COLUMBUS, OHIO — Police in Ohio’s capital said Wednesday they had gathered enough evidence to link the two cases A man is accused of a double murder His ex-wife and her husband at their home in Columbus last month led to the killings.
Columbus Police Chief Eileen Bryant said in an interview with The Associated Press that authorities now believe Michael David Mackey, 39, a vascular surgeon who lived in Chicago, is the person seen walking down a dark alley near Monique and Spencer Tippe’s home in Video footage From the night of the murder. She said his vehicle was also identified driving near the home, a firearm was found at his residence in Illinois, and evidence was found at the scene.
The attorney representing McKee could not be identified from court dockets.
His arrest Saturday capped nearly two weeks of speculation surrounding the mysterious killings that attracted national attention. No clear signs of forced entry into the Tepes family home were found. Police also said no weapon was found there, and no murder or suicide is suspected. Furthermore, nothing was stolen, and the couple’s two young children and dog were left unharmed in the home.
“What we can tell you is that we have evidence linking the car he was driving to the crime scene. We also have evidence of him coming and going in that particular car,” Bryant told the AP. “What I can also share with you is that there were multiple firearms that were taken from McKee’s property, and one of those firearms was a preliminary match from a NIBIN (ballistic) strike to this actual homicide.”
Bryant said the department wants the public to continue offering tips. She said investigators were able to follow up on every phone call, email and private information shared from the community to the department and some of that information allowed them to gather enough evidence to make an arrest.
This work has reached its peak Maki is arrested in Rockford, Illinois, where the hospital where he worked — OSF St. Anthony Medical Center — said it was cooperating with the investigation. He was charged with premeditated murder in the shooting incident. Monique Tebbe, who divorced McKee in 2017, was 39 years old. Her husband, the dentist whose absence from work that morning led to the first call to police, was 37 years old.
Mackey waives his right to Extradition hearing Monday during his appearance in 17th Judicial Circuit Court in Winnebago County, Illinois, where he remains in jail. Bryant said officials are working on the details of his return to Ohio, without specifying a specific arrival date. The next hearing in Winnebago County is scheduled for Jan. 23.
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said Wednesday that the city does not prioritize high-profile cases more than others, noting that the city’s closing rate of criminal cases exceeds the national average. In 2025, the city also celebrated the lowest level of homicides and violent crimes since 2007, Ginther said.
“Every case is important. The ones that get national attention, the ones that don’t,” he told the AP. “Every family deserves closure and people held accountable, and the rest of society deserves to be safe when dangerous people are taken off the street.”
Ginther said it is imperative that central Ohioans continue to grieve for the Tepes family, which includes two young children and their loved ones, as they deal with “such an unimaginable loss.”
“I want our community to rally around this family and these children for years to come,” he said.