357: Spencer & Monique Tepe | The Truth About Her Ex & The Full Story

At Simpli Health, we know that workplace healthcare can feel like We're currently experiencing a high core volume and you're in a queue But now's the time to untangle it and go from inaccessible health to simply health Support all employees with 24.7 access to GP and mental health support Plus, pay as you go services We're simplifying access to workplace healthcare Simpli Health, see why we're different at simplyhealth.co.uk Benefits depending on product, Tis and C's apply Uh, there's a body, there's a body A husband and wife were found shot dead inside their home the day before New Year's Eve Do you appear dead? Do you really blood? Spencer and Monique Tappy Their family and friends were heartbroken, shocked and saddened Columbus Police released surveillance video of a shadowy figure walking down the street Around the time of the murders There was just one person that family and friends suspected of the chilling crime Hey true crime besties, welcome back to an all new episode of serialously Hello, hello, hello, welcome back to an all new episode of serialously Your favorite true crime podcast with your favorite true crime BFF me Annie at least I thought was an obvious it's me it's me it's me Um, God, I am not Cynthia Arrivo No, so welcome back a happy Monday. I hope you are having a fantastic start to your week Hopefully you had a nice weekend as well whether you are listening to this in your car Whether you are cleaning maybe you're on a walk maybe you're watching this between meetings at your office and look I ain't mad at it. I know a lot of you guys listen together at work and you're like work besties and I'm here for it So I remember when I used to work in my office job I'm gonna just like put myself on blast right now I was like so obsessed with sons of anarchy and I had never watched it in real time I watched it once it was on Netflix and I remember I'd like have my tablet secretly hidden by my computer monitor And I'd be like watching sons of anarchy and then if somebody came in my office with a question I would just like pause it so maybe some of you guys are doing that I don't know, but I'm with you. That's why we're besties. I I feel yeah, I get with you Um, I get with you. I get you So today's case, okay? This is one we talked about it a little bit on headline highlights I told you that the deep dive was coming and here we are because this is one of those cases where Everybody's trying to make sense of it, but the details are still coming in every single day It feels like we are learning something new So as I said, I briefly mentioned it in headline highlights, but then my DMs were flooded with like please do the deep dive We want to know more what else can you find out? So obviously here we are and Once we gathered all of the information that we have been able to source I knew that I needed to sit down get on the mic and lay everything out as Clearly as we possibly can with everything that we know right now and what's wild is truly how normal all of this starts On the morning of December 30th 2025 just before 9 a.m. 858 a.m. To be exact a 911 call comes in Nothing dramatic no screaming no panic just a coworker asking for something that sounds very routine and Pretty calm a wellness check. They're calling because somebody didn't show up to work that day and that someone Was 37 year old Spencer Tepay now at that moment No one on that call had any clue what the police were about to walk into Columbus Police, tech 107 I guess I would like to Ask for a wellness check on an individual at their home This individual Spencer worked with me and he did not show up to work this morning and we cannot get a hold of him or his family He did choke the word correct Okay, so we have medical problems or No, and he's been reliable and we cannot get in touch with him his wife his family anybody that lives in that house Two kids in the home home and in Florida I own the business. I Was informed by my employees that he was not at work and He loves the office that you guys received anything else like All's about him or Like a car accident or anything like that Sometimes people just help to work. I mean I just know that he is the most like he is always on time and he would contact us that there is any issues whatsoever and See I the central house to say this like we're very very concerned because this is very out of character And we can't get into it this wife is just probably the more concerned thing So here's who Spencer was and also why this immediately raised red flags Spencer was a dentist at Athens Dental Depot in the small college town of Athens, Ohio This is about 75 miles give or take from Columbus and that's where he lived with his 39 year old wife Monique And this town wasn't just where he worked. It was their life their routine their normal and that's the thing Spencer wasn't just an employee who didn't show up for work that day He was someone who was almost Obsessively reliable not only was he one of the dentists at the practice But he also helped to run it so this wasn't a guy who slept through alarms or casually blew off responsibilities This was a guy who was very dependable so when the office realized that Spencer not only had not come in for work that day But gave no heads up no text no call It wasn't just inconvenient. It was alarming something didn't sit right. It was very unsettling. It was kind of like This is not quite right. It was that like gut feeling that makes people just stop what they're doing and start to actually worry a little bit Now maybe you're thinking what the 911 operator seemed to be thinking and honestly that call is a whole separate Side rant that I truly could go on but people do miss work sometimes we know that right life happens emergencies happen So on its own that doesn't automatically mean something terrible not at all But when somebody who knows you very well whether it's a coworker a friend a family member when somebody who knows you says This feels off. This doesn't feel like them They're usually picking up on a gut feeling that is Ruded in something real so that instinct is what led the police to the house By 9.16 a.m. An officer arrived at Spencer and Monique's address and at that point the assumption was pretty simple Maybe one of them would come to the door They would explain what happened everybody could breathe again and it was all just one big misunderstanding Body cam footage shows this officer walking up knocking on the front door and then just waiting there He knocks again and again and again But nobody answers and that was the moment where this stopped feeling I don't want to say routine But kind of it stopped feeling routine and also It's that moment stopped feeling like oh we oh we're over reacting and we're gonna understand that this was all