Doctor Threatened, Strangled, Abused Ex-Wife Years Before Killing Her & Husband: New Court Docs

Summary

Podcast Summary

Podcast: Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes Present
Episode: Doctor Threatened, Strangled, Abused Ex-Wife Years Before Killing Her & Husband: New Court Docs
Date: January 28, 2026
Hosts: Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes

---

Episode Overview

This episode delves into new, disturbing details released in a court affidavit concerning the double murder of Spencer and Monique Tepe in Columbus, Ohio. As authorities piece together the events and history leading up to the murders, Amy and T.J. examine the harrowing years of alleged abuse Monique endured at the hands of her ex-husband, Michael McKee—a vascular surgeon now charged with the murders. The hosts dissect the nature of the crime, evidence cited by police, and the tragic escalation from prior abuse and threats to fatal violence.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Case Background and Timeline

• Double Murder: On December 30th, Spencer (37) and Monique Tepe (39) were found shot dead in their home, with their 1 and 4-year-old children unharmed nearby.
• No Sign of Burglary: Police quickly ruled out murder-suicide due to the absence of a weapon (02:00).
• Suspect: Monique's ex-husband, Dr. Michael McKee, was arrested in Rockford, Illinois, a seven-hour drive from Columbus (03:18).

“She left within seven months of being married to him. … 10 years later, nearly 10 years later, he's still that angry that he goes and hunts her down and murders her and her new husband.”
— Amy Robach [02:43]

---

2. Mounting Evidence Against the Suspect

• Surveillance Evidence: Police report video of McKee at the Tepe home weeks before the murder, seen lurking for hours on their property while the family was out (04:07-04:35).
• Coincidence with Family Trip: The same day he is seen near their home, Monique reportedly became upset at a Big Ten championship game, possibly due to contact or knowledge of McKee’s presence at their house (05:45).

“She goes back to the hotel...She's so upset by something involving [McKee] that she leaves this game early and goes back.”
— Amy Robach [05:45]

• Phone Alibi: On the day of the murders, McKee left his phone at work, showing no activity for 17 hours, matching the estimated round-trip drive plus the crime window (07:35).

“…That gave him three hours to get into this home and as police say, shoot to death both Monique and Spencer Tepe, get back in his car...It's mind boggling, bro.”
— Amy Robach [07:35]

---

3. A Terrifying Pattern of Abuse

• Prior Abuse: Friends and family of Monique revealed a grim history—Monique alleged emotional and physical abuse, including strangulation and sexual assault, from McKee during their brief marriage (12:04).
• Ongoing Threats: Throughout and after the marriage, Monique reportedly received repeated threats on her life.

“He could kill her at any time. He would find her. He would buy the house right next to her and that she would always be his wife. That's something out of a horror movie.”
— Amy Robach [13:35]

• Escalation: The hosts discuss the all-too-common progression from non-physical to fatal violence in abusive relationships, especially when a survivor tries to leave.

“They always say right when the woman makes a decision to leave is the most dangerous part of that relationship.”
— T.J. Holmes [11:02]

---

4. No Clear Motive or Ongoing Conflict

• No Shared Children/Pets/Finances: Despite nearly a decade since divorce and no children or assets tying them together, McKee allegedly obsessed over Monique.
• Distance Didn’t Deter: Despite years and long distances apart, he allegedly maintained or revived his vendetta (13:04-13:29).
• Role of Profession: Amy and T.J. express shock that a highly trained physician, who pledged to save lives, stands accused of such calculated violence (15:40).

---

5. Arrest Details and Legal Proceedings

• Evidence Trail: Police traced McKee using vehicle surveillance and tracked his movement near the crime scene; his vehicle had swapped license plates to evade detection (16:46).
• Legal Status: Through his lawyers, McKee intends to plead not guilty and is being held without bond (17:27).

