Bonus Episode: Monique and Spencer Tepe

0:00 Hi, I'm rich and I'm Tina. If there's one thing we've learned in over twenty years of marriage. Some days you'll feel like killing your husband, and. Some days you'll feel like killing your wife. Welcome to Love Mary Kill a bonus episode. Hi, Tina, Hey rich, How are you today? I'm fair? How are you fair? Fair? I'm good? Why only fair? Well, if I'm being perfectly honest, I just had a piece of cheesecake that you got me for my birthday and now I have a stomach cape. Oh and I only d a small portion of it. But it's very rich.

0:45 Yeah it is. But you have a breaking news story to tell us today. Yeah. This case has been in the news and it's caught a lot of people's attention. It caught my attention, a really riveting case. So we wanted to put out a bonus episode with everything that we know today about the murder of a married couple, Monique and Spencer Tepe. This crime took place in the Wineland Park neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio, on December thirtieth of twenty twenty five, so just a couple of weeks ago. We're recording this on January thirteenth. The deaths of Spencer and Monique were discovered when Spencer failed to show up at his dental practice and no one could reach either him or his wife Monique. Because this is such a recent case, information is somewhat limited, but we wanted to share what we know. Wineland Park is located just north of downtown Columbus, Ohio, near the Ohio State University. The neighborhood was once fairly high in crime, mostly drug related, but in recent years it's undergone a revitalization.

1:46 Previously boarded up apartment complexes have been renovated, and new high end homes have been built. It's now considered a community of upscale residences. It's interesting because usually when I do a case, I look on Google Maps and I look at Google street View to get an idea of where it took place. This neighborhood has completely changed over the course of five years or so. Google Maps all of their pictures are from five years ago or older. And when I looked at it, I thought, this is it looks like a really not a great neighborhood. And then I found updated pictures that is just completely changed. Interesting. The Tepees' home was one of those new high end homes located at fourteen eleven North fourth Street in Wineland Park.

2:30 The couple had a small wedding on their property during COVID in late twenty twenty. Residents described the area as a real community neighborhood. Kids play together in common areas, and many of the younger children attend the same daycare. It should have been a place where the Tepees and their children felt safe and secure, but tragically, they were killed in the same location where they got married, just days after their fifth wedding anniversary. Spencer Tepee, who was thirty seven when he was killed, as a practicing dentist at the Athens Dental Depot in Athens, Ohio, seventy five miles from home. It was a long commute, but the couple was attached to their home in Wineland Park. It was where they were married, it was where they were raising their four year old daughter and one year old son, and it was where they felt at home. It was also the social hub of their life. They had people over all the time. Friends said it was the spot where everyone gathered. Spencer was also attached to the Ohio State University in Columbus. He earned his undergrad there with a double major in biology in Spanish, then graduated with a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree in twenty seventeen. Living in Columbus kept him connected to his alma mater and to the elite tier of local medical professionals associated with the university.

3:50 I just want to say that I'm proud of you for speaking kindly about the Ohio State University. I know that's not easy for you. But I can set aside my biases when needed. Born in December nineteen eighty eight in Cincinnati, Spencer was passionate about being a dentist, dedicated to building meaningful relationships with his patients. He loved competing at almost anything, but his primary sports were soccer and golf. He loved entertaining family and friends. He loved to speak Spanish, but most of all, he loved taking care of his family. Monique Tepi, who was thirty nine when she was killed, has been described as a loving patient and joyful mother whose warmth defined her personality. She was born as Monique Sabatirsky in October nineteen eighty six in Chicago. At one year old, the family moved to Worthington, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus, where she was raised.

4:47 She grew up. Playing soccer, was an avid runner who loved horses and reading. She loved children as well, working at a daycare while attending the Ohio State University where she earned a master's in Early childhood education. Once their children were born, Monique focused on motherhood. Family and friends remember her bright smile, infectious laugh, caring heart, and bubbly personality. Monique had been married once before, to a man named Michael David McKee. We don't know much about Monique's first marriage, but we know that they were married in twenty fifteen and divorced just two years later. Monique and Spencer met online and were married in December twenty twenty in a private family ceremony at their home. Together, they've been described as generous, with kind hearts and the life of the party, holding many gatherings of family and friends. They loved to travel together, but mostly they loved each other and the family that they were building. They lived for their children and were also madly in love with each other, acting like newlyweds even years into their marriage.