a misunderstanding soon Because as nobody was answering the door that Feeling started to sit in the pits of their stomach of okay, no our fear is legitimate There is something weird going on here something feels wrong you You know So even after knocking multiple times, nobody comes to the door. The officer doesn't just knock and leave either. He goes through the side gate, he checks the backyard, he knocks on the back door, but still nothing. No movement, no voices, nobody stepping outside to say that everything's fine, and then the officer leaves. Now I don't know whether officers circled back to the coworker who originally called 911 to give them an update at that point or what happened, but what we do know is that the concern definitely didn't stop there. Because it couldn't, too many people felt like something wasn't right here. So sometime between that first 911 call that was just before 9am and 10am, a close friend of Spencer and Monique's decided to walk over to the house themselves. Not out of curiosity, but out of genuine worry. The kind of worry where you just can't sit still anymore, where you want to have eyes on the situation yourself. So then, right around 10am, another call comes into 911. And this time, the situation is very different. Okay, what's the emergency there, please, are medical? Maybe both, I guess, I don't know. I'm trying to do the worried. I had a call out there, they knocked on the front door and backed over multiple times and there was no answer. Yeah, no answer. I can hear kids inside and I swear, I think I heard one yell. But we can't get in. At this point, I don't know if I need to break the door in or just get in the house or what. Were you out there when the piece is out there? I wasn't. I just got here about five minutes. Yeah. Okay. All right, well, we'll send them back out to you. Now, this is where things get pretty frustrating, okay? And honestly, the best way that I can describe the 911 operator here, in my opinion, is a bit condescending. It's kind of the tone that basically says like, well, yeah, officers already knocked on the door. So there's no reason for anybody to be panicking or anybody to be calling again. We've got it. It's handled almost like the fact that nobody answered the door somehow meant that everything was automatically fine. Regardless, they do say that they will send more officers back out to the family's home, but I don't know. The call just didn't really sit very well with me. And then almost immediately, another 911 call comes in. This time from a completely different person, someone who also works with Spencer at the dental office. Someone else who knows him well enough to know that this is not normal. And trust me, if you're not already annoyed listening to how these calls are being handled, this next one is probably going to push you over the edge. Our boss did not report to work. We haven't been able to get a hold of him for three hours. We are on site and we can hear. I just want somebody there. Okay. I'm just making sure somebody calls. So here is the part to me that really matters here. The woman calling tells the operator that she is on site. She's physically at Spencer and Monique's house, which that alone adds so much credibility to the concern, right? This isn't somebody who's calling from their couch, somebody who's speculating, somebody who isn't sure what's really going on. This is someone who was worried enough to actually physically show up at their home and now call in for concern. And sure, look, like I said, some people just don't show up to work. It happens. Some people are unreliable, but that's not who Spencer was. And context really matters here. Now for anybody not familiar with the area, Athens and Columbus are about an hour apart, give or take depending on traffic, which I don't know that many people who are going to carve an hour out of their day to drive over to a coworker's house and then stand outside and call 911 unless they are genuinely concerned and truly believe that something is very wrong. So that alone, in my opinion, should have been enough for the operator to just kind of like drop whatever dismissiveness or attitude they had. But when you also combine that with multiple people calling in, all saying the exact same thing that this behavior is completely out of character, it really does paint a clearer picture. This wasn't an overreaction. This was instinct. And then just five minutes later, another 911 call came in. So at this point, the concern isn't just like idle, it is escalating. 911, what's location we are emergency? 1411 North Forth. Okay, 1411 North Forth. We've got several calls on that. What's changed since the last person I talked to? Oh, there's a body. There's a body. Here's a body inside. Yeah. Okay, hold on one second. Let me get you on the line with the medic, okay? See on the line. Okay, okay, okay. Our friend was in the insurance phone. We just took the one of the ship we just came here and he appears dead. Okay. He's laying next to his bed off of his bed in this blood. He can't get closer to him or than that. Okay, so you can tell he's obviously not breathing or anything? Yeah. Is it like, how do you know? Because it looks like it's a different shuttle. I can't look. Okay, all right, understand. Okay, and then the one last time somebody spoke to him. Like yesterday, I suppose? Yesterday. Okay. How old is he? 37. 37. Do you like to throw keys or anything like that? Oh, no, no, no. Okay. All right, just, that's a really young answer. Yeah, I understand. Okay. All right, we're on our way. So after that last call, there are a few different things that we need to unpack. And honestly, this is kind of where it gets really difficult to listen to. Because first, once again, the operator has that same tone. The kind that makes it sound like, why are you calling again? We already did a wellness check. We've already gotten multiple calls like, what's going on? But here's the problem with that. Because yes, technically the officers did go out. They knocked on the doors. They tried to make contact. We saw that in the body cam footage. So on paper, it looks like the welfare check was done. Except it wasn't. Because the house that they went to, it wasn't even Spencer and Monique's home. Not even close. The officers went to the wrong address entirely. So whoever actually lived there was likely at work or out of the house, which is why nobody answered the door. It wasn't going to their actual family home and realizing that nothing was wrong. So I mean, in this moment, so far as the police were concerned, they believed that they had checked on Spencer and Monique. But in reality, there was no welfare check at the correct address. None. And that detail, it wouldn't come out until days later, after the department had enough time to do damage control and issue