Michael McKee39 years old, accused of the murder of his ex-wife Monique Tepe and her husband Spencer Tepe, waived his right to challenge extradition and will be transferred to Ohio to face the charges, the court reported.
McKee appeared for the first time before the tribunal in Rockford, Illinois. The defendant did not speak, but his attorney addressed the judge on his behalf during the brief hearing. This was McKee’s first public appearance since his arrest for the couple’s shooting deaths.
Dentist and wife killed in Ohio
The Tepes were found dead on December 30 in their home in the Weinland Park neighborhood in Columbus. Their children, ages 1 and 4, were unharmed in the home when authorities arrived.
Police tracked McKee using neighborhood surveillance video, which led to the identification of a vehicle linked to the suspect, leading to his arrest at the jail. winnebago county on Saturday.
McKee faces charges of premeditated aggravated homicide before Franklin County Municipal Court. The couple was married between 2015 and 2017. Spencer Tepe was a dentist in Athens, while Monique Tepe had trained in early childhood education, according to relatives.
The defendant, a resident of Chicago, studied at Ohio State University before continuing his medical training and is a board-certified surgeon in two states, currently working at OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford.
Family and friends from the Tepes gathered Sunday for a funeral in Upper Arlington, followed by a celebration of the couple’s life. Weinland Park neighbors expressed relief at the arrest.
“They were a happy family, a lovely family. The neighbors adored them,” said Tanya Long, president of the Weinland Park Civic Association.
“We want justice to be done to the fullest extent of the law,” he declared to ABC News.
The family of Spencer and Monique Tepe issued a statement assuring their confidence in the justice system: “Monique and Spencer remain at the center of our hearts, and we hold their love as we surround and protect the two children they leave behind.”
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