5:52 The crime was discovered relatively quickly because not just one, but multiple friends and colleagues were concerned when Spencer didn't show up for work that morning and they called nine one one. He was known for being reliable. The first nine one one call was from doctor Mark Vailrose, the owner of Athens's dental depot, at nine oh three am on December thirtieth. Here's part of that nine one one call. Check one. I guess I would like to ask for a wellness check on an individual at their home. This individual, Spenter, works with me, and he did not show up to work this morning and we cannot get a hold of him or his family.

6:35 Didn'ts out to work. Correct, Okay, he had a medical problem for uh no, and he's been reliable and we cannot get in touch with him with his wife, his family, anybody that lives in that house. Okay, thanks for you kaving home. I'm in Borida, I own the business. I was informed by my employees that he was not at work and he wanted the offer. Have you guys received anything else like Hall's about him, or like a car accident or anything like that. So sometimes people just don't self work.

7:18 I mean, maybe that'll out. I just know that he is the most like he is always on time and he would contact us that there's any issues whatsoever. And I just showed a house to say this, like, we're very, very concerned and this is very out of character and we can't get in judge with his wife, which is probably the more concerning thing. I think that is really interesting, just the fact that he called nine to one one at nine oh three am. I don't know what time Spencer normally started work, but it probably wasn't much before then. But you could hear the operator's skepticism, like, well, sometimes people just don't show up for work. Yeah, it's like she is not a nine to one one operator and doesn't know that really bad things happen to people all the time.

7:59 Yeah. And the fact that someone is that concerned there must be a reason. Whether I'm sure people call nine one one for frivolous reasons when someone doesn't show up for work, but for someone to be that concerned, you know, that's probably something that should be taken seriously. At nine twenty two am, a Columbus Police officer arrived in Windland Park to check on Spencer and Monique, but they accidentally went to an address on Summit Street, a few blocks away from fourth, getting no answer at the door of the incorrect residence, the officer left. The next nine to one to one call came in at nine point fifty seven am from a friend who went to the house to check on Monique and Spencer. He found the door locked and was alarmed when he thought he heard the children inside. Here's a clip from that call.

8:47 Okay, what's the emergency there? Please? For medical? Maybe both, I guess, I don't know. I'm kind of doing the more. They had a call out there. They knocked on the front door and back door multiple times, but there was no answer. Yeah, no answer. I can hear kids inside, and I swear I think I heard one yell, but we can't get in. At this point, I don't know if I neither break the door in or just get in the house or what were you out there when the peace's out there? I wasn't. I just got here about five minutes. Yeah, okay, all right, Well. Wilson, the MAC out to you again. Really impressive to me that a friend of his shows up at his house at ten am when he wasn't able to get a hold of him. So people really cared about them and were concerned if they didn't answer their calls.

9:31 Remind me how well the kids are one in four. Yeah, that's so scary to think that they're in the house alone. Just a minute after that, a colleague of Spencer's called. She was arriving at their house as well. That call was very short, but you can hear the concern in the woman's voice. Our boss can not report to work. We hadn't been able to get ahold of him for three hours. We are on site and we can hear Okay, I wanted somebody there. Okay, I making her company called. Then came the fourth call that changed everything, at ten oh three am. We believe this is the same friend who called earlier. Since that call, he had been trying to look through the homes windows when he saw something chilling. So he must have walked around the back of the house when the other woman called, and that's why she didn't see him, I think.

10:20 So. Yeah, here's the fourth nine to one one call. Nine one one. What's location? Samir Murgency fourteen eleven work course? Okay, fourteen eleven work force. We've got several calls on that. What's changed since the last person I talked to? There's a body there's a body. There's a body inside. Yeah, okay, hold on one second, let me get you on the line with the medic. Okay, on the line. Or there's the body. Our friend wasn't in transphone. We just took the wellnesship and just came. Here in. Years deader. Okay, blood than this blood. I think people should be more than that.

11:11 The police and fire department arrived minutes later and forced their way inside the house. Spencer and Monique were both found dead. Spencer had been shot multiple times, while Monique had at least one gunshot wound to her chest. Their four year old daughter and seventeen month old son were found physically unharmed, but in a state of extreme distress. There was no sign of forest entry, no sign of a struggle, and no firearms were found at the scene. Three spent nine millimeters shell casings were found. Most heart wrenching part about this case is those kids. Those poor kids four years old and seventeen months old, you know, just so young and to be left there with their parents who'd been shot and killed is just so horrifying to think about.