explanations, I mean, the whole nine yards. So at the time that these calls were coming in, everybody was operating under a false sense of reassurance. So yeah, there was a welfare check, but also there very clearly wasn't. And that distinction, it changes everything. We did receive a call for a wellness check. I think it was around 9.03 a.m. and we did have an officer that responded to that wellness check initially. The officer unfortunately went to the wrong location initially. As it related to that wellness check, it was not the right house. He spent about 10 minutes doing what he thought was appropriate. It hadn't been the right house knocking on the door, going around to the backyard. Doing all the things that you would do in an effort to try to reach out to the family or to anyone that may have been in that home. It was not the right location. We later received another call saying, hey, we need someone out here. And so we did respond back to that location, what about 40 minutes later, where the actual call came from. Now, this next part is where it stops being frustrating and actually starts being genuinely heartbreaking. On the last 9.11 call, if you listen very closely, you can hear a child in the background. And that detail matters a lot. Spencer and Monique had two kids together. One was four years old and the other only one year old. And this wasn't some unknown detail either. Dispatch had been told about the children from the very first call. So knowing all of that, the wrong address, the lack of urgency, the dismissiveness or attitude if you want to call it that, that was on the phone. Knowing all of that together, it just hits so much harder. Because this wasn't just about two adults who were not answering their door, their kids were involved. Their kids were at this house. Now before we move on, there's one more thing that I want to clear up because this caused a ton of confusion online, which honestly, I understand why, but it had to do with the friend who made that call and what he actually saw. In the 9.11 audio, he never explicitly says, I'm inside the house. He says that he saw a body, which that distinction matters. And early reporting was a little bit muddy on that. But on January 7, CNN had reported two key points. One, that the bodies were located in an upstairs bedroom. And two, that the friend did not specify whether he was inside or outside the home when he saw them. Then a few days later, on January 10, CNN updated their reporting, saying that the friend, quote, peered inside and saw a gruesome scene next to a bed. So based on that most recent information, it appears that the friend was not actually inside the house. But instead had looked through a window. Now, I'll be honest, I don't fully understand how all of that works. If the bedroom was upstairs, I mean, maybe he climbed onto something. Maybe there was some kind of vantage point. I'm not really sure, but I'm not even going to pretend that I know exactly how that part played out because I don't. But I did want to flag it because it is one of the biggest questions that I have seen people asking. Was he inside the home? If he wasn't, how did he see things like that? So hopefully as more time passes, we will get a detailed police report that clears up that detail. But what we do know for sure is that once first responders finally arrived and entered the home, the reality was just as horrific as this friend had described, if not worse. Spencer had been shot multiple times. Monique had been shot at least once in the chest. Now, when this first hit the headlines and all of those details came out, a lot of people immediately jumped to the same conclusion. That this must have been a murder suicide. And honestly, without any other context, I totally understand why. Because on the surface, it does seem like the most straightforward explanation. Two kids unharmed, still alive, gunshot wounds, multiple times, and then one to the chest, like it makes sense. However, the investigators shut that down very quickly. They said that this absolutely was not a murder suicide. And the reason for that is it came down to one very critical detail. And that was that there was absolutely no murder weapon at the scene. So if this had been Monique killing Spencer and then taking her own life, that gun would have been right there. It would have been nearby next to the bodies. But it wasn't. There was no firearm anywhere in the house as a matter of fact. So that single fact, it changed the entire direction of this case. Add simply health. We know that workplace health care can feel like. We're currently experiencing a high core volume and you're in a queue. 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Check availability at gigaClear.com. So pretty much immediately the investigators classified their two deaths as a double homicide. And the second that that happened, I mean the internet, it went into full overdrive. Internet sleuths were everywhere trying to piece every little detail together and honestly I get it. I understand it. There were so many details in this case that did not line up in any sort of way that felt logical at all. Every single answer too as it was coming out seemed to create five more questions. So with that I want to talk through some of the theories that not only started popping up at the beginning but have kind of continued as this case has developed. One of the first questions that people were asking was was this a break in or a burglary gone wrong? And I mean just looking at the outside of their home, it's clear that they lived a very comfortable life. Beautiful home, great neighborhood, it's a nice house. So I understand where that question came from, right? Even if we were to assume that this was some random person off the street, the place does look like it could be worth targeting. And then on the flip side, if this was someone who actually knew the family, they would have known that Spencer was a dentist, somebody who likely wasn't struggling financially. However, that theory falls apart pretty quickly because there were no signs of forced entry. No broken doors, no smashed windows, and just as important, nothing was taken from inside the home. There were no valuables missing, no ransacked rooms. And those are two things that you almost always see in any single burglary or robbery, whether it's a random burglary or not. You always see some element of dishevelness, somebody who has been rifling through trying to find something or items missing. So then people started asking a much scarier question after that seemingly was ruled out, was this targeted? Because who goes into a family's home into their bedroom, shoots both of the adults, leaves without taking anything, and leaves the children, unharmed and alive. But here's where it gets even more confusing, because by all