Hidden True Crime - Ex-husband Charged with Murder After Dentist, Wife Killed in Home | Monique & Spencer Tepe Case

Episode Date: January 12, 2026

An arrest has come down in the Tepe case and Lauren is here to give you all of the details we know so far. Sponsor: BEAM DREAM: Celebrate Sleep in 2026! Get up to 35% off your first order at https://shopbeam.com/TRUECRIME About Hidden True Crime What started as a simple conversation at their dinner table became a captivating podcast. Join the dynamic duo of Dr. John Matthias, a criminal psychologist, and Lauren Matthias, an investigative journalist, as they delve into the psychological facets of unthinkable crimes every week. Their unique perspectives and in-depth analysis offer a fresh take on true crime storytelling. Thank you for your support through sponsorships, subscribing, listening, and becoming a Patreon member at⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/HiddenTrueCrime⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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And arrest has been made. And from the very beginning of our coverage, we've been covering this from the beginning. We've talked openly about the difficult conversations happening online, particularly the speculation surrounding Monique's former husband. And whether or not he could be connected to what happened inside their Wyneland Park home in Columbus. We accessed a lot of information early on, and we were able to confirm names, timelines, records,

and even pieces of personal history. But we made a very deliberate choice not to release certain details, blurring his face, not stating his name, because they weren't compelling enough because at that time, no charges had been filed,

no suspect had been named. We weren't going to add any more fuel to the speculation that was going on online, and, you know, we were careful. But today, that has changed. because Monique's ex-husband is now the person formerly charged in the murders of both Monique and Spencer Teppi. His name is Michael David McKee. He is 39 years old.

He's a doctor. We'll get to that more in just a minute. And he is now facing two counts of murder. Michael was arrested in Illinois and is currently being held in the Winnebago County Jail while authorities begin the process of extraditing him back to Franklin County, Ohio, where these murders occurred. He is scheduled to appear in court in the coming days, and now that law enforcement has formally named him, we can now finally talk openly about what we've learned, about who this man is, and how this completely shifts the direction of this case. It's now officially not at random,

as many people have wondered, it is a targeted murder. a horrendous targeted murder. Spencer and Monique Tepe were found shot to death inside their home on North 4th Street in the Wineland Park neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio on December 30th, 2025. Their two young children, both under the age of five, were left crying inside the residence,

but found physically unharmed inside the house. Police now believe the couple was killed in the early morning hours, sometime between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. while their two young children slept unaware of the fact that they were about to be left orphans. In that morning, Spencer failed to show up to the dental office where he worked. Co-workers tried calling him. His boss tried calling him.

They tried calling Monique, but no one could reach them. And so a very concerned staff, then a call was placed to police. And an officer attempted a wellness check, but due to a mix-up, for some reason, he went to the wrong address, we now know. It would take nearly another hour before friends, worried by what they were hearing and seen, or a lack of what they were hearing and seen, discover a scene far worse than they could have ever imagined. And by the time authorities arrived, the parents, you should have been starting an ordinary morning, feeding their children, getting them ready for the day, heading to work and caring for a son and daughter, they were already gone.

And according to newly released court documents, Columbus Homicide Detectives, began reviewing surveillance footage from the neighborhood. That footage revealed a vehicle arriving in the area shortly before the believed time of the murders and then leaving shortly afterwards. And that vehicle became the thread, it turns out, that unraveled everything and led to this arrest. So investigators, we now know, were able to track that vehicle to Rockford, Illinois, and through ownership and possession records, connected it directly to Dr. Michael, David, McKee, a local surgeon.

Court filings state that McKee had access to the vehicle both before and after the killings. The person of interest investigators had publicly released footage of earlier this month. We showed that as man in a hoodie walking down the street around the time of the murders. Well, that is now believed to be McKee himself. And with that, all of the speculation has now become an arrest. All right, jams. Many people had been asking me for my secret formula or the perfect way to make dream. And although there's not any perfect way, I think I found the almost perfect way, if I'm

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We love this drink. It has done so much for our family. Thank you, Dream. So what do we know about Michael McKee? Michael McKee is not someone you generally expect to go on and decide to become a murderer. He's a licensed vascular and general surgeon with active medical credentials in both Illinois and California. He practices right now in the Rockford area and is affiliated with multiple hospital systems. He attended medical school at Ohio State University, the same place where he met.

Monique. And as for Monique and Michael's marriage, well, the two of them seemed to have known each other for at least three years before getting married in August of 2015. And less than two years later, they were divorced. But it was only seven months into that marriage that Monique and Michael separated. That was March of 2016. Monique filed for divorce a bit over a year later. And in May 2017, just a few short weeks later, the divorce was finalized in June of 2017. The divorce docs state that they were incompatible. And from the looks of it, it was a pretty amicable divorce. The reason it was able to be finalized so quickly was because they had hired a private judge instead of waiting on the regular court process to play out. At the time of the divorce,

Michael was working at the Carillion Clinic and living in Virginia, when Monique was working for nationwide and living in Ohio, two separate states. According to the documents, when it came to dividing assets, Michael got the house in Virginia, which was in his name only, as well as a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee. And Monique got the 2008 RAV-4 and 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee. There were multiple Jeep Grand Cherokees. There was also a fourth car, a Jeep Grand Patriot, listed as Michael's in the documents. However, it was never confirmed in documents who it was awarded to, so it So my best guess is he either got rid of it after they split or he got rid of it during the short six-week divorce proceedings. As for the debt split, Monique was ordered to pay Michael $1,281.59 for miscellaneous debt.

