Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

Episode: KILLER SMILE: SURGEON DAZZLES ON DATE APP BEFORE SHOOTING EX-WIFE & NEW HUBBY, RPT

Date: January 20, 2026
Host: Nancy Grace
Panel: Joseph Scott Morgan, Susan Hendricks, Dan Murphy, Darrell Cohen, Karen Stark, Dave Mack

Main Theme

This episode of "Crime Stories with Nancy Grace" investigates the gruesome double homicide of Monique and Spencer Tepe, allegedly committed by Monique's ex-husband, vascular surgeon Dr. Michael McKee. The panel dissects the shocking elements of the crime: McKee's meticulous planning, use of a suppressor (silencer), his carefully curated dating app persona, as well as psychological and forensic factors underlying the case. The episode also explores what the investigation reveals about the killer’s motives, mindset, and the evidentiary path to prosecution.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Case Overview and Crime Details

• Dr. Michael McKee, a vascular surgeon with multiple malpractice claims, is accused of killing his ex-wife, Monique Tepe, and her new husband, Spencer Tepe, in their home ([00:00–01:32]).
  • "A surgeon dazzles…just before he travels nearly 400 miles to gun down his ex wife and her new husband, according to police." — Nancy Grace [00:16]
• Murder details:
  • Both victims were shot (Spencer twice, Monique once); their children, now orphans, were in the home at the time ([01:32]).
  • The murders occurred in the same home where Monique and Spencer were married.
  • The attack was swift, efficient, and involved the use of a suppressor/silencer.

2. Premeditation and Use of a Suppressor

• Silencer acquisition and legal changes: Nancy Grace highlights the calculated nature:
  • "Who needs a suppressor?...It requires a lot of forethought...Do you know how difficult it is to get your mitts on a silencer?" — Nancy Grace [02:56, 06:45]
  • Recent legal changes made suppressors easier to obtain, removing a $200 surcharge ([04:03]).
• Forensic analysis:
  • "You cannot knock down in totality a supersonic round...it does knock it down a few decibels." — Joseph Scott Morgan [05:33]
  • The suppressor had to be paired with a specific weapon—a planned, not impulsive, act.
  • ATF tracks suppressor purchases unless made illicitly ([05:33–07:25]).
• Evidence in indictment: The suppressor is a central charge, detail from the indictment ([07:25]):
  • "Three counts...include exactly that, having a silencer." — Susan Hendricks [07:25]
  • "He did plan it out...planned more of what to do rather than the aftermath." — Susan Hendricks [07:25]

3. Forensics: Ballistics and Evidence Linkage

• How suppressors work: Explained in lay terms as “can” with baffles that catch sound to suppress gunfire noise ([08:37]).
  • "You might hear something that sounds just under the sound of a slamming door perhaps." — Joseph Scott Morgan [09:10]
• Ballistic tracing:
  • Bullets and casings carry unique markings that can be matched to a weapon ([20:10]).
  • Casings can be traced via firing pin imprints and extractor/ejector marks ([22:13–22:35]).
• Silencer as evidence: Prosecutors value them as direct evidence of criminal intent ([13:12]):
  • "As a prosecutor, I love silencers. That was an additional witness...the owner...is guilty." — Darrell Cohen [13:12]

4. Psychological Aspects & Motive

• McKee’s obsessions and narcissism:
  • Rewatching Monique’s wedding video, obsessing over her happy life ([01:32], [39:27]).
  • "He brewed and bubbled and simmered and stewed for nearly 10 years." — Nancy Grace [25:31]
  • "If I can't have you, no one else will." — Darrell Cohen [43:04]
• ‘Mementos’ and criminal psychology:
  • Killers often keep items to relive the crime, sometimes for sexual reasons ([27:22–32:50]).
    • "He could relive the moment he saw the terror on her face..." — Nancy Grace [31:10]
    • "He's a narcissist… able to keep the symbol that he was successful...killing her." — Karen Stark [31:10]
  • "All the killers… used their tokens for sexual gratification..." — Karen Stark [32:41]

5. McKee’s Dating App Persona: Deception and Facade

• Dating profile details: McKee creates a charming, outdoorsy persona, downplaying his actual circumstances ([33:57–35:24]).
  • "He looks completely different...a façade on who he was..." — Susan Hendricks [34:49]
  • Claims to want children and professes wholesome interests like baking cookies, hot yoga, global travel.
  • "Six-two...photograph showing off his tan...posing...with a kid's lunchbox..." — Nancy Grace [35:24]
• Panel’s psychological breakdown:
  • The dating profile is pure fiction; he never intended to “move on,” but to maintain control and seek revenge ([38:07]):
    • "This isn't him. This is his image of him." — Karen Stark [38:50]
  • While presenting himself as affable and eager for a future, he was actively engineering the murder ([35:24–38:50]).