accounts, Spencer and Monique were very well liked. We talked a lot about Spencer at the beginning of this episode because of his job and how this case even came to light. But Monique was also very deeply loved and known in her community. She had a background in childhood education, and at the time of her death, she was a stay-at-home mom to their two young kids. Friends described her as bubbly, warm, someone who loved to bake, just one of those people who everybody loved and got along with, just a good person. No enemies, no hostility in her life. And everybody who was close to the couple as well spoke incredibly highly of their relationship. No turmoil, no possible divorce on the horizon, nothing like that. The two of them met online, and they ended up getting married in a very small intimate ceremony where only close friends and family members attended. They got married on December 13th, 2020. So that means that they had just celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary before they were killed. Friends and family say that they built a life together that was rooted in love. That they created a home filled with warmth, happiness, connection. So nothing about them screamed enemies, secrets, or vendettas. Like, they were just a traditional, happy, normal, loving family. So for days, I mean, there was nothing, complete silence from the investigators. They didn't have any leads. They didn't know who could have had any sort of motive in any of this. Everything was adding up. And that kind of silence is always a little bit unsettling because it usually means one of two things. Either they have absolutely nothing to go on, or they're working nonstop, and they do have a lot to go on, and they don't want to tip somebody off. But then on January 5th, we finally got the first real update. On January 5th, investigators released an image from surveillance footage that showed a person walking through an alley near the family's home. And this was during the very early morning hours of December 30th. And that image, it changed everything. Now to be clear, that surveillance image wasn't some crystal clear shot that was going to crack the case wide open. The person was wearing light colored pants, a dark hoodie that was pulled up over their head. And it was difficult because you're not getting a face. You're not getting any identifying features. Yes, you're getting an image of someone, but nothing that is going to like crack everything wide open. But what this image did show, and what it did indicate to the public, is that the investigators were actively working this case. And more importantly, they were asking for the public's help. Whether that help meant identifying this person who was seen in this footage, or turning over any security footage of their own from marine cameras, you know, house cameras, whatever it was. It was a signal in the case that they were trying to build a timeline. But that was basically it. That was the only detail they really gave. There was no extra commentary. There were no added details. But that also tracked. It made sense. Then in the days after that footage was released, more information started coming out. But instead of clarifying things, it actually made the case way more confusing. The first bombshell was another 911 call. Which I know that there are a lot of 911 calls in this case, but this one is different. Because this call was not from the day that Spencer and Monique were found. This call was from months earlier. On April 15th, 2025, someone had called 911, but then hung up before the operator could even answer. So no information was given, no name, no explanation. So the dispatch did what they're supposed to do. They called this number back. I'm wondering if maybe this person is in despair if they need help. What's going on? But that return phone call? That's the audio that has the public completely split, confused, and speculating all over the internet. Because once you hear the audio, it raises a whole new set of questions. Take a listen. Hello. Hi, there's 911. We just got to hang up call. Is everything okay? Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm okay. Are you sure? Yeah, I'm okay. Sorry. It sounds like you're crying. Do you need police fire medics or anything? No, no, I'm okay. I'm emotional. I don't mean nothing. Okay. Well, can I ask what had you called 911 in the first place? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Believe me. Believe me. Believe me. Believe me. Believe me. Believe me. Believe me. Believe me. Believe me. Believe me. Yes, we're just arguing. Nobody hit each other. Okay. All right, man. Well, I have the information here. I can go ahead and tell the officers to cancel hitting everybody around to their room. Yes. Is anything changed or is it all this back? Okay. So, when this April 15th call gets released, people immediately hone in on the woman's voice. It never identifies herself. She never actually gives an address, but the call is traced back to Spencer and Monique's home. And almost instantly, people who were close with the couple started saying the exact same thing. That's not Monique's voice. It doesn't sound like her. It's not her tone. It's not her cadence. It's not the way she spoke. Nothing about it matched. Then, that suspicion only grew when Spencer's brother-in-law went on the podcast surviving the survivor. He went on and he shared what he knew, and he was very clear about one thing. This woman on that call was 100% not Monique. He also initially said that the call came from the Tepe home during a house party that they were hosting at the time. But after the episode went live, he kind of walked that back a little bit, explaining that the party that he was thinking of had actually happened years earlier, that he had accidentally mixed up the dates. The law enforcement never confirmed that a house party happened in April of 2025, either. They didn't say when, if ever, something like that had occurred. But what they did confirm publicly was that the woman on the call was not Monique. So breaking that down, there's also the possibility that the call came in from a nearby neighbor, and that it simply just pinged on to the Tepe family home because that does happen. However, that detail I want to be clear has also never been confirmed. So after that, the police kind of just stopped talking about it altogether. And that was really the first thing that sent the internet completely on fire. But then, just as people were trying to make sense of that and trying to figure everything out, more breaking information came out. Apparently, just days before Spencer and Monique were murdered, another 911 call had been made. This time, by a woman who lived on the same street. And she reported that a strange man was banging on her front door. So now of this detail, I mean, this changed