Man Accused of Murdering Ex-Wife and Dentist Husband in Ohio Allegedly Killed the Couple Days After Their 5th Wedding Anniversary By Desiree Anello

The murders of an Ohio dentist and his wife occurred days after their fifth wedding anniversary. 

After Spencer and Monique Tepe were found slain in their Columbus home on Dec. 30, court documents obtained by PEOPLE showed that detectives identified Michael David McKee, the 39-year-old ex-husband of Monique, as a suspect after tracking his vehicle through neighborhood surveillance near the scene of the crime. 

According to the couple’s obituary, Spencer, 37, and Monique, 39, met online and got married during a private family ceremony on Dec. 13, 2020. 

“They had two precious children together who were loved dearly,” the obituary read. “Spencer and Monique were the life of the party, holding many family and friend gatherings. They were generous with kind hearts.”

Just weeks after the pair celebrated their fifth anniversary, McKee, whose divorce from Monique was finalized in June 2017, was arrested and charged with two counts of murder on Jan. 10 in relation to their deaths, according to Franklin County Municipal Court documents obtained by PEOPLE.

According to an incident report by Columbus Police, the couple was discovered in their home with apparent gunshot wounds during a welfare check after Spencer failed to show up for work at Athens Dental Depot. 

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When an officer visited the couple’s home around 9:22 a.m. local time that day, they received no answer, WSYX reported. At 9:57 a.m., a friend called the police again to report children crying inside the house and that no one was answering the door. The friend allegedly told dispatchers that they could see Spencer’s body inside the home and that he “appears dead.”

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While Spencer and Monique were both declared dead at the scene, their two young children, ages 1 and 4, were left physically unharmed and have since been in the care of extended family. 

“We have had them for the past couple of days … they were just as happy and, unfortunately, unaware as they ever could be,” Rob Misleh, who is married to Spencer’s sister, told NewsNation’s Ashleigh Banfield of the young children. “But they’re in loving hands, and even more people are coming by their side to make sure that they’re taken care of.”

“I don’t think that they saw what happened,” he added, “or at least I want to believe that with my heart.”

A friend of the couple also told PEOPLE that Spencer and Monique were “madly in love” and devoted parents to their children, adding, “They still acted like newlyweds.”

Since the incident, a neighbor of McKee, Gera-Lind Kolarik, expressed how “shocking” the tragedy was and told ABC 7 Chicago that “he did not seem like somebody who would do something like this.”

“I sat down with this man and talked with him at the pool, barbecuing, about what a beautiful day it is — and then he turns out to be [charged as] a killer,” she said of McKee, who has not been convicted of any crimes. “It’s kind of shocking.” 

A joint funeral is being held for Spencer and Monique on Sunday, Jan. 11, at Schoedinger Northwest, to be followed by a celebration of life.