Doc disappears during a malpractice case—months later, police link him to a double murder
Industry Buzz
If you listed out the people who would likely be accused of committing a double homicide, a fully trained vascular surgeon would be at the bottom of my list.
—Dan Laird, MD, JD
Physicians are trained to assess risk, manage uncertainty, and uphold trust—both inside and outside the exam room. When allegations of extreme violence intersect with a physician's professional life, the shock reverberates far beyond the courtroom. Such is the case of Michael David McKee, MD, a 39-year-old vascular surgeon now charged with aggravated murder in the deaths of his ex-wife, Monique Tepe, and her husband, Spencer Tepe, a dentist, in Columbus, OH.[]
What makes this case particularly unsettling for the medical community is not only the nature of the charges, but the timeline that preceded them.
As civil litigation quietly stalled, events were unfolding that would later place McKee at the center of a criminal investigation with major consequences.
This convergence of unresolved malpractice claims, professional evasion, and alleged premeditated violence raises difficult questions for physicians—about accountability, early warning signs, and the limits of institutional oversight when a colleague vanishes from view.
Related: Anesthesiologist attempts to kill wife by shoving her off cliffA surgeon who 'just disappeared'
Long before news broke of the fatal shootings at the Tepe family home on December 30, 2025, McKee’s name was already entangled in legal trouble—not criminal, but medical civil litigation—in Nevada. [] []
A malpractice lawsuit filed in Clark County, NV, alleged that McKee had failed in his duties to properly oversee a surgery in which an 8.6-inch catheter fragment broke off in a patient’s leg during a procedure, which required emergency surgery to remove. []
Attorney Dan Laird, MD, JD, lead counsel for that case, told investigators and reporters that attempts to serve McKee with court documents were repeatedly thwarted. [] Process servers couldn't locate McKee, calling addresses associated with his former surgical group and even reaching out to colleagues with no success.
At one point, a phone number tied to McKee through the state medical board led only to a fax machine. “He just disappeared,” Laird recounted. []
Litigation meets tragedy
Then came the shocking connection: While McKee was allegedly eluding service of process in the malpractice case, investigators in Ohio were piecing together evidence in a far more grim matter—the deaths of Monique and Spencer Tepe. The couple’s two young children were found unharmed in the home. []
McKee, identified through surveillance footage and vehicle tracking, was arrested January 10 in Rockford, IL, where he worked at OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center, and charged with premeditated aggravated murder.
"If you listed out the people who would likely be accused of committing a double homicide, a fully trained vascular surgeon would be at the bottom of my list," Laird said. []
Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant described the killings as targeted, and prosecutors have since upgraded the charges to reflect alleged intent. McKee plans to plead not guilty. []
Related: Angel of mercy or cold-blooded killer? Murderous HCPs throughout history