6. Digital and Physical Evidence

• Digital footprint: Authorities have access to McKee's browsing history, dating app activity, and his rewatching of Monique's wedding video ([01:32], [39:27]).
  • "If he looked at that even once, I get to play it in front of the jury." — Nancy Grace [40:20]
• Physical evidence: Weapons, suppressor, and their links to ballistic reports and lab tests ([17:05–18:56], [24:30]).
  • Police connected weapons from McKee’s residence to the crime via NIBIN ([17:05–17:45], [24:30]).
  • Surveillance video tied McKee to the crime scene ([24:30]).

7. Victims’ Perspective and Tragedy

• Monique and Spencer’s love story: Emotional wedding vows, now cruelly contrasted with the murder ([39:27–41:55]).
  • "It was worth every cringing second because it led me to you...I will love you forever." — Monique [39:29]
  • "I vow to do my best to always keep making you laugh, because your smile is my favorite thing." — Spencer [41:12]
• Children’s trauma: Children left orphaned, physically unharmed but present at the murder scene ([33:36]):
  • "Her babies in the next room...wailing by their parents' dead bodies." — Nancy Grace [33:36]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On premeditation and suppressor:
  "Do you know how difficult it is to get your mitts on a silencer, or as it is called in the business, a suppressor." — Nancy Grace [02:56]

• On criminal psychology:
  "This is somebody...he's a narcissist...He was successful in getting back at her and killing her...he could relive it." — Karen Stark [31:10]

• On evidence and prosecution:
  "As a prosecutor, I love silencers. That was an additional witness ... is guilty." — Darrell Cohen [13:12]

• On McKee’s self-image:
  "He looks completely different...a façade on who he was...I bet if Monique saw this, she would think that's not the person that I married." — Susan Hendricks [34:49]

• On motive:
  "If I can't have you, no one else will. And I promise you that. And not only will no one else have you, but I'm going to get take care of, destroy this other person..." — Darrell Cohen [43:04]

• Victim’s love and tragedy:
  "I finally found my lobster, and it honestly couldn't be a person with a more beautiful heart. I will love you forever." — Monique (wedding video) [39:29]
  "Your smile is my favorite thing." — Spencer (wedding vow) [41:12]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Crime summary / Case background: [00:00–04:03]
• Panel discussion - suppressors/legal aspects: [04:03–08:37]
• Forensic explanation (suppressor & ballistics): [08:37–22:35]
• Premeditation & killer psychology: [22:35–32:41]
• Dating app deception: [33:57–38:50]
• Wedding video/Victim’s impact: [39:27–41:55]
• Motive & post-crime evidence: [41:55–46:08]

Additional Observations

• Police and forensic investigation: Law enforcement are building a robust case with forensic matches (pistol, suppressor), surveillance, and digital proof.
• Insightful panel draws from varied criminal, legal, forensic, and psychological expertise.
• Nancy’s prosecutorial focus: The host repeatedly emphasizes how each detail—suppressor, ballistics, digital evidence, emotional distress—would play before a jury.

Tone and Style

The episode is characterized by Nancy Grace’s direct, sometimes sardonic style, with a persistent focus on legal detail, evidence, psychological analysis, and the impact on the victims and their children. The tone is urgent, analytical, and, at times, darkly ironic—especially in dissecting McKee’s attempt to project a wholesome image on dating apps.

Takeaway:
The case against Dr. Michael McKee is a chilling synthesis of high intelligence, calculated vengeance, careful planning, and deep-seated narcissism, laid bare through forensic evidence, digital footprints, and his own online deceptions. The episode starkly outlines the tragedy for the victims’ children, the cunning of the killer, and challenges for a defense in the face of overwhelming evidence.