Police in Illinois have arrested the ex-husband of Monique Tepe in the shooting deaths of Monique and her husband Spencer Tepe, in their Weinland Park home on Dec. 30, 2025.
Franklin County Municipal Court records said Michael D. McKee, 39, of Chicago, was arrested in Rockford, Ill.
The records said that Columbus police detectives were able to identify a suspect through neighborhood video surveillance.
The suspect was tracked to a vehicle that arrived just before the homicide and left just after the homicides. Detectives were able to link the vehicle to McKee.
Police found the vehicle in Rockford and found evidence of McKee in possession of the vehicle before and after the homicides.
A Winnebago County, Ill., jail official said extradition papers have been signed and a court hearing in Illinois has been scheduled for Monday afternoon. McKee is being held in the jail, according to online jail records.
Police found dentist Spencer Tepe, 37, and his wife Monique, 39, shot to death in their North 4th Street home on Dec. 30, 2025. Co-workers of Spencer Tepe in Athens called the police after he didn't show up for work.
The couple's two young children were found in the home unhurt.
Franklin County court records show McKee and Monique Tepe were married in 2015 and divorced in 2017.
In a statement, the family of the Tepes said: "Today's arrest represents an important step toward justice for Monique and Spencer. Nothing can undo the devastating loss of two lives taken far too soon, but we are grateful to the city of Columbus Police Department, its investigators , and assisting law enforcement community whose tireless efforts helped to capture the person involved.
"We thank the community for the continued support, prayers and compassion shown throughout this tragedy. As the case proceeds, we trust the justice system to hold the person responsible fully accountable."
The family statement goes on to say: "Monique and Spencer remain at the center of our hearts and we carry forward their love and we surround and protect the two children they leave behind. We will continue to honor their lives and the light they brought into this world."
Pressure had been building on police to make an arrest. On Wednesday, Mayor Andrew J. Ginther released a statement that said Columbus Police continued to work diligently "to keep every Columbus neighborhood safe and move this investigation forward."
A Columbus police officer who was sent to do a wellness check on the Tepes at their Weinland Park house on Dec. 30 went to the wrong address.
Columbus police spokeswoman Caitlyn McIntosh said there was a call for the check at 9:03 a.m. that day. The officer knocked on the front and back doors for about 10 minutes and left. But it was the wrong address.
McIntosh said police don't know how the officer went to the wrong house.
About an hour later, police went to the Tepes house after a co-worker of Spencer Tepe's called to report he hadn't come to work. Police found the bodies of the Tepes then.
Funeral services for the Tepes are scheduled for Sunday.
