Family members of a Columbus dentist and his wife said in a new interview they were unaware that Monique Tepe’s ex-husband – now charged in their slayings – posed any threat to the couple.
Tepe, 39, and her husband, Spencer Tepe, 37, died on Dec. 30 after being found shot inside their home on the 1400 block of North 4th Street in Columbus’ Weinland Park neighborhood. Monique’s ex-husband, Michael McKee, 39, of Illinois, is charged with aggravated murder in connection with their deaths and is being held in the Franklin County jail without bond.
In an interview released on June 17 through Netflix’s “Allegedly” podcast, Maddie and Rob Misleh, Spencer Tepe’s sister and brother-in-law, spoke about what living through the deaths and subsequent investigation was like.
The media attention the case has drawn, both locally and nationally, has also taken a toll on the family.
Rob Misleh took on the role of family spokesperson in the immediate aftermath of the killings, in part because his video of the couple’s wedding became a way to show the life of Monique and Spencer to the world.
Misleh said being accused of being involved by anonymous people speculating about the case online took a toll on him personally in addition to the overwhelming grief of losing two people close to him.
“This isn’t CSI, this is real life,” he said.
“People aren’t interested in the facts; they just want to speculate wildly,” Maddie added.
Not having a suspect in custody immediately also posed a challenge, even though the family had their “full trust” in Columbus police homicide detectives.
“Just because we wanted it done quickly, it had to be done correctly,” Misleh said.
The Mislehs said they were aware Monique had an ex-husband, but never knew his name. She only ever referred to him as her “ex” or ex-husband, Misleh said, but she would make comments about being or acting a certain way because of her past relationship. The abuse was, the family thought, a “figment of the past,” Misleh said.
“We would have never thought anything was a present threat,” Maddie Misleh said.
Monique spoke about threats, Maddie Misleh said, but Spencer’s family didn’t know about the extent of the allegations of physical and sexual violence in Monique’s previous marriage until court documents were filed accusing McKee of the crimes.
In court records, Columbus police said McKee went to the Tepe home about three weeks before the killings while the Tepes were not there. McKee, a surgeon working about 45 minutes west of Chicago, is accused of driving about seven hours the night of the killings to Columbus and then driving back to Illinois.
Evidence detailed in court records includes video of a vehicle matching McKee’s in the area before and leaving after the killings, and McKee’s phone not having any activity between the time frame that would have been the drives between Illinois and Ohio and the killings.
The case continues to draw significant interest. At a June 17 hearing date where McKee did not appear and nothing was expected to happen in open court, local and national media stationed in the courtroom’s jury box and spectators lingered until it was clear the day’s events were over and there would be no glimpses of the suspect.
McKee has pleaded not guilty to all charges. A case status conference date has been set for Aug. 24 in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, but a firm trial date has not yet been scheduled.
Reporter Bethany Bruner can be reached at bbruner@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Tepe family members speak on Columbus couple’s killings on Netflix podcast
Reporting by Bethany Bruner, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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By Bethany Bruner, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