everything. Suddenly, the timing and all of this, I mean, it felt impossible to ignore. Okay, emergency. Hello, this is my door. I'm trying to figure it out. Is there a way to go? Okay, someone's banging a knock-in, do you know who this is? No. Do you have a description of them? I can't see any sense of them. Have you told them to have you ask them what they want or if they need something? Now the investigators never actually came out and said whether or not that neighbor's incident was connected. But that, of course, definitely did not stop people from running with it. Because honestly, I mean, the timing, it was eerie. It feels weird, right? Someone banging on a neighbor's door just days before two people on the exact same street are murdered. I mean, that's not nothing. And the timing just lines up in a way that is really difficult to ignore. Because that neighbor's 911 call, it came in at 2.31 a.m. And investigators believe that Spencer and Monique were killed sometime between 2.5 a.m. So I mean, yeah, a lot of coincidences. But once again, the investigators stayed completely silent. Now I wanted to understand more about whether this really was as massive of a coincidence as it felt, or if crime did happen in the neighborhood. And if this was kind of, you know, run of the mill, weirdness and sketchiness happening. So I started looking into the area itself, which to be clear, this isn't saying Columbus is some dangerous place. It certainly isn't. But like any larger city, it does have its moments. And one source described the Tepe's specific neighborhood as generally peaceful in recent months. But they noted that it quote, has had bad times with drug-related violence in the past. Another neighbor said something interesting too. He specifically mentioned that he did not hear any gunshots between 2.5 a.m. the night that Spencer and Monique were killed, which that actually surprised him. As he said that when he first moved there back in 2014, nighttime gunshots were fairly common. So he said that he felt like he would have recognized that sound he would have heard it, or at least noticed something. So all of that to say, I mean, someone banging on a door in the middle of the night, just days earlier, before two people are gunned down in their home, it didn't seem completely out of left field in the area. Could it be a coincidence? Yes? Could it not? Yes, there's really no way to know. It's kind of a gray area. And still though, in a case like this, you can't ignore anything. You have to look at all of the details, all of the facts. So the internet stayed exactly where it had been since day one. Kind of split right down the middle. Was this personal? Was it random? Was this all a big coincidence? What is going on here? But then everything changed. Because on January 10th, 2026, the biggest update to date in this case dropped. And arrest had been made. Ready to launch your business? Get started with the commerce platform made for entrepreneurs. Shopify, especially designed to help you start, run, and grow your business with easy customizable themes that let you build your brand. 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Integrated shipping solutions that actually save you time. From startups to scale-ups, online, in-person, and on-the-go. Shopify is made for entrepreneurs like you. Sign up for your $1 a month trial at Shopify.com slash setup. Step into Lightfield Living at the Express Buy Folding Doors Milton Keane's showroom. And experience products that seamlessly connect your home's interior and exterior. From buy folding and sliding doors to windows, entrance doors, and glass roofs, all built and installed by Express. Whether renovating, extending, or building new, see the quality for yourself at our stunning showroom, or visit expressbyfolds.co.uk. Police arrested 39-year-old Chicago resident Michael McKee, and they charged him with two counts of murder in the shooting deaths of Spencer and Monique. Those charges have since been upgraded to aggravated murder. Now investigators say that they were able to identify him by tracking a vehicle that entered the Tepe's neighborhood during the time frame of the murders. That vehicle ultimately led them straight to Michael. And at first, his name really did not mean much to the public, not at all. But to the people who knew Spencer and Monique, they knew the name. They recognized it. And this name meant everything. Because Michael McKee was Monique's ex-husband. Which this felt like a major mic drop in the moment. I mean, okay, finally, there's a connection, there's an arrest, is there a motive? What's going on here? Will we finally get to the bottom of what happened? And it was very shocking, yes, but at the same time, in a weird roundabout way, kind of predictable, if that makes sense, because he was connected to the couple. Now since his arrest, and keep in mind, as I'm recording this, this all just happened days ago, but since his arrest, people have been digging into Michael and Monique's past nonstop. Now, what they haven't been able to find is a clear, concrete motive. But with that, we started digging into their history. And I want to walk you through it, because they divorced nearly a decade ago. So for somebody to be harboring that much hatred or resentment or whatever was fueling this, that's a long time. Unless something did just happen recently. But like I said, they've been divorced for nearly a decade. So this isn't somebody who was love struck and then devastated and distraught and hates that she's moving on and decided to kill her and her new husband on a whim. They've been divorced for almost a decade. She's been remarried for half a decade. And yet, there's still this weird connection. So we started digging into their history and their past. And I want to break down what we have discovered. Now, despite living in Chicago at this point, Michael actually has roots in Ohio. He graduated from Ohio State University, just like Spencer and Monique. He had absolutely no criminal history and he was a licensed surgeon in Illinois and in California. He had also previously been licensed in Nevada as well. So Michael and Monique first got married in August of 2015. But then, just seven months later, in March of 2016, they separated. And I say separated very intentionally because while it appears that their relationship did end in 2016, the official divorce paperwork didn't begin until May of 2017. Now they didn't have any children together, so there wasn't this long drawn out divorce or custody battle that was going to tie them together for years. And one source even described their divorce as pretty amicable. But based on what we now know and what we're seeing in this case, I don't know if that's the word that I would use to describe it. Court documents note that there was a standard mutual temporary restraining