In the days before the holiday season turned tragic, a family was torn apart by violence rooted in years of emotional abuse. Michael McKee, a 39-year-old vascular surgeon, now stands accused of breaking into the Columbus home of his ex-wife Monique Tepe and her new husband Spencer on the morning of 30 December, fatally shooting both whilst their two young children slept metres away, untouched and spared from the bloodshed.
The case has rekindled troubling questions about intimate partner violence and the escalation that can lead to tragedy. As authorities have begun piecing together the circumstances surrounding the murders, a clearer picture has emerged of a man with a documented history of emotional abuse towards his former spouse—a pattern that family members say made escape imperative.
The Pattern of Torment That Preceded Tragedy
Monique and McKee had been married only two years, from 2015 to 2017, before their union fractured under the weight of his behaviour. The couple divorced, citing incompatibility, but those closest to Monique knew the separation was born from something far more sinister.
Speaking to ABC News' Good Morning America on Wednesday, Monique's brother Rob Misleh revealed the psychological toll his sister had endured.
'She just had to get away from him,' Misleh said plainly, his words carrying the weight of years spent watching his sister suffer. He expanded on the nature of the abuse, describing it not as isolated incidents but as a sustained campaign of emotional cruelty. 'Myself and many others were well aware of, kind of, the negative impact that he had on her. And the abuse that he put her through, the torment that he put her through.'
The gravity of her situation was apparent to those around her. Misleh added: 'She was willing to do anything to get out of there,' a sentiment that underscores how desperate Monique's circumstances had become during their marriage. Yet despite the psychological wounds inflicted during those years, she rebuilt her life.
In December 2020, Monique married Spencer Tepe, a dentist who appeared to offer her the stability and safety she'd been denied before. The couple would have no children together, but they embraced the responsibility of caring for Monique's two children from a previous relationship.
A 'Targeted Attack' That Shattered a Family's Future
The early morning hours of 30 December brought unimaginable horror. Police allege that McKee, who was living in Illinois at the time, drove to Ohio and forcibly entered the Tepes' home in Columbus. What unfolded in their bedroom would never be explained to the two children waiting in another room—only that both their mother and stepfather had been murdered.
Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant characterised the killings as deliberate. 'Multiple weapons were taken from the property of McKee, and there is a preliminary link to one of the weapons that ties it to the homicides,' Bryant revealed during a press conference, confirming that investigators had recovered what they believe to be the murder weapon at McKee's Illinois residence.
McKee was apprehended more than a week later in Rockford, Illinois, after police traced his vehicle to the scene on the night of the murders. He appeared in court in Illinois on Monday, with his assistant public defender Carie Poirier indicating to the judge that he intended to plead not guilty.
Monique was 37 years old when she was murdered. Spencer was a respected member of his community. The couple's children—now orphaned of their mother and the only paternal figure they had known—remain at the centre of this tragedy.
Now, as the case progresses toward trial in Columbus, Misleh has been unequivocal about what justice must look like. 'We just want justice,' he told reporters. '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.'
McKee is charged with two counts of premeditated aggravated murder. He is scheduled to appear in court next in Winnebago County, Illinois, on 23 January for an extradition hearing, after which he will be transferred to Columbus to face trial.
