Inside the Lives of 'Spence and Mo' Tepe, the Murdered Dentist and Wife Who Loved 'Fiercely' and Were 'Where the Party Was At' (Exclusive) By Samira Asma-Sadeque and Chris Spargo

It was Christmas evening, and then-3-year-old Emilia Tepe was wearing her custom princess dress for a fashion show in her grandparents’ living room in Mason, Ohio. Mom Monique, 39, and dad Spencer, 37, beamed with joy.

“My brother has always been the biggest fan of my art,” says Spencer’s sister Madeleine Misleh, 35, a fashion designer who made the pink gown with ivory trim for her niece. “He was always proud.”

After a day spent showering Emilia and her 17-month-old brother Beckham with gifts, watching movies and eating holiday treats, Madeleine’s husband, Rob Misleh, 34, and Spencer stayed up playing pool in the basement.

“Neither of us wanted to go to sleep,” recalls Rob. “I hate to say that was the last real ‘bro time’ I had with him.” 

Rob, who was asleep when the Tepes left for home in Columbus, Ohio, on Dec. 27, didn’t get a chance to say goodbye, which haunts him now that tragedy has struck the family. Early on the morning of Dec. 30, the couple known to friends as Spence and Mo were shot and killed inside their Columbus home as their children, who were unharmed, slept nearby.

Police found no signs of forced entry or robbery, and there were no weapons or evidence of self-inflicted wounds, which only compounded the mystery of the brutal attacks that drew national attention: Who wanted the Tepes dead—and why?

Surveillance video from the Tepes’ Weinland Park neighborhood soon revealed clues. On
Jan. 5, police released footage of a hooded man seen walking in an alley near the family house before dawn on the day of the murders and named him a person of interest.

Detectives also tracked a vehicle seen in other video arriving near the crime scene and then leaving, leading them to an out-of-state address and to the identification of a surprising suspect: Michael McKee, 39, an Illinois-based surgeon who had been briefly married to Monique a decade earlier.

Arrested near his workplace in Rockford, Ill., on Jan. 10, McKee has been indicted on counts of aggravated murder and burglary and is awaiting extradition to Ohio.

Through his lawyer, McKee—who is believed to have had little contact with his ex-wife in the years since their 2017 divorce—says he’ll plead not guilty to murder.

Both raised in Ohio, Spencer, a dentist, and Monique, who had a degree in early childhood education from Ohio State, met online in 2018 and fell in love immediately.

“I remember Monique telling me that on one of their first dates they just talked all night and couldn’t take their eyes off of each other,” says Spencer’s cousin Audrey Mackie, 40.

An avid fan of the U.K. soccer team Liverpool, Spencer played deejay at parties with friends and shared his wife’s love of animals. After work and on weekends he served as a youth mentor. “He was always doing more,” says sister Madeleine, “always pushing the limit.”

Monique, meanwhile, was more of a homebody who enjoyed baking and playing board games. After settling into their Weinland Park home in 2020, the couple welcomed Emilia in 2022 and Beckham in 2024, and Monique became a stay-at-home mom. 

Two weeks following the Tepes’ fifth wedding anniversary, their dream house was cordoned off with crime tape on Dec. 30. That morning Spencer had failed to show up for work, and his coworkers and a friend who had gone to check on the couple called 911.

“There’s a body,” the friend at the house told a dispatcher. “There’s blood, he’s laying next to his bed.”

According to police, who arrived on the scene within minutes, Monique was shot at least once in the chest, and Spencer had multiple wounds.

The kids, who each had their own bedroom just a few feet away, were heard crying. “We believe Beckham was unable to get out of his crib on his own” for hours, says Rob.

An intense manhunt and numerous tips led police to Monique’s ex-husband McKee, who had experienced a string of apparent setbacks leading up to the alleged killings.

While McKee was working as a vascular surgeon in Las Vegas, one of his patients filed a medical malpractice lawsuit in 2024. Without telling coworkers, McKee left town, allowing his Nevada medical license to lapse, according to records, and eventually moved to Illinois, where he found work in Rockford. 

While Monique’s friends say that she never described McKee as a stalker, they recall her being vocal about his behavior during their short, troubled union, including claims that he was controlling and emotionally abusive.

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“She left that marriage with a broken heart and never looked back,” says a friend who has known Monique since college. “But they still had mutual friends, and he certainly kept himself abreast of her life. And for her to thrive [with another man], I think it shattered his fragile ego,” she speculates.

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In the wake of their parents’ deaths, Emilia and Beckham are living with family members, who have raised more than $200,000 via GoFundMe to “provide stability and care” for the children.

“I’m sure Emilia is wondering when she’s gonna see her mommy and daddy,” says Rob, who is also struggling to cope with the loss.

Days after the killings, as he reminisced with Spencer’s friends, “somebody realized there’s no music playing,” he recalls. “Yeah,” he replied, “because Spencer isn’t here.” 

With reporting by Chris Spargo

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.