The ex-husband of a woman found shot to death with her new husband in Columbus has been charged with murder in the deaths.
Michael David McKee, 39, of Chicago, faces two counts of murder, according to Franklin County Municipal Court documents.
According to online court records, a warrant was issued Jan. 10 for McKee’s arrest. Winnebago County (Illinois) Sheriff’s Office records indicate he was booked into jail there shortly before noon. He will remain there until authorities extradite him back to Franklin County.
Monique Tepe, 39, and Mason native Spencer Tepe, 37, died on Dec. 30 after being found shot inside their home on the 1400 block of North Fourth Street in Columbus’ Weinland Park neighborhood. The couple’s two young children, both under the age of 5, were found physically unhurt inside the home.
Columbus homicide detectives identified McKee through neighborhood video surveillance, police alleged in court documents. They tracked the suspect “to a vehicle which arrived just prior to the homicides and left shortly after.” They found the vehicle in Rockford, Illinois, and found evidence that McKee had the vehicle before and after the killings.
Columbus police have not publicly identified a potential motive in the couple’s deaths.
Around 9 a.m. on Dec. 30, coworkers of Spencer’s from the dentistry office where he worked in Athens called Columbus police after Spencer did not show up for work and no one could reach Spencer or Monique by phone.
An officer went to do a well-being check but went to a home on Summit Street instead of the Tepe home, according to body camera footage released by Columbus police. About 40 minutes after that check, friends of the Tepes found them dead in their home.
Police have focused the investigation on the window of time between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Dec. 30, which is when they believe the couple was killed. On Jan. 5, detectives released video from a security camera showing a person walking in an alley near the Tepes’ home during that time frame, calling the person a “person of interest.”
A public visitation for the Tepes will be held from noon to 3 p.m. on Jan. 11 at the Schoedinger Northwest funeral home on Zollinger Road in Upper Arlington. An additional gathering for a celebration of life will occur from 3:30 to 6 p.m. at Due Amici in Columbus.
Husband was from Greater Cincinnati, family member says
The couple’s brother-in-law, Rob Misleh, confirmed to The Enquirer that Spencer Tepe lived in Mason throughout his childhood and attended schools in the Mason City School District from kindergarten through his graduation from Mason High School in 2007.
A Mason City School District spokesperson sent a statement to The Enquirer.
“This is a profoundly heartbreaking tragedy. Our hearts are with the Tepe family as they face this unimaginable loss. We extend our deepest condolences to everyone who knew and loved this couple and pray for their children,” the statement reads.
Enquirer reporter Gillian Stawiszynski contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ex-husband charged in fatal shooting of Columbus couple
Reporting by Bethany Bruner, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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