---

Memorable Quotes

• On believing abusers:

  "When people tell you who they are, believe them. That is exhibit A in this case."
  — Amy Robach [00:55]

• On the chilling nature of threats:

  "He could kill her at any time. He would find her, he would buy the house right next to her, and that she would always be his wife."
  — Amy Robach [13:35]

• On obsession and escalation:

  “Nine years to get over something. I mean, that's wild.”
  — T.J. Holmes [08:10]

• On the tragedy of escape not guaranteeing safety:

  “She got out of a relationship. She should have been far past that relationship, and she still ends up dead at the hands… of someone she was in a relationship with 10 years ago.”
  — T.J. Holmes [14:40]

---

Notable Segment Timestamps

• Case summary & initial reactions: 00:06 – 02:33
• Details of evidence and surveillance: 03:18 – 06:39
• Phone alibi and trip timeline: 07:35 – 08:14
• Affidavit details about years of abuse: 09:51 – 15:40
• Discussion of threats and psychological abuse: 12:04 – 14:40
• Arrest, investigation details, and legal status: 16:46 – 17:27

---

Tone and Style

Amy and T.J. maintain a somber, earnest, and analytical tone throughout, displaying both empathy for the victims and cautious respect for due process. They express horror and disbelief at the details as they emerge and use their experience reporting on true crime to contextualize the tragic story.

---

Final Thoughts

This episode gives a thorough examination of the events and chilling backstory leading up to the double homicide. The hosts emphasize the importance of taking threats seriously and highlight the all-too-real dangers faced by survivors of abuse, even years after leaving the relationship. The narrative is neither sensationalized nor detached, but rather sober, insightful, and deeply empathetic—shedding light on the warning signs and aftermath of intimate partner violence.

Transcript

[Amy Robach]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.

[T.J. Holmes]

Hey there folks. It is Wednesday, January 28th, and we are getting disturbing damning details in a new court filing that is shedding light on the double murder of an Ohio couple found in the home with their one and four year old kids. And with that. Welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ Robes. This was. And I says Ohio couple because so much of it, the headline says Ohio dentist and his wife. This is a couple that was targeted according to the police, quite frankly, because of the ex husband of the woman. And now none of this made sense. But some of this stuff here, sweetheart, sounds like this is a guy who stalked, harassed and assaulted her for years.

[Amy Robach]

Yes. I mean, when we're, we're now starting to get real details coming from those who knew and loved the Tepes the most, their friends, their family. And they are recounting what happened specifically in the weeks leading up to their murders. But even in the years before this, the threats, the discussions that Monique had with her friends and family about what she lived through and with her ex husband. And this is some scary stuff. It, the, the phrase came to my mind when people tell you who they are, believe them. That is exhibit A in this case.

[T.J. Holmes]

Yeah. And we. This is a new court document we're talking about. But take you back to the murders we are talking about. Spencer and Monique Tepe, 37 and 39 year old respectively. But they were found dead December 30th at their Columbus, Ohio home. Their 1 and 4 year old children were left inside the home unharmed and robes. This went on for several days because it was a. There was a killer on the loose and they had no suspect, didn't announce one at least killer on the loose. This went a week and a half.

[Amy Robach]

Yes. And they immediately, police immediately ruled out murder suicide because that was what people thought. Look, your two children are unharmed. There's no sign of a burglary necessarily. And you have two people shot in their bedroom. So yes, the obvious thing would be murder suicide. However, there was no gun, there was no murder weapon. So someone had to come in and shoot these two and take that murder weapon with them. But we had no clue what was going on, where the investigation was headed for days and days.

[T.J. Holmes]

But it didn't make sense in a lot of ways even to you think about exes and past relationships. But this was a guy she had been married to. How, how many years this had been over with.

[Amy Robach]

It was nearly a decade since their divorce was finalized in 2017. But when you start to look at what their marriage actually was. She left within seven months of being married to him. So the marriage was over in seven months? Yes, we know how divorces go. It takes a little bit of time. You gotta do some court appearances, et cetera. So, yes, it was just under two years, officially their marriage. But 10 years later, nearly 10 years later, he's still that angry that he goes and hunts her down and murders her and her new husband. Not even her new husband. Her husband of nearly five years.

