Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - 'Monster' Ex-Husband Threatened Wife in Ohio Murders: Family

Episode Date: January 14, 2026

Before Monique Tepe met the love of her life, Spencer Tepe, she was married for a brief time to Dr. Michael McKee. McKee is now accused of murdering Spencer and Monique Tepe at their home in Columbus, Ohio in the early morning hours of December 30. Now, days after McKee's arrest in Rockford, Illinois, police are releasing new details about the case and the Tepe family says McKee was emotionally abusive toward Monique. Law&Crime's Angenette Levy talks with the Tepe's brother-in-law, Rob Misleh, in this episode of Crime Fix — a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: If you’re ever injured in an accident, you can check out Morgan & Morgan. You can submit a claim in 8 clicks or less without having to leave your couch. To start your claim, visit: https://www.forthepeople.com/CrimeFixHost:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5CRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Daniel CamachoGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

She would just call him her ex-husband and just how much of a monster he was, to be honest, emotionally abusive and threatening. The brother-in-law of Spencer and Monique Tepe revealing details about Monique's ex-husband, Dr. Michael McKee, who's now accused of murdering the couple as their children slept. Were you surprised that the arrest was made? No. This comes as Columbus police speak for the first time since McKee's arrest, revealing new details. details about the evidence. This was a targeted attack. This was a domestic violence-related attack.

I'm Janet Levy, and this is crime fix. There's a reason that Morgan and Morgan is America's largest personal injury law firm. That's because the firm fights for its clients and wins a lot in court. The firm has more than a thousand lawyers that have recovered $25 billion for more than 500,000 clients in the last few months. A client in Florida got $12 million when the insurance. company offered just $350,000. In PA, another client won $26 million.

That was 40 times the insurer's offer. Morgan and Morgan makes it really easy to fight for what you deserve. You can even start a claim from your phone. So if you're ever injured, you can start a claim at forthepeople.com slash crime fix. Click the link below or skin that QR code that you see right there on your screen. We are learning new details about the horrific murders of Spencer and Monique Teppi in Columbus, Ohio, and the evidence that police say links Monique's ex-husband, Michael McKee, to the murders. When Spencer Tepey and Monique were shot to death in the middle of the night, as their young children slept, their family and friends were heartbroken, shocked, and sadden.

It happened on December 30th. Police say just before 4 a.m. And a member of the Tepe family tells me there was just one person that family and friends suspected of the chilling crime, Dr. Michael McKee, Monique Tepey, ex-husband. Days after the homicides, Columbus police released surveillance video of a shadowy figure walking down the street around the time of the murders, hoping that someone could identify this man. Monique married Michael McKee in the summer of 2015, but records show they separated seven months later in 2016, but the couple didn't file for divorce until 2017. Records show Monique and Michael McKee had moved to Virginia from Ohio. Michael McKee was completing a He had studied medicine at the Ohio State University. But Monique was not happy in Virginia and returned to Columbus, Ohio, while McKee remained in Virginia. And I can tell you that Michael McKee did not want this divorce, not at all. A spokesperson with the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms told me that they worked with Illinois State Police and Rockford Police to take McKee into custody on January 10th. That was a Saturday morning. The address,

where McKee was taken into custody comes back to a Chick-fil-A restaurant near the medical center where McKee worked as a vascular surgeon. Now days after the arrest, and after McKee appeared in court, Columbus Police are releasing new information and details about the investigation and evidence they say ties McKee to the murders. We believe at this point, we have the person responsible for the murders of Monique and Spencer Tepe in custody. And that person, is Michael McKee. This is still an active and ongoing investigation. Detectives are still going through evidence, tips, and videos.

We can't speak to all the specific details related to this case, so we don't want to jeopardize the ultimate goal of conviction. But what we can say, this was a targeted attack. This was a domestic violence-related attack. As we know, McKee is the ex-husband of Monique Tepe. We can say that we have the suspect's vehicle on neighborhood video surveillance arriving just before the murders and leaving shortly after. Detectives were able to link this vehicle to McKee. The vehicle was located in Rockford, Illinois, and evidence was found that showed McKee in possession of the vehicle before and after the homicides.

We can also say that multiple weapons were taken from the property of McKee. And there is a preliminary link from our nibein to one of the weapons that ties it to the homicides. Now, this information about a firearm being seized from McKee's home that has been linked at least preliminarily to the homicides is a major new development in this rapidly unfolding case. One reporter said at the press conference that neighbors had said they'd seen McKee at the teppy home in the days before the homicides. but the police chief, she wouldn't confirm that information. And there are other questions surfacing. Did Michael McKee have any other relationships with women after Monique? Did he remarry?