11:57 They are so young. Hopefully they won't remember what happened. Yeah, hopefully let's talk a little bit about what we know of the crime scene and what the police might be able to ascertain from that. So the first thing was there was no forced entry. What does that tell police. Well, either someone had a key, or the door wasn't locked, or you know, they answered the door to someone that they knew. Right, so potentially someone that they knew and trusted. Secondly, there was no murder weapon found at the scene, and that's important because a lot of times in these type of situations, murder suicide is the first thing that they might think about if a couple is both found dead. And then finally, the fact that the children were there and they were physically unharmed. That suggests that they the person who killed them was specifically targeting the adults and sparing the children, which is common in domestic or retaliatory type killings.

12:52 Overall, the scene told the police that this wasn't random, It was a controlled, targeted, and intentional crime. As news of the tragic reached the community, friends and neighbors began leaving sunflowers and roses outside the families home on the exact spot where the couple had stood five years earlier on their wedding day. In the days following the murders, while information was limited, the Wineland Park neighborhood was on high alert. No one knew whether this was a random killing, a burglary gone wrong, or a more targeted murder. Residents were deeply frightened and rattled as the suspect remained at large. One neighbor, speaking anonymously due to fear, confessed that she had been unable to sleep since the shooting and found herself questioning why them and not us. The normally quiet neighborhood was subjected to overwhelming media attention, frustrating the families of Spencer and Monique, who felt like their deaths were being treated as a TV show rather than a real tragedy.

13:52 This was exacerbated by TikTok sleuths and social media streamers who went live from the sidewalk and attempted to peer into U haul trucks as the house was being cleared. The community also had to deal with the victim blaming comments on social media from outsiders who suggested the couple was at fault for choosing to live in Wineland Park. Local residents pushed back, saying that while Wineland Park had been a less than safe place to live a few years ago, it had undergone a dramatic revitalization where children could often be seen playing outside happily. We'll be back after a break.

14:36 The neighborhood where the Tepees lived was a residential area with houses close together, many of them with security and doorbell cameras. Investigators immediately spoke to neighbors and asked to see their footage. The investigators had a lot of footage to work from, and they found two very interesting clues. First, there was a hooded individual wearing a dark sweatshirt, face obscured walking com through a snow covered alley near the tepees home in the early morning hours of December thirtieth, sometime between two and five am. Second, they were able to see a vehicle that arrived shortly before this individual showed up on the scene, and the same vehicle departed shortly after. The Columbus Police released footage of the individual to the public, asking for any help in identifying them.

15:24 In a separate incident, on December nineteenth, just eleven days before the deaths, a terrified woman who lived near the couple's home called nine one one to report someone banging loudly on her door at two thirty am. It's unclear at this point whether this incident was related to the murders or not. During the investigation, the police checked records for previous incidents at the Tepees home. The only previous nine one one call associated with the Tepees address was from eight months earlier, in April twenty twenty five. This call originated from the area of the tepey Ue residents, and whoever called hung up before the dispatcher answered. When the dispatcher called the number back, a woman answered.

16:08 Hi, We've got to hang up call. Is everything okay? Yeah, I'm sorry, I'm okay, tay sure, Yeah, sounds like you're crying. Do you need police, paramedics or anything? No, no, No, I'm okay. I'm emotional. That nine one one operator seemed much more friendly than the others. Nicest voice. Yeah, that's a very strange call. Though it is a very strange call. The woman went on to tell the dispatcher that the situation was something between quote me and my man, but she didn't provide any names or their specific location. Now, although the call is tied to the Teppe's address in the nine to one one system. It's important to note that in densely populated areas like Wineland Park, nine one one GPS pinpointing only has an accuracy radius of about one hundred feet.

17:00 That means it's possible that the call came from a neighbor's house or potentially someone out on the sidewalk or outside of the house. So no officers were sent to that house, even though the woman sounded subtly she might be in distress. No, they were, which is a little surprising to me. They would. Yeah, I've never heard audio of Monique's voice, but her family members who have since heard the call say that it is definitely not her voice on that nine to one one call. So ultimately, it's not clear whether this call is relevant to the case or not. Did it come from a neighbor's house, was it someone calling from the sidewalk, or was this somehow related to the murders that took place a few months later.

