosecutors are preparing the case for a grand jury that could meet as early as this month to consider indictments replacing the initial charges. Detectives are drafting search warrants for phones, cloud accounts and vehicles linked to the suspect and the victims. Ballistics comparisons will run through state and federal databases. Police said they are reviewing any past disputes or court filings for context but have not announced findings.
Friends and relatives described the couple as devoted parents. Spencer, a general dentist, volunteered at school clinics and offered weekend hours for families, colleagues said. Monique, who often organized childcare swaps on the block, was known for walking the neighborhood with a stroller. Outside the home, a small vigil formed with flowers and candles. “They were generous and steady,” a family friend said at the curb. Parents nearby said they were relieved the children were found safe and are staying with relatives. Pastors from a local church visited with family members as detectives continued their work inside the house.
Columbus police said the absence of forced entry is a key detail, one they are weighing against the interior layout and evidence placement. Forensic technicians documented bullet paths and collected touch DNA from doors and surfaces before releasing the property back to the family. Investigators are also comparing timestamps from cameras along North Fourth Street with traffic and business videos several blocks away to test the route used by the driver seen before dawn. The neighborhood’s mix of narrow lanes and alleys has offered multiple angles to check for brake lights, reflections and passing headlights that might fill gaps in the timeline.
McKee was being held Saturday in the Winnebago County jail pending court review. An initial hearing is expected Monday, Jan. 12, in Illinois, where a judge could address counsel and whether he will waive extradition. In Ohio, prosecutors will determine whether to add specifications tied to a firearm or the presence of children. Autopsy and full lab reports are expected to be part of discovery. Police said updates on the case will come as filings are made in court and next-of-kin notifications are completed for any public documents that include sensitive details.
As of Sunday night, police had not announced the recovery of a weapon or an official motive. The arrest in Rockford closed the immediate search, but the investigation continues as detectives assemble a fuller hour-by-hour account of Dec. 30 and the days that followed. The next milestone is McKee’s Monday court appearance in Illinois and any extradition decision that would start his transfer to Franklin County.
Author note: Last updated January 11, 2026.