order. This required both parties to refrain from quote harassing, interfering with assaulting or doing bodily harm to the other spouse. So to me, that doesn't exactly scream smooth, peaceful, amicable. That seems like there was definitely some friction there, some, you know, a little bit of toxic stuff going on. And that raises even more questions about what was really going on beneath the surface in their marriage, right? They were only married for a very short window of time. They separated after seven months of being married and then divorced what, two years after being married so, or officially, so what's really going on here? And here's another thing that stood out to me during all of this research. From what I can gather, restraining orders aren't just handed out like candy. I mean, and we have covered enough cases where people have begged, documented, reported, and still could not get a restraining order, right? We are all too familiar with that. So the fact that there was this mutual restraining order that had been put in place, it tells me at least that there had to be clear, concrete reasons for it. Enough evidence that the court felt it was necessary for both parties to have this. And that alone says a lot. Then there were also the financial details that were buried in the divorced documents. And these details are pretty interesting. Michael listed Monique's engagement ring and wedding ring as separate property, noting that the engagement ring was valued at $2,500 and the wedding ring was valued at $3,500. He also claimed that Monique owed him a little under $1,300 and what he classified as quote, miscellaneous debts. There was also a clause stating that if she did not pay that amount by July 1, 2018, the balance would then accrue a 23% interest, which kind of feels intense to me and look, money is money and money is important, but it feels a little aggressive and overkill over $1,200 or $1,300 I should say to then accrue a 23% interest. And I don't know, feels a little petty to me, but what do I know? So after that, it looks like they finalized the divorce. Then from there, they moved to different states and at least on paper, they went their separate ways. Clearly, Monique moved on with her life too. She got married to Spencer in 2020, a few years after the divorce was finalized. So that brings us to the biggest question that everybody's asking right now, which why now? And trust me, I'm asking that right alongside you. Why now? Because they were only together married for seven months. Technically on paper, call it married for, you know, just shy of two years until the divorce was settled. But then three years go by, post a divorce. Monique gets married again. Six more years almost go by from then and then Michael decides to enact revenge or target her nearly 10 years after the divorce was finalized. I mean, why now? And not that this would ever be excusable. Obviously, it wouldn't be, but it would make a lot more sense if the divorce had been recent. And if he was, you know, stewing on this and upset and this was revenge, like, and maybe even if they were still tangled up in some legal battles or something like that. But like I said, this breakup happened almost a decade ago. So why now? Why would a successful surgeon who is living in a completely different state come all the way back to Ohio to allegedly murder his ex-wife and her now husband, her husband, who she's been married to for five years? Because let's be real, five years into a marriage, it isn't exactly new, right? But you know what? Actually what I will say is this, there has been some new information that has been released over the last couple of days regarding things in Michael's personal life, as well as things in he and Monique's relationship. And before I get into the relationship of it all, let's first go over some of the things that were apparently happening in his personal life. Because it seems like in the months leading up to these murders, Michael was well on his way to hitting rock bottom. On September 29th, 2025, a complaint was filed against Michael by a man alleging that Michael had been involved in malpractice. Now this complaint states, quote, failure of Michael David McKee MD to properly train or supervise his coworker. And it caused the catheter or device to shear or fracture, leaving an 8.6 inch portion of the device in the plaintiff's body. Which that is horrific. And just a little bit of a personal story here, years and years ago, my grandfather underwent surgery and I believe they were doing something with his spleen. I can't remember entirely. And there was like a 10 inch instrument left inside of him when he was soed back up. So like this shit does happen. So this complaint, as I said, was filed on September 29th. But apparently the guy's attorney spent over a month trying to actually track Michael down so that he could serve him these papers. And Michael was just kind of a, you know, evasive. He was nowhere to be found. Apparently this attorney even spoke with one of Michael's coworkers explaining the situation. And the coworker said he had no idea where Michael was and also had no idea how to get in contact with him. Saying, look, I don't know where he is. He just disappeared. That's the direct quote. Now based on what we know so far, it almost seems to me like this reason for disappearing was because he knew that he was going to get hit with this malpractice claim or suit. Because after leaving Vegas, he quickly got a job at OSF State Anthony Medical Center in Chicago, which as we know, that is the state that he was ultimately found and arrested in. So Michael was eventually served those papers on January 6th. So just really days before his actual arrest. Yet he had still somehow managed to find another job. I mean, so I guess his life really wasn't in that much of a downward spiral if he was successfully evading everybody and got a new job. But I do feel like this was still definitely worth noting because that kind of stress on somebody could definitely make them feel backed into a corner. Now, as for he and Monique's personal relationship, well, it seems that it was far from perfect. Specifically, after Michael's arrest, an anonymous relative of the couple gave an interview. And what they shared, it was pretty telling. In this interview, the relative of the couple shared, and I want to say this in their exact words, they said, it was absolutely not a shock to anybody. We had all expected it, but we weren't saying that because we didn't want to compromise the investigation. The relative went on to say that while the arrest itself wasn't a shock, they weren't aware of any specific recent issues between Monique, Spencer, or Michael in the weeks leading up to their deaths. Now, I mentioned the brother-in-law earlier who went on that podcast to talk about the