That's a really big question right now. And I've learned from sources that Michael McKee spoke to detectives early in the investigation and offered an alibi, but that story crumbled under scrutiny. McKee appeared in court earlier this week in Illinois and waived extradition, meaning he will return to Ohio without a fight to answer to these premeditated murder charges. Yes, Your Honor. What's your position of this time? Yes.

At this time, Your Honor, on behalf of Mr. McKee, I will assert his right to counsel. I will assert his right to remain silent. And Mr. McKee believes that the most expeditious manner in which he may defend himself against the charges pending in Ohio and to plead not guilty would be to waive his right to an extradition hearing and to have a governor's warrant and to agree to his immediate transportation to Ohio. Now, just this past weekend, friends and family gathered to mourn Spencer and Monique Tepe, the dentist and stay-at-home mom, the mother and father to two young children who, thank God, were unharmed in this double homicide. The Teppies were loved by so many. So I want to bring in Rob Mizzla. He is the brother-in-law of Spencer and Monique Teppi. Rob, first of all, thanks for joining me. I really appreciate it. How are you and the family's doing right now?

You know, I think the past two days were bittersweet, but also probably the hardest days that we've experienced, especially, you know, Monday. with the burial service, just kind of saying the final goodbyes was something that none of us ever imagined we'd experience. So trying to go back to work and like, you know, live a normal life again is something that's impossible. Number one. Number two, just, you know, there's just like a lot of grief. Grief takes a long time. I know you all just had the funerals for Monique and Spencer. That had to just be so difficult.

I mean, you all should just be looking forward to the rest of all of your lives together. And I know you, I saw on Facebook that you were putting a video together for the service. Yeah, I mean, I was assisting with kind of the photo slideshow. I'm going to put something else more heartfelt, I guess, together soon, just to honor them. But yeah, I mean, everybody in the family had some role to fill. It was there was maybe, I think there was more than a thousand people there. Wow. Which the funeral home said it was the largest they'd ever seen.

I think that's just a big testament to who Monique and Spencer were and how impactful they were. On Saturday, when you guys got the news that they had made the arrest, what were your feelings and the family's feelings? It obviously doesn't bring them back. It doesn't reverse this entire situation. But to feel just some little bit of relief, it felt like some of the weight was lifted, especially, you know, the time. timing of it going with the funeral the next day. It's, you know, step one in the entire process, but at the same time, you know, he's not convicted yet. So we're steadfast in making sure that all of these stones are unturned and that he's, you know, he doesn't walk free again. Were you surprised that the arrest was made?

No. I had no idea about the timing or who the investigators had as suspects, but I can just say that very early on speaking for at least the teppy side of the family, that we were pretty sure who did this. And why was the teppy side of the family so certain that he was the primary suspect? that he was going to be the person that law enforcement arrested and charged. And again, yeah, I'm just trying to speak for the teppy side of the family because, you know, Monique's side had obviously a different relationship with her. They've known her since she was born. For us, we met Monique in 2018 when Spencer first introduced her to us. But we were fairly certain because of just what Monique had told us stories-wise of her.

She never called him by name. She would just call him her ex-husband and just how much of a monster he was, to be honest, emotionally abusive and threatening. And, you know, she did everything she could to extricate herself from that situation. and met Spencer and lived a very happy life. But I can't speak for Monique, but I know that it changed her as a person. And perhaps it was always in the back of her mind. I don't know.

Had she ever spoken to you about it or Spencer or did you just hear about a lot of this after the fact? No, we were aware. She wasn't shy about talking about it and, you know, how it had impacted her kind of mentally just as a person going forward. So we had all heard stories and talked to her deeply about these situations. But at the same time, you know, we're all thinking this is something in the past and money is clearly happy right now. and has a family and is with the person that she loves. So while we were aware of it, we were also more all struck by the couple themselves

and how much they were in love. Did Spencer and Monique ever voice concerns to you? Or did Monique voice concerns that she thought this guy just was going to show back up or that he wasn't letting go of the past? I would say that she was always worried about him. But at the same time, we never thought that it seemed like a direct threat. And she never mentioned, like, of recent, at least to me, that, you know, that he'd been in contact with her or anything. So, yeah, that's all I can say, I guess.

