Michael McKee, accused of killing his former wife, Monique Tepe, and her current husband, Spencer Tepe, allegedly left shell casings at the scene, despite using a silencer to carry out their murders.
McKee is facing four counts of aggravated murder and one count of burglary in connection with the couple’s December 30 deaths. Police found the victims fatally shot inside their Columbus home.
Investigators later found “three 9mm shell casings” at the crime scene, according to Columbus police, and arrested McKee on January 1o, in Rockford, Illinois.
Investigators worked with the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), which reportedly keeps shell casing images on a database, to link the markings on the shell casings to a weapon found at McKee’s Rockford apartment.
Distinguished Scholar of Applied Forensics at Jacksonville State University, Joseph Scott Morgan, told “Crime Stories” host, Nancy Grace, that the key is the “internal barrel” of the weapon, in identifying where the shell casings originated from.
Despite this, McKee allegedly used a silencer, also known as a sound suppressor, during the crime, which is typically used to reduce a weapon’s noise.
Darryl Cohen, a Former Assistant District Attorney in Fulton County, Georgia, however, added that a silencer can play just as much of an important role when it comes to proving guilt.
“As a prosecutor, I loved silencers,” Cohen said. “That was an additional witness that was saying the owner of this silencer, muffler, suppressor, whatever you want to call it, is guilty.”
Investigators also tracked McKee’s vehicle to the couple’s neighborhood, after obtaining security footage from an alley, that showed him there at some point between 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. on December 30.
Police believe he carried out the killings at around 3:42 a.m. that morning.
McKee fled the scene but allegedly kept the weapon in his possession, according to the grand jury indictment.
He’s currently behind bars, awaiting extradition from Illinois to Ohio.
Check back for updates.
Additional Tepe Murders Coverage
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Feature Photo: Monique and Spencer Tepe/Handout]