Ex-husband charged in Ohio dentist murders allegedly tried to 'disguise' himself with fake information: expert
The ex-husband of the Ohio dentist’s wife, charged in the couple’s murders, had a fake address and nonexistent phone number on file with his former employer, leading a forensic scientist to believe that he was trying to "disguise himself" before the alleged killings.
Michael David McKee, 39, was arrested on Jan. 10 after allegedly murdering a couple in Columbus, Ohio, according to court records. Police officers responded to a house located in Columbus' Weinland Park neighborhood around 10 a.m. Dec. 30 and found Spencer Tepe, 37, and Monique Tepe, 39, both dead with gunshot wounds. McKee was Monique's ex-husband.
McKee faces upgraded charges of premeditated aggravated murder in Ohio in relation to the Tepes' deaths.
Divorce records obtained by Fox News Digital show the couple got married on Aug. 22, 2015, and were separated by March 2016. According to the divorce filing made by Monique, she said the two were "incompatible," leading to the separation after seven months of marriage. The two did not have any children during their short marriage.
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According to WSYX, Las Vegas attorney Dan Laird, who filed a lawsuit against McKee, said an address on file with his previous employer, Las Vegas Surgical Associates LLP, turned out to be a fake address.
"Interestingly, the address that was given to us by the surgery group that he worked for turned out to be a fake address," Laird said. "It was an address that doesn't exist."
The address provided by Las Vegas Surgical Associates was also non-existent, and the phone number associated with his state medical board profile led Laird to a fax machine.
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Laird said he attempted to reach McKee through former co-workers, which included another individual named in the lawsuit, Dr. Peter Caravella.
"He said he has no idea where Dr. Michael McKee is now," Laird said, recalling his conversation with Caravella. "He just disappeared."
Laird said the process server he used attempted to locate and serve McKee nine times, all of which failed.
A Nevada judge in October granted a declaration of due diligence, which allowed McKee to be served through a newspaper notice.
Forensic scientist and Jacksonville State University Professor Joseph Scott Morgan told Fox News Digital McKee may have been trying to "disguise" himself.
"Well, for me, from an investigative standpoint, it would seem to imply that there was maybe intent to disguise themselves," Morgan said.
Morgan added that this level of deception would make sense for someone trying to throw people off, like investigators or a potential lawsuit.
"Why are you going to deceive them to this level? Unless you're trying to put people off of a scent. Because look, I mean, with a physical address, you have to think about if there's going to be a warrant served. If there's going to be any kind of papers that are served from a court, they're literally going to go to a physical address and track you down," Morgan said.
"Had he developed some level, some kind of paranoid delusion or something where he's trying to create and trying to stay ahead?" he asked.
McKee is awaiting extradition from the Winnebago County jail in Rockford, Illinois, where he's being held. Once McKee is extradited, he'll be taken to Columbus, Ohio.