17:41 So the vehicle turned out to be the key that broke the case open. Detectives utilized a high concentration of private security and doorbell cameras and Wineland Park to identify a specific vehicle that arrived shortly before the homicides and departed immediately afterward. By synthesizing multiple care camra angles, they were able to establish a cohesive narrative of the car's movements. Authorities used license plate recognition technology to track the vehicle's movement as it traveled across state lines. This allowed them to verify the killer's presence in both Ohio and Illinois during the timeframe of the murders. The vehicle was eventually traced to Rockford, Illinois. I know her well, nearly seven hours from Columbus and who happened to work in Rockford, Illinois, Monique Sex husband Michael David McKee. Once the car was located, court records indicate that investigators found definitive evidence that McKee had ownership of the vehicle and was in physical possession of it both before and after the homicides took place.

18:50 Do you know anything like what kind of car it was? No, I never saw any specifics about the vehicle. Can you describe that a little more, like how they were able to point his vehicle on the highways? Like I wish that first, Yeah, I really wish I could. It sounds like, you know, when you drive on the toll roads they have, like the cameras that take a picture of your license plate and then you get a bill in the mail. I assume it's something to do with that technology. Oh, that's true, because, like I said, I'm from that area r Illinois, and there are a lot of tolls between Illinois and two. I'm guessing he would. Have gone through Indiana, Yeah. And there's still like a lot of tolls, and then in Ohio there's you know, again a lot of tolls.

19:33 So I guess that's probably the technology that they use primarily, I think. So. So what do we know about Michael David McKee. He's thirty nine years old, a vascular surgeon who lived in the Chicago area and worked in Rockford, Illinois. He graduated from Ohio State University's medical school and has licenses to practice medicine in Illinois and California. We know that he has family in Zanesville, Ohio, which is about fifty five five miles east of Columbus. Regarding his marriage to Monique, they were married in twenty fifteen, separated just eight months later in March twenty sixteen, and then Monique filed for divorce just over a year after that, in June twenty seventeen, in her divorce filing, Monique simply stated the reason for separation as incompatibility. Based on court documents, the Columbus Dispatch has reported that their divorce was amicable because they had no children and few assets. Their divorce was final in a couple of months. On January tenth, twenty twenty six, McKee was taken into custody in Rockford and charged with two counts of murder. Those charges were increased a day later to aggravated murder. As far as we know, the murder weapon has not been recovered.

20:48 Regarding McKee's motive, we can only speculate at this point. It seems strange, though, that, after being divorced for almost nine years and living in separate states, that McKee would suddenly snap and kill his ex wife and her current husband. His alleged involvement suggests the possibility of the long term grievance and an intent to destroy the new life that Monique had built for herself. He fits the profile of an aggrieved form or partner whose resentment may have been triggered by recent milestones, such as the Tepee's fifth wedding anniversary. As far as you know, did he have any previous history of mental illness, violence, or arrests. Not that I've seen. The only thing I've really read about him is an article that came out a day or so ago about his neighbor, and it was your typical neighbor saying he seemed like such a nice guy.

21:38 He seemed like a normal guy. But I don't know anything about whether he had any past history of arrests or anything else. I also don't know if he and Monique were still in touch. It seems like there's no reason why they would be in touch. They didn't have kids together, they were divorced for over eight years, they lived in different states. But I suppose it's possible that they were in touch. Maybe so something provoked him in her social media. I mean, she was posting pictures of her family, and it just made him angry that, you know, he didn't have a family, you know. Yeah, that's the only thing I can assume is like things weren't going well in his life and he's seeing her. You know, their wedding anniversary was just a few days before. Maybe he saw something and it triggered him. It's just It's mind boggling though, that many years after divorce that someone's still carrying around some type of grievance.

22:26 Well, it's not unusual and it's devastating. That is everything that we know as of today, January thirteenth. We know that the justice system moves slowly, so it will take a while before this case is resolved. While Michael David McKee is innocent until proven guilty, it does seem to me at least that investigators got the right person based on, you know, the evidence of his vehicle and all that. But we'll let you know as things develop. This case has really caught the public's attention because it's just so devastating. Spencer and Monique Teppi were build building a life together, a home, a future centered around their children, and in a matter of minutes that future was erased.

23:08 Their two young children survived, but they'll grow up without the people who love them most, carrying a loss that they're too young to understand, but will feel for the rest of their lives. In the days following the murders, Spencer's cousins started a GoFundMe to help support the children, which we'll link to in our show. Notes because this case has touched so many people, that fundraiser has been met with an outpouring of generosity, which shows how many people were really moved by what happened and how deeply this loss has resonated beyond just the family. But of course, no amount of money can replace the parents of these young children or give them back the life that was stolen from them. What we can hope for, and what we truly wish for these children is that they grow up surrounded by love, that they're protected, supported and reminded often of who they're parents were and how deeply they were loved. Rest in peace, Monique, Rest in peace. Spencer Well said, I don't know much about the family situation.

