Family of Murdered Ohio Dentist Break Silence on Why They Expected Ex-Husband's Arrest

The silence surrounding a murder investigation is a peculiar kind of agony for those left behind. Grieving relatives must watch the process unfold, suspicious of certain individuals, yet bound by the knowledge that speaking publicly could jeopardise the very investigation designed to deliver justice.

For the family of Monique Tepe and her husband Spencer, that restraint has finally lifted. Following the arrest of Michael David McKee, a 39-year-old physician from Chicago and Monique's ex-husband, on Saturday in connection with the couple's brutal murder, family members revealed what they had suspected all along: they had 'all expected' his arrest but deliberately remained silent throughout the investigation to protect its integrity.

The crime itself was shocking in its brutality and timing. Monique, 39, and Spencer, 37, a practising dentist, were shot dead between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Dec. 30 inside the upstairs bedroom of their home in Ohio's Weinland Park neighbourhood. Spencer was found with multiple gunshot wounds to his torso, while Monique suffered at least one shot to the chest.

Remarkably, their two children and their goldendoodle remained unharmed downstairs, spared the immediate trauma of witnessing the violence that claimed their parents' lives. The surgical precision of the attack — targeting only the adults while leaving the children untouched — suggested planning rather than indiscriminate rage.

The arrest came ten days after the murders, following a painstaking investigation by Columbus police. Nearly a week after the killings, authorities released haunting surveillance footage showing a 'person of interest' walking down an alley adjacent to the couple's home in the pre-dawn hours on the day of the shooting.

The grainy video sparked speculation among family members, some of whom initially dismissed the figure as merely 'somebody walking home drunk from a bar'. Yet investigators were conducting more sophisticated work behind the scenes.

Police tracked a vehicle that had arrived in the Weinland Park neighbourhood before the murders and subsequently travelled to Rockford, Illinois. That vehicle belonged to McKee.

Why Family Remained Silent About Ex-Husband Suspicions

At a gathering hosted by the couple's friends and extended family the day after McKee's arrest, one anonymous relative finally articulated what so many had been thinking. 'It was absolutely not a shock to anybody, we had all expected it, but we weren't saying that, because we didn't want to compromise the investigation,' the family member revealed to the Daily Mail.

'We are all breathing a bit of a sigh of relief, because they got him'. The statement encapsulates the peculiar torture of those surrounding a murder investigation: possessing knowledge or suspicion while being compelled to silence by the greater good.

The relative noted that, as far as they were aware, neither Monique nor Spencer had mentioned any recent difficulties or tensions with McKee in the weeks preceding their deaths. This absence of apparent warning signs makes the violence all the more inexplicable.

McKee and Monique had divorced in May 2017 after a brief marriage. Records indicate that the separation was amicable, suggesting no obvious festering animosity that might explain such a dramatic turn towards violence nearly a decade later.

The Investigation That Led to Ex-Husband's Arrest

The professional trajectory of McKee himself offers little indication of motive or instability. Public records demonstrate that he completed medical school at Ohio State University and holds medical licences in both Illinois and California.

Since 2020, he has relocated frequently between different states, including Virginia, where he and Monique had previously lived. At the time of his arrest, McKee was employed as a vascular surgeon at a medical practice in the Rockford area, the same location where his vehicle was ultimately discovered by investigators.

Investigators have yet to articulate a clear motive for the murders. The disconnect between McKee's apparently stable professional life and the alleged crime presents a troubling puzzle.

McKee is currently detained in Illinois but will face extradition to Ohio to answer the charges. He is scheduled to appear in court on Monday, marking the start of what promises to be a complex and emotionally wrenching legal process for all involved.

For the family, the arrest brings an end to months of agonised speculation and enforced silence. As the investigation now moves towards the courtroom, they can finally speak their truth —t hat they had known, suspected, and waited for justice to catch up with their conviction.