[T.J. Holmes]

So this didn't make a lot of sense, but he was eventually arrested January 10th in Rockford, Illinois, which is top of my head. I think it's a seven hour drive.

[Amy Robach]

It's a seven hour drive, okay, Seven.

[T.J. Holmes]

Hours away, but arrested there. He works at a hospital as a vascular surgeon. So when we see his arrest, we start piecing together, well, this doesn't make sense. Where they were only married a short time and they lived this far apart and they didn't have kids together. None of this made sense. Well, we have now new information. This, this affidavit for probable cause is what it's called. But essentially the police putting together their case for why this guy should be arrested and why they wanted a warrant. Robes. Some of these details are absolutely explosive. Beginning with the fact they have video, according to police, of this man, their suspect, being at the tepe home weeks before the murders.

[Amy Robach]

Yeah, this is scary stuff. Michael McKee. According to police, they have him on surveillance video at the tepe home. Now. He was seen entering an alleyway and I guess he was on the grounds of their home. They don't say that he actually went into the home, but he was, it seems as though now he was surveilling this and he spent hours apparently on their property, around their property, while the tepes weren't there.

[T.J. Holmes]

They said hours. And I don't think I didn't see anywhere. And certainly not in the affidavit that they have evidence of him entering the home or staying in the home or anything. But they said saw see him on the grounds. He goes somewhere, I guess, at least out of the video site. And then hours later, he. What was he doing?

[Amy Robach]

I mean, you'd have to think given what he's accused of now, what he's charged with, that he was planning. Maybe he thought, maybe he didn't know they were gone. Maybe he thought this was his opportunity and he was laying in wait or hiding for them to come home. And they were at a big ten championship game and they had a hotel room so they weren't Even coming back that evening. Maybe he was waiting them out. Maybe he was trying to surveil their comings and goings and planning his murder.

[T.J. Holmes]

Or did he know they would be gone? I didn't look at her social media, but people get excited about. That's true. I'm going in. Did he take this opportunity to do that surveillance we speak of, or was that supposed to be murder day and they just happened to be gone? But that game was significant. It was in Indianapolis, I believe.

[Amy Robach]

Right.

[T.J. Holmes]

So Big Ten championship game. This is a big deal. Big Ten championship. She leaves early, leaves in the third quarter. The rest of her friends, a husband stays behind and they're having a good time at the game. She goes back to the hotel.

[Amy Robach]

Yeah, that doesn't make any sense. Obviously you pay a lot of money for these tickets. It's a big deal. It's very exciting. They went with several other couples. So, yeah, this was supposed to be some fun friend couple outing. And it's a. We, we are huge college football fans. We know what a big deal a game like this is. You don't leave early unless maybe you're upset about how your team is doing. But according to the friends who were with them, her husband, Spencer told the friends that Monique early upset because of something involving her ex husband. This is so interesting because we now know he was at their home. He was on their property that day. Was he texting her? Was he saying something to her? Was he. Who knows how she coincidentally, on the same day he's at. He surveilled at their home, on their property. She's so upset by something involving him that she leaves this game early and goes back to the hotel.

[T.J. Holmes]

Had to be related. I mean, obviously had to be related. But you just wonder what it was. Was he messaging? Did he send her a picture from their grounds? Did he What?

[Amy Robach]

And then why. Yeah, wouldn't she call police? Wouldn't she? Obviously she was upset, but didn't feel threatened enough to involve law enforcement. As far as we know, the husband.

[T.J. Holmes]

Didn'T go back with her.

[Amy Robach]

I.

[T.J. Holmes]

So it almost didn't seem like it rose to the level. But the fact that she left means it rose to the level. It's very peculiar, at least about that. But that is a very, very big detail to get. Also another detail we found out, again, this is piecing together. First of all, December 6th, they confirmed this was a day he wasn't scheduled to be at work. But also on the day of the murder, December 30th. 30th, his phone was left at work. Conveniently, that phone was left at work and not a single bit of activity on that phone for 17 hours between December 29th and 30th.