murders and to give some clarification wherever he could. This same person didn't interview with NBC News, and even though he couldn't divulge a whole lot about the relationship, he did still share something that makes, I think, the world of difference when it comes to figuring out a motive here. She was terrified because he had retened her life on multiple occasions when they were married. She wasn't shy about talking to people about traumatic experiences that she had with her ex and just how emotionally abusive he was to her. It affected her to this day. If any of us had known that these threats were actually grounded in possibility, we all would have acted differently. Now, of course, all of that information is coming from a family member. However, a lot of people have been pointing out that in Monique's vows at their wedding in 2020, she almost confirms that Michael wasn't the greatest to her. Yet she doesn't say his name, of course, but kind of alludes to it. Spencer, what can I say? From day one, I knew you were something special. I had quite a journey to get to you, countless bad bumble dates, a wrong relationships, and waterfalls of tears. But it was worth every cringing second because it led me to you. Now all of this, I knew that God was guiding me to my person and that when I met him, it would be the most magical thing ever. She says relationships, as in plural, but correct me if I'm wrong, it sounds like she said, quote, a wrong relationships. Almost like she meant one specific one, but was trying to make it less obvious. And of course, this was their wedding, so Monique wasn't confirming any trauma she had been through in the past with Michael specifically, but I did want to mention it since a lot of people online are talking about it right now. And that's not the only information that we've been able to find out about their relationship. Another source has noted that after he and Monica divorced, Michael never dated, never remarried, never moved on. And I know that that might not sound like a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, but to me, even this small detail, it does say a lot. Like maybe he never fully got over Monique and that he thought of her as, you know, the one who got away. We've all been asking the question, you know, why after 10 years did this happen? But maybe to him, that wound was still fresh, still deep and still felt like it was just yesterday. Not to mention Monique and Spencer had two young children, so maybe seeing her post these happy photos online and her having this family with Spencer, maybe realizing that it was something that she would never do with him, it was like this continuous trigger every time he saw a new post. Until eventually, it just started to spill over the edge. And right now, investigators have made it very clear that they are not releasing any additional information or details because they don't want to compromise the case, which I would imagine that friends and family have also all been advised to stay quiet as well. Now as you can imagine, Facebook and Reddit groups have definitely been going crazy over this case. So I wanted to briefly touch on some of the things that I had been seeing online, but as always, take this with a grain of salt. But a lot of the online sleuth community, they're bringing up the fact that Michael was allegedly adopted. Apparently, people who knew him said that this was not a secret, it was something that pretty much everybody knew. However, it doesn't seem like he had the greatest relationship with his adoptive parents. One Facebook account even claims to have talked to someone anonymous that was close to Michael, who claimed that everyone who knew Michael's parents said that they were really good people, but that after he went to Ohio State, he just completely cut off contact with them. Now nobody has come forward and said why he stopped talking with them if what's being said is believed to be true, but it is interesting. And this person alleged that they weren't even invited to Monique and Michael's wedding. So it seemed like he continued that no contact. Which again, we don't know any of this for sure, but I do find it to be pretty interesting that we are seeing very little of Michael's family or friends coming out to defend. You know what I mean? It seems like maybe there was some sort of friction or severing of ties with that relationship. Maybe not, but who knows. I mean, I feel like in every case that we cover, even when it's the worst of the worst, there's usually always a handful of people who will come forward saying, you know, we never saw it coming. They never showed any signs. They were a nice person or something along those lines. But so far, it's been crickets from the people closest to him. And that really makes me wonder if there is some truth to that Facebook post after all. Now, shockingly, I've only seen one person actually come forward and even somewhat defend him at all so far. And that was a neighbor. And neighbors coming forward in true crime cases are always a little bit interesting to me, because how well do any of us truly know our neighbors? I mean, I don't. But take a listen. I just wanted to get your first reaction to hearing that this neighbor of yours, who you'd spoken with and thought was delightful, has been arrested on two aggravated murders. And yeah, it's really was a shock to the building and everything, because I met him really once we really talked at the poolside. And those during the summer, shortly after he moved in. And we talked at the pool and he was very friendly. We were all barbecuing at that time. And he did not see like somebody that would be doing something like this. But like Ashley, like you point out, you don't know what is in a person's mind, what they're obsessing about and what they're going through in their mind and what causes them to react like this. But I would see him and we would pass each other. I saw him last week to going back. And you know, we would just say, hi, how are you? Hi. And that's it. We never really spoke after that. He was kind of a quiet person to himself. But you know, it is shocking that a resident of this building was charged with such a terrible crime and a prison. I can't imagine. Can I ask you how did you all even find out? Like what was the, how did the news sort of spread through the building? Well, I found out because there was channel seven crew that was outside there. Have our building trying to talk to residents. And I walked up to them because I used to work at channel seven in Chicago. I was assigned to that area and I said, what's happening over here? What's going on? The door man says you wanted to talk with me. And they told me about what was happening. And when they said, Mike, Mickey, I said, well, I don't know if I know him, show me a picture. And then they show me