Columbus police in Ohio said Wednesday that dentist Spencer Tepe and his wife Monique’s murders happened during a domestic-related attack, at the hands of Monique’s former husband, Michael McKee.
According to Chief Elaine Bryant with the Columbus Police Department, authorities discovered numerous weapons inside 39-year-old McKee’s apartment, at The Pierre high-rise building in Chicago, this week.
“Multiple weapons were taken from the property of McKee,” she said during CPD’s first news conference since the murders, according to The Columbus Dispatch
“And there is a preliminary link … to one of the weapons that ties it to the homicides.”
Bryant didn’t provide specifics on the types of weapons found.
CPD also confirmed that a vehicle spotted in the slain couple’s neighborhood during the early morning hours of December 30 belonged to McKee.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, McKee is accused of fatally shooting the Tepes inside their residence off of North 4th Street at around 3:52 a.m. December 30, in the Weinland Park area of Columbus.
The Tepe couple, according to police, were killed in the upstairs part of their home. Their two children, ages 1 and 4, were found unharmed inside the residence.
Authorities issued a warrant for McKee’s arrest on January 10. Spencer and Monique were a few weeks shy of celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary when the killings occurred.
Records from the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas court named McKee as Monique’s former husband.
The couple’s brother-in-law, Rob Misleh, told ABC News that he believed McKee had tormented and abused Monique during their relationship. In 2016, the pair filed for divorce.
“Myself and many others were well aware of, kind of, the negative impact that he had on her. And the abuse that he put her through, the torment that he put her through,” Misleh said. “She was willing to do anything to get out of there.”
Misleh told People magazine that Monique had been terrified of McKee and that his emotional abuse “changed her as a person.”
So far, police have not confirmed the abuse allegations.
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Meanwhile, according to FOX News Digital, police were spotted in front of McKee’s building, on the city’s Northside, while conducting an active investigation earlier this week.
“You may see and encounter law enforcement officials in and around the building over the next few days,” a public service announcement read.
“We want to assure everyone there is no immediate threat or danger to anyone in the building as a result of this investigation.”
Gera-Lind Kolarik, 72, a longtime resident of the building, said she had seen McKee a few times prior to his arrest and didn’t notice anything odd about his behavior.
“I talked to him at the pool,” she said. “There was nothing that seemed unusual.”
Kolarik said she saw authorities removing evidence, placed in boxes, from McKee’s apartment.
“And I saw the door open and I saw officers bringing stuff out and putting it in the boxes, clothing. I saw clothing and things like that,” Kolarik said.
McKee remains behind bars without bail, facing two counts of aggravated murder and related charges.
Check back for updates.
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[Featured image: Spencer and Monique Tepe/GoFundMe]