A neighbor of Michael McKee, the Chicago man arrested in the fatal shooting of his ex-wife and her dentist husband over the holidays, has spoken out, saying he “did not seem like somebody that would do something like this.”
McKee, 31, was arrested and charged with two counts of murder Saturday in Rockford, Illinois, after Monique Tepe, 39, and Spencer Tepe, 37, were found dead in their Columbus, Ohio, home on December 30.
Gera-Lind Kolarik, who lived in the same luxury condominium building as McKee in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, said the vascular surgeon did not raise any red flags when she had previously interacted with him.
“He did not seem like somebody that would do something like this,” Kolarik told ABC 7. “You never know. You meet people everywhere, and you don’t know if they’re a serial killer.”
Kolarik recalled friendly interactions she had with McKee at various neighborhood events.
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“I sat down with this man, and talked with him at the pool, barbequing, about what a beautiful day it is, and then he turns out to be a killer. It’s kind of shocking,” Kolarik added. “How do you explain to a child that mom and dad are here one day and gone the next…Those are the real victims of this whole case, are the children.
The Tepes were found suffering fatal gunshot wounds inside their home after Spencer Tepe’s employer called 911 the morning of December 30, when he didn’t show up for work that day, according to audio obtained by Fox News Digital.
“Spencer works with me and he did not show up to work this morning and we cannot get ahold of him or his family,” Mark Valrose, who owns Athens Dental Depot told the dispatcher. “He is always on time and he would contact us if there is any issues whatsoever…we’re very, very concerned because this is very out of character and we can’t get in touch with his wife, which is probably the more concerning thing.”
A second call came in that morning from someone who said they could hear kids inside the Tepe household, but no one answered the door.
“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 need to break the door in or just get in the house or what,” the caller said.
One of Spencer Tepe’s friends later called 911, saying they came to the house to do a “wellness check” and could see a body inside the home.
“There’s a body,” the person can be heard saying. “Our friend wasn’t answering his phone. We just did a wellness check. We just came here and he appears dead. He’s laying next to his bed, off of his bed in this blood. I can’t get closer to see more than that.”
“I can tell he’s obviously not breathing or anything,” the caller added.
The couple’s two young children, ages 1 and 4, as well as their Goldendoodle, were home at the time of the shooting, but were not harmed, with no sign of forced entry and no firearm found at the scene.
Court documents confirmed that McKee and Monique Tepe married in August 2015 and divorced in May 2017. At the time of their separation, McKee was living in Virginia for a surgical residency program.
McKee’s arrest comes days after the Columbus police shared surveillance footage of a hooded person in black and grey walking the streets near the Tepe’s home around the time of the murders, which detectives believe happened sometime between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m.
Police had not publicly named any suspects or persons of interest but said they did not believe the couple’s deaths to be a murder-suicide.
The couple’s children have been in the care of Spencer Tepe’s brother-in-law, Rob Misleh, who told NewsNation earlier this week that he does not believe the kids were exposed to the murder scene as they “were just as happy and, unfortunately, unaware as they ever could be.”
McKee is set to appear in court on Monday. He is currently being held at the Winnebago County Jail.
