The family of murdered Ohio dentist Spencer Tepe and his wife, Monique Tepe, “all expected” her ex-husband to be arrested in connection to the killings, according to a loved one.
Spencer, 37, and Monique, 39, were fatally shot in the middle of the night or early morning in their home on December 30, 2025, and her ex-husband, Michael David McKee, was arrested in connection with the couple’s murder on Saturday, January 10.
One day after McKee’s arrest, the couple’s friends and extended family hosted a gathering and reflected on the major development.
“It was absolutely not a shock to anybody, we had all expected it, but we weren’t saying that, because we didn’t want to compromise the investigation,” one family member told the Daily Mail about McKee’s arrest. “We are all breathing a bit of a sigh of relief, because they got him.”
Ohio Dentist Spencer Tepe and Wife Monique Killed: Everything We Know
The family member — who asked to remain anonymous — added that Monique and Spencer had not spoken about having any issues with McKee, 39, in the weeks leading up to their deaths.
Monique and Mckee divorced in May 2017, and the Columbus Dispatch reported that records indicate the divorce was amicable.
McKee was identified as a suspect in the case after authorities in Columbus, Ohio, saw his car near the Tepes’ home via surveillance footage. Detectives said that the vehicle “arrived just prior to the homicides and left shortly after,” according to court documents obtained by People.
It was later confirmed that McKee owned the vehicle at the time of the killings.
The Tepes’ bodies were discovered when Spencer’s coworker allegedly grew concerned when he didn’t show up to work. The co-worker made several attempts to contact him before they called 911 and requested a welfare check. The couple was then discovered dead upstairs in their Ohio home. Spencer was found with multiple gunshot wounds, while Monique suffered at least one shot to the chest.
Spencer and Monique’s two children and their family dog were also found in the house, and they were all unharmed.
Police released surveillance footage on Monday, January 5, that showed a figure in a dark hooded sweatshirt walking with their hands in their pockets, with authorities saying at the time that there was a “person of interest” in the case.
Family Member Speaks Out on 911 Call From Ohio Dentist’s Home Before Killings
Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant gave an update on the case on Thursday, January 8, telling ABC 6 there were still “a lot of concerns and a lot of questions surrounding this case.”
“We want to be able to be as transparent and answer as many of them as we can. Unfortunately, there are some things that we can’t talk about for the integrity of the investigation,” Bryant said.
McKee is currently in police custody, and he is scheduled to appear in court on Monday, January 12.
Following McKee’s arrest, his neighbor Gera-Lind Kolarik told ABC 7 Chicago that she was surprised by the situation. “He did not seem like somebody who would do something like this,” she said. “I sat down with this man and talked with him at the pool, barbecuing, about what a beautiful day it is — and then he turns out to be [charged as] a killer. It’s kind of shocking.”