a picture. And I went, oh my gosh, I know him. Now all of that being said, I've seen some theories online that Michael left the children alive so that they would have to be adopted like he was almost as if it would be the ultimate kind of, gotcha moment to get back at Monique. Now, do I think that's possible? I mean, anything is possible. We have seen cases with the most random motives. And we've also seen cases with no motives at all other than just because. So it's really difficult to say. I mean, I would hope not. I would hope that that wasn't his motive. But I would also hope that someone's ex-husband wouldn't murder them a decade after their divorce out of just potential jealousy and spite. I was also watching a news nation video on this case and they brought up a really valid question. That question was about whether or not the investigators were going to look into every potential connection between Michael and the couple to find a specific motive. I am curious about establishing motive because juries want it even though prosecutors aren't required to give it. So at this point, is it going to be essential for investigators to go through every single potential message that Mo Tappy or Spencer Tappy may have had or with Dr. Michael McKee, just the online connection potentially between them? Absolutely. I think you're going to see a lot of development over the next couple of weeks. This is only the beginning. Once we have an arrest warrant, law enforcement will go in there and they'll do a, what we call a digital dump and a forensics on his computer. They will look at his Google searches. They will look at their Google searches. They will look at the text messages between them. They will look at social media. Yes, like you say, prosecutors don't have to show a motive, but it's always good to complete a story. And juries always want to know why. So with the limited information that we do have, I think the most honest assumption here, at least for now, is that that neighbor's 911 call, the one from days earlier and that mysterious April 911 call that maybe they weren't directly related, that maybe they were just incredibly, you know, this huge coincidence. And coincidence is like that. They don't happen very often. But again, we don't know for sure. And some of the most recent information that we have, I have to say, is like extremely major as well. Because according to Columbus Police, multiple weapons were found at Michael McKee's residence. And one of them is allegedly connected to the murders, meaning he had a gun that matches the evidence that was found at the crime scene. And according to documents and reports, allegedly he used a silencer, which that would explain why the neighbor reportedly did not hear the gun shots, even though they say that they would have recognized them. So Michael's first court appearance was last Monday, where he and his lawyer waved his right to an extradition hearing. Michael didn't speak in court, though everybody has pointed out that he was completely emotionless, which we also know isn't super uncommon to see in cases like this one. That's where things are standing right now, which with how big this case already is and how much attention it's getting, I don't doubt for a single second that we will be following every single court date, every filing, every detail all the way up to the trial. If that's where this ultimately ends up, I think we're going to be following this one very closely. So I would expect another episode in the future, where once we have more information about the backstory, what happened from 2017 to 2025 between contact with Michael and Monique, we will definitely follow up with you on that. But one detail that I do want to mention, because a lot of people are asking what happened to the kids, the four-year-old and the one-year-old. Since Spencer and Monique's death, they're two young children, along with their dog, their golden doodle. They are now in the care of family members, which that always guts me, no matter the case, no matter the age of the children. It always gets to me, because I can't even imagine trying to grapple with what their family is going through right now. I mean grieving to people that you love at the same exact time, trying to make sense of something that doesn't make any sense, and then also layering on having to explain that to a four-year-old. A child who is old enough to know that something is wrong, and that something happened, and that mommy and daddy aren't coming home, but not old enough to understand the evil that is out there in the world. Trying to balance all of that while also trying to figure out what life is going to look like in the future, where everybody is going to live, how they are going to move forward. I mean, it is just devastating in every sense of the word. And as this case continues to unfold, those are the people at the center of it. The ones who deserve answers, who deserve justice, who deserve the space to heal, and to figure out what happened, and why did this happen? So we will definitely be following this. As I said, I'm going to... We currently right now are doing a really big research into Michael and his history, and I was going to include some of that in this episode, but there's still quite a bit. We need to fact-check. So like I said, definitely expect to follow up episode where maybe it's not the details about the murder itself, but in the lead-up up to it. Everything that happened and that escalated until he decided to allegedly pull the trigger. And I'm just thankful that whoever did this, if it was, in fact, Michael, I'm thankful that whoever did this left the children unharmed, because it definitely would have been easy for this monster to take their lives as well. And I am so glad that they didn't do that. So I will keep you guys posted. We are going to follow this one extremely closely, so make sure you're subscribed or following the podcast so that you do not miss any future episodes. But curious to know your thoughts, too. What do you think the motive was here? Do you think that he had been refusing to let her go for years, and then just snapped? Or do you think that this was some, you know, slow things, slow builder? I don't know. It's just such a big chunk of time in between, right? And that's what makes it so confusing and complicated. So I'll let you know as soon as we know more. But until the next one, be nice. Don't kill people. Don't threaten people. And if your gut is telling you that something is wrong, make the phone call and check on a friend or a family member because our intuition and our gut instincts are there for a reason. It is, I often say it's our first line of defense. They're trying to tell us something for a reason. So if you see something, say something, and if you feel something, say something. All right, guys, bye.