Now here's the most interesting part, knowing Michael has now been arrested for the murders. In their divorce agreement, excuse me, their divorce agreement, there is a section titled separation. And it states that, quote, I'm going to quote it here, each party shall have a right to privacy in their individual residences, privacy to their individual residences, except, as allowed herein, neither party, she'll enter the residence of the other without permission of the resident spouse and only with prior approval. Husband and wife may and shall be free from interference, authority and control, direct or indirect by the other fully as if he or she. were single and unmarried. Each may reside at such place as she or he and her or his absolute

discretion may select. The parties shall neither molest or interfere with each other, nor shall either of them compel or attempt to compel the other to cohabitate or dwell with the other by any means whatsoever. I mean, that's interesting. No one can force one another to cohabitate or enter each other's residences or force one another to be in the same place. There was also a mutual restraining order put in place, which is normal for Ohio, but in the first paragraph, it states that each spouse is enjoined, and I'm going to quote it here, directly or indirectly, from harassing, including telephone, text, email, social media, or otherwise annoying, interfering with, assaulting,

or doing bodily harm to the other spouse at his or her residence or elsewhere, end quote. I just personally found those sections of the divorce agreement really interesting, given that Monique and Spencer were found dead in their own home. And if Michael is indeed the killer, and I say that because, yeah, right, there hasn't been a conviction yet, innocent until proven guilty, then that would mean that he entered their home. And I would speculate to say entered without likely any permission before then killing them. People who have watched Monique and Spencer's wedding video have noted something that now seems

eerie and heartbreaking, I'll say in hindsight, that Monique spoke in her vows to Spencer during their wedding video about a previous relationship that brought her a lot of tears. I had quite a journey to get to you. countless bad bumble dates of wrong relationships and waterfalls of tears but it was worth every cringing second because it led

me to you. And now in light of what we know that line has taken on a much deeper meaning no official motive has yet to be released by police but speculation has flooded social media myself included

some have questioned whether Michael harbored resentment whether seeing Monique happily remarried to a wonderful man, building a family, raising children and living the life that he hoped to have shared with her may have triggered something darker. And it sounds like if you want my initial gut thoughts, just thoughts, I'd go with this motive or something to this. There are also post-circulating that Claymonique's family helped her quietly move out while

Michael was at work one day, which, if true, could suggest that she did not feel safe leaving openly. She felt she had to have her family help her to leave this relationship. And none of this has been confirmed by authorities, but it has added also, obviously, another layer of concern, especially in light of the charges now filed. This is also a moment to reflect in the days following the murders, people online, did publicly accuse Monique's brother-in-law, Rob Mesla, who has been extremely vocal, extremely vocal in saying this was targeted, wanting justice for his family, many pointed fingers, comments escalated, accusations spread. We now know those accusations were wrong. So as the case stands now,

Dr. Michael David McKee has now been arrested and charged with two counts of murder. He is currently being held in Illinois and is expected to be extradited back to Ohio where he will face those charges. The Tepe family has released a statement saying, quote, today's arrest, represents an important step toward justice for Monique and Spencer. Nothing can undo the devastating loss of two lives taken far too soon. But we are grateful to the city of Columbus Police Department, its investigators, and the assisting law enforcement community whose tireless efforts help to capture the person involved.

We thank the community for the continued support, prayers, and compassion shown throughout this tragedy. As a case proceeds, we trust the justice system to hold the person responsible, fully accountable. Monique and Spencer remain at the center of our hearts, and we carry forward their love as we surround and protect the two children they leave behind. We will continue to honor their lives and the light they brought into this world. The arrest comes just a day before Spencer and Monique's visitation and funeral, which is set to take place tomorrow, January 11, their dual obituary has been released, which has given us a little more insight into who Monique

and Spencer were. It reads, quote, Spencer was born on December 9th, 1988 in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Tim and Yvonne Tepe. Spencer received his undergraduate degree and his doctor of dental surgery degree from the Ohio State University. Spencer was passionate about dentistry. Spencer also loved competing at almost anything, but his primary sports were solved. soccer and golf. He enjoyed entertaining family and friends. He loved speaking in Spanish, but most of all, he focused on taking care of family. Monique was born on October 14, 1986 in Chicago, Illinois. At the age of one, she moved to Worthington, Ohio, where she was raised. Monique grew up playing soccer, was a runner, loved horses, and was an avid book reader. Monique loved

children and worked at a daycare while attending the Ohio State University to obtain her masters in early childhood education. Monique was a stay-at-home mom known for her bright smile, infectious laugh, caring heart, and bubbly personality. Spencer and Monique, they met online and quickly grew their relationship into a solid foundation of love and respect with a side of goofiness. They were married on December 13, 2020, in a private family ceremony. They had two precious children together who were loved dearly. Spencer and Monique were the life. of the party holding many family and friend gatherings. They were generous with kind hearts. Spencer and Monique will be deeply missed by their family, friends and all who knew them, end quote.

This is so sad. And now what once felt like a confusing and terrifying mystery is taking a very dark, very real turn. Two parents are gone. Two children are now left without them. And the man now accused of pulling the trigger is someone Monique once made vow. to and trusted with her life. A surgeon who once helped people heal is now behind bars for doing the opposite for taking two lives. This case is no longer just a tragedy. It is now an alleged betrayal of the deepest level possible. And as more court documents are released, we will be here to walk through every development with you until Monique and Spencer receive justice. Have no fear. Chosen Foods is here to defend your

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