From the moment that this happened, it sounded like, from what I'm hearing from you, that you all thought immediately that this was Dr. McKee, that this was the guy. Did the family obviously say to law enforcement, to the detectives, that you've got to go talk to this guy? Yeah, absolutely. And not just the family. I know friends, former co-workers of Monique, a lot. of people were aware. And she, she wasn't something that I really loved about Monique is she, she wasn't shy about talking about these experiences. I think kind of as just maybe a therapy. But yeah, I think I can't imagine how many tips they got that were leading to him.

Wow. You can see in the paperwork, she, they were married for like seven months. And then the paperwork's not filed for over. it sounds like a year. So was this like him just trying to get back with her or do you know anything about that? And yeah, that would be my suspicion. For her to, you know, you can see in the court documents just give up the house and not fight for it. It was very obvious that she just, she had to get away from him. And it seems as though he was not, he didn't believe that.

He didn't understand why, I guess. I can't, again, I've never spoken to this person, and I hope I never do speak to him. But I think it just shows a lot that she didn't mind giving up any kind of equity and anything just to be removed from him entirely. We saw your wedding video and it was of Spencer and Monique. And it was very beautiful, very intimate inside their home. I mean, they looked so happy and joyful.

And everybody was just so happy. And she just radiated joy. You know, that's like the best way I can describe it when I look at her. Obviously, I didn't know her. I want you to tell me about Monique and Spencer. your feelings about them, your thoughts about them, what you want people to know about them. Yeah. I mean, I'm happy that the wedding video can be kind of proof of what their love was like.

But they were also way more than that. They were just good people. They were active in the community. They were popular neighbors. And the amount of people that I've met. through them who have just become my friends. They were really kind of the center of this orbit, the nucleus, I guess, of so many people. And beyond that, they were obviously amazing parents.

You can see both of, you can see them and both of their children, good or bad. They, you know, they both were, they were different, but they were also the same. They balanced each other out really well, I think. you know, they were, they were just, they were just fun people to be around and kind of lit up the room whenever they walked in. Yeah. You know, Spencer, he was a dentist. And I know that Monique was a stay-at-home mom. I'm sure she was just devoted to the children every day. What was Spencer like? Spencer was Equal parts Goofball, class clown

athletic jock and just brilliant dork, I guess, for lack of a better term. You really can't pigeonhole him because he kind of existed outside of the bounds of what like a stereotype would be, I guess.

I mean, he was he was the life of the party, but also just one of the most responsible people that I'd ever met. And it just showed, like, the amount of friends that showed up to mourn his loss was just, it was incredible, to be honest. And the amount of friends that I have through him, I think, really speaks to how both of them, just created this bond between people. They never, they never compartmentalized friend groups. They just brought people together. How is the Teppi side of the family doing? I mean, your wife, she was Spencer's sister. I mean, how are they coping right now? You know, everyone's been

incredibly strong while, you know, the waves of grief kind of come and shift. as they do. My wife specifically gave just an incredible speech at the funeral that had people both in absolute tears of laughter and in tears of sorrow. I think she put it perfectly described who Spencer was not only as a brother, but as a person. You know, Robin, the statement that the family put out the other day. it talked about wanting, you know, to see this, you know, full accountability. What does that mean for the family?

It means whatever sentence the judge chooses on all of these counts that he's going to be charged on because we feel very confident that he is guilty. He is the one that did this and that, you know, justice will prevail. And again, we have so much confidence in not only the Columbus Police Department, but the investigators and all police that were involved. Rob Misla told me around the time that detectives believed that Spencer and Monique were murdered, his wife, who was Spencer's sister, she awoke. And he believes that was a sign of sorts that something was wrong.

So the night that this happened, I was up late in our basement. And I was editing a video and it was around 3.30, 4 a.m. right in that time frame that investigators had said they think this occurred. And I can hear upstairs my wife, who was dead asleep, kind of get up and shuffle around very quickly. And then I heard her walk over to where our fridge is and gets water and then go back to bed. And, you know, don't think anything of it. And the next day I asked what, you know, what was that? She said I just got this horrible pain in my stomach like I had to throw up. And she also didn't think anything of it until, you know, she got that same pain when we first got the call.

So I truly believe that, you know, between siblings like that, they were that close and they had that sort of connection. And she could she could physically feel it. Oh my gosh. Well, our hearts go out to your entire family. Rob Misla, thank you so much. I really appreciate your time and sharing your thoughts and your memories of Monique and Spencer with us. And we'll be following this and keeping you in our prayers. For having me. Michael McKee remains in the Winnebago County Jail. Columbus Police are working with a private company to bring him back to. Ohio to face those two aggravated murder charges in the deaths of Spencer and Monique Tepe. So stay with law and crime for any new details about this case. And that's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Ann Jeanette Levy. Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back here next time.