[Amy Robach]

And they say that's exactly how long they actually pieced it together. If it's a seven hour drive there and a seven hour drive back, that's 14 hours. So that gave him three hours to get into this home and as police say, shoot to death. Both Monique and Spencer Tepe get back in his car. Can you imagine those seven hours driving, knowing what he had planned to do and then those seven hours driving back? It's mind boggling, bro.

[T.J. Holmes]

That seven hours, you had to change your mind. That's incredible. Again, innocent until proven guilty.

[Amy Robach]

Yeah, nine years to get over something. I mean, that's wild.

[T.J. Holmes]

Well, it's wild to us and we're trying to piece this together. But folks, police are starting to put together a case and maybe some motive and maybe some history between these two. Stay here. We'll explain what else is in this affidavit that shows and points to a really disturbing and violent history between Monique Tepe and her ex husband. Stay here.

[Podcast Narrator]

What if mind control is real?

[T.J. Holmes]

If you could control the behavior of.

[Podcast Narrator]

Anybody around you, what kind of life would you have? Can you hypnotically persuade someone to buy a car?

[T.J. Holmes]

When you look at your car, you're going to become overwhelmed with such good feelings.

[Podcast Narrator]

Can you hypnotize someone into sleeping with you?

[Amy Robach]

I gave her some suggestions to be sexually aroused.

[Podcast Narrator]

Can you get someone to join your cult?

[Amy Robach]

NLP was used on me to access my subconscious.

[Podcast Narrator]

Nlp, AKA Neuro linguistic programming, is a blend of hypnosis, linguistics and psychology. Fans say it's like finally getting a user manual for your brain.

[T.J. Holmes]

It's about engineering consciousness.

[Podcast Narrator]

Mind Games is the story of nlp, its crazy cast of disciples and the fake doctor who invented it at a new age commune and sold it to guys in suits. He stood trial for murder and got acquitted. The biggest mind game of all, nlp, might actually work. This is wild. Listen to Mind Games on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Amy Robach]

Welcome back everyone as we discuss these new chilling details that have just been released through a court document. The affidavit there we're starting to get to see what detectives have been piecing together surrounding the murders of Spencer and Monique Tepe. Police say Monique's ex husband is the man who murdered that couple, leaving their one and four year old children unharmed in their home. But certainly, ah, what a Disturbing and difficult story to discuss because this was a long time in the making. Monique left a marriage that according to her friends, was abusive emotionally and physically. Monique apparently was telling her friends throughout the years about his threats, about what he said to her, what he threatened to do to her and to see that nine years plus since their divorce was finalized in it appears he made good on those threats and that is frightening. But we are getting some of the details of what Monique told her friends and family about her ex husband.

[T.J. Holmes]

And again police are saying this is coming to them from friends. They talked to a number of her friends who have now at least painted a picture of horror that she endured and frankly robed a lot of what we are hearing or stuff we often hear about abusive relationships and abusive marriages. And they always say right when the woman makes a decision to leave is the most dangerous part of that relationship because he knows she's about to leave and this really makes things explosive. So she got out of there. She got out of there in seven months. But this is what a. According to police who talked to her friends, this is what she endured. Abusive, made numerous threats on her life during and after their marriage. Again, he's innocent until proven guilty. A lot more needs to come out. But that now begins to read. Yes, now begins to make some sense of a story that made no sense.

[Amy Robach]

Yes. And friends also told police that while they were together, while Monique was with Michael McKee, that he forced unwanted sex on her, that he strangled her, he choked her. So she claims that his emotional abuse absolutely turned physical during their relationship, which would make sense that she made a very, I say smart decision to get out of that marriage or at least she was in her mind at that point. Yes, she, she created distance. They moved to Virginia for a residency program he was in and she moved back to Ohio seven months after they were married. And you would think getting out, being free of him, getting the divorce finalized, moving on with each of their lives. He's a, a vascular surgeon, you know, he's got a, presumably a life and a future and is intelligent and can move on. That's what one would think. And maybe she thought that that could be the case too. And unfortunately that is not how it ended.