24:10 I did read in one place that the children are in the care of relatives of either Spencer's or Moniques, but I don't know any more than that. But obviously we hope for the best for them. We talked a little bit about the fact that investigators were able to track down the alleged killer using all this technology, both door cams, you know, the license plate recognition technology. I think that's one of the interesting things about this case, that it's harder to get away with crimes like this, especially when you're traveling across state lines. It is great, but we are all being tracked all the time, all the time, most of us, you know, we're just going about our day, but still it makes you a little uncomfortable knowing. I think about this when we go for walks at night sometimes, you know, like all of our neighbors have ring cameras, and it's a good thing. It keeps us safe, but it's also just kind of eerie knowing how many CA cameras you're on all day long.

25:02 Yeah. I agree, but. In this case, it tracked a murderer and helped catch him. And let's hope that the justice system works and he is brought to justice. It sounds like a pretty cut and dry case, but you never know. Yeah, let us know what you think. We hope to bring you more breaking newscases over the course of this year. So no snack, huh, No snack. Wow. I know one of the first episodes, we haven't done a snack, only because this was a kind of a different episode we. Knew a hard time. I think everyone doesn't mind if we have a snack. You've had some cheesecake earlier. It sounds like. And I had a little cake. It was delicious, but it's like you have to only eat a little bit at a time. Yeah, our son did give me. I think it was like kind of an old person's joke. Gave me some chewy wher there's candy, because old people eat where there's candy. And they were really delicious.

25:56 You're sugar free, sugar for they don't. They are really good sugar. Free, but yeah, they probably have like Stevia or something like that. And then I thought they were really But if you. Heard Cosmo in here earlier, I feel kind of bad because I lied to him and I said, hey, we're recording a quick episode. It's about black cats, and that's why he came in here. And then he was like, this isn't about black cats, Tina. I thought you told him he was going to be a star. Well, I mean he is a star. Everyone loves Cosmo. True. So before we go, one quick thing, I'm wondering how your New Year's resolution is going. I don't even remember if you had a New Year's resolution. No did. I didn't have one. I piggybacked on yours. I said I didn't have one, and you said Yours was to be more mindful in the new year and spend less time doing unmindful things. I guess I said that sounds good. I'm going to do the same thing, so.

26:47 I mention it. Because the second Friday in the new year is known as you've heard this before. We've talked before. Oh we did probably two years ago. That's okay, you're so late. We've been doing this for a while now. Okay, Well, it's called quitters Friday, and most people's resolution does not last until the second Friday of the new year, which is kind of shocking to me. Like you mentioned, mine was to be use my time with more intent, and I have actually been really good on that. I actually started that and the end of last year because I was going a little crazy with you know, there's just a lot of a lot of demands on our attention. We already talked about that. So it's Quitter's Friday, this coming Friday, or was it last Friday.

27:29 It was last Friday, which seems like, but the first of the year was Jane was on a Thursday, so that was really only a week into it. So I kind of feel like it's this coming Friday, really, but I had some other like loose goals that I set my for myself that were ridiculous that we weren't going to do any takeout in the month of January. I can't even imagine why you thought that was going to work. Yeah, I was dead. And the other one, I was going to try to work out every day in the month of January. I've worked out most. Days, you well, much better than me. But you know that one has kind of gone by the wayside too. But I'm curious if our listeners how your resolutions are going. I believe that National Quitter's Day was founded by a fitness app and they realize that by the second fright, that's when people start dropping off of tracking their exercise and clever marketing.

28:21 Yeah, well, thank you all so much for listening. We hope that your New Year's resolutions are going swimmingly. But just for the record, we love you just the way you are. We do find us on social media or send us an email at Lovemarykill at gmail dot com. For our Patreon members, this is not your monthly bonus episode. I actually just finished that. We will record it tomorrow and hopefully have it out to you by Friday or Saturday. If you're interested in joining our Patreon, go to patreon dot com Slash Love, Mary Kill. For five dollars a month, you get early add free access, and a monthly bonus episode. And hey, we're on TikTok now we are. Until next time Don't kill your husband and don't kill your wife,