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A preliminary ballistic match linking a gun recovered from Michael McKee’s Illinois property to the scene of a double homicide of an Ohio dentist and his wife marks a “big problem for him and his defense team,” according to legal experts.
McKee, 39, a Chicago-area vascular surgeon, faces two counts of premeditated aggravated murder in the Dec. 30 shooting deaths of his ex-wife, Monique Tepe, 39, and her husband, Spencer Tepe, 37.
Columbus Division of Police Chief Elaine Bryant confirmed that multiple firearms were seized from McKee’s Rockford, Illinois, property and that a preliminary analysis through the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) linked one of those weapons to three 9mm shell casings recovered from the Tepe residence.
“It’s absolutely going to look like a big problem for him and his defense team. As a defense attorney, you want to explore as many avenues as you can in terms of defense,” said R.J. Dreiling, a defense attorney and former prosecutor with the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office.
POLICE CHIEF TOUTS GUN LINK IN OHIO DENTIST MURDERS; RECORDS SHOW THREE 9 MM CASINGS FOUND IN KILLINGS
“When we have casings at the scene that we know were from the murder weapon, matching a gun within McKee’s possession, that’s going to present some significant issues to the defense. The defense might start to focus on whether McKee ever had any mental health issues.”
Dreiling said the forensic link is significant because it resolves one of the two central questions in any murder case: who committed the crime.
“Once you have casings at the scene that match a gun in the suspect’s possession, that’s going to present some significant issues to the defense,” he said.
Investigators have also outlined a timeline of the suspect’s movements surrounding the killings, saying that they have linked the surgeon with surveillance video.
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Surveillance video captured a person believed to be McKee walking through an alley near the victims’ home between approximately 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. on the morning of the shootings.
License plate reader data and surveillance technology tracked McKee’s vehicle traveling roughly 325 miles from Illinois to Columbus, arriving shortly before the killings and departing soon afterward, police said.
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Authorities also reported no signs of forced entry at the North Fourth Street residence. Bryant described the killings as a “targeted” and “domestic violence related” attack due to McKee’s former marriage to Monique.
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Dreiling said the ballistic evidence, combined with cross-state travel and the absence of forced entry, strengthens prosecutors’ argument that the killings were planned in advance.
“What they’re going to be focused on is trying to see if they can put together a motive for him that fits within the context of what we know about the case.”
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In Ohio, aggravated murder convictions can carry the death penalty or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
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McKee was arrested in Rockford, Illinois, on Jan. 10 and has waived his right to extradition. He is expected to be transported back to Franklin County, where he will face formal charges. His next court hearing is scheduled for Jan. 23.
The couple’s two young children, ages 1 and 4, were found unharmed inside the home following the murders.
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