[T.J. Holmes]

She had to feel safe. I say that, but I wonder what has she been dealing with? How many more they said here that the friends say numerous threats on her life during and after their marriage. Did it continue for the months following, a couple years following, or did it still continue up till her death? Don't know. But obviously she Was aware there was something quite frank. They don't have kids. They got divorced. What'd you say? How long ago?

[Amy Robach]

Almost a decade ago, 2017.

[T.J. Holmes]

There's almost no reason for them to have any and.

[Amy Robach]

Yes, exactly. I mean, they didn't share a pet, they didn't have kids together. All of the things that typically can, even after years after a divorce, can still cause friction and problems. If you're fighting over money, you're fighting over kids, you're fighting over child support. Okay, all of those things can create emotional responses, but this makes very little sense. However, this one line, and this one is just so frightening. What friends told police that According to them, McKean told Monique he could kill her at any time. He would find her, he would buy the house right next to her, and that she would always be his wife. That's something out of a horror movie that. That is such a scary thing to read and to know what the outcome was, to know that he sat there and just stewed and waited and found the right time to make good on that scary threat.

[T.J. Holmes]

So, yeah, again, I've repeated it several times here. Innocent until proven guilty. This is the case they're putting together, but they certainly believe that they do not have a killer on the loose out there who killed these two people. They do believe they have their guy and their guy as they are piecing this together, at least if this is to believe. This was as strange as it sounds, a long time in the making, according to what they put in this affidavit. And Roe was another one of those cases. How many? We watch a lot of true crime. We cover a lot of crime stories, but you're seeing, once again, she got out of a relationship. She should have been far past that relationship, and she still ends up dead at the hands, according to police, of someone she was in a relationship with 10 years ago. That. That's a tough to understand. I'm waiting to see and hear these details, but this is. Doesn't make any sense. They don't. Have you seen anything about their back and forth over the past year? Two, three? What, were they in contact?

[Amy Robach]

No. And you would imagine if he was making threats to her, if he was still finding a way to threaten her long after their divorce was finalized, that that would be documentable, that that would be. They would be able to find them on text messages, emails. I mean, that's usually how you end up threatening someone, even maybe even looking at phone calls, logged phone calls. But you'd think she put enough distance between them. Several states in between them or at least hundreds of miles in between them. You'd think, okay, he's not like he lives in the same town or that he does have the house next door. You would feel safe just logistically speaking. And also, this is a man, despite his threats and despite his temper and maybe his long held anger towards her, this is a man who has taken a pledge to save lives. He's a vascular surgeon. That is a very specific talent. And the requirements to become a doctor, to become a surgeon are significant. And your job is to save lives. So to have that person stand accused of what he's accused of is, is. It's. It's mind boggling on so many levels.

[T.J. Holmes]

And they certainly believe they have their guy. They again, he was tracked down because of a vehicle he was in that they noticed. They come into the neighborhood right around the time of the murders, a little before, and then left right after they tracked him to that. Not just showing the vehicle. They say they have him getting in and out of it. They actually see him. So they are pretty sure they have their guy. That van, by the way, or a vehicle he was in had several plates, had Arizona plates, had stolen Ohio plates at one time, at one point, so suggesting he did at least try to evade capture, at least try to throw off authorities. But Robe's a horrific, horrific story. And I don't. No detail was going to make it sound better, but, man, some of this makes it sound worse.

[Amy Robach]

Yeah. Just trying to get. Just to know that he was threatening her for so long and that she. She either didn't reach out for the help she could have used or didn't take him seriously. This is just an unbelievably tragic story. Now he has pleaded or he is going to plead not guilty. According to his attorneys, he is behind bars, being held without bond. But of course, we will continue to follow this story as so many of you have been I know, for the past several weeks. We thank you for listening to us as always. I'm Amy Robach alongside T.J. holmes. We will talk to you soon. This is an I Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.