Michael McKee, the man charged in the deaths of his ex-wife and her husband in their Weinland Park home, has been indicted on aggravated murder and aggravated burglary charges by a Franklin County grand jury.
McKee, 39, was indicted on four counts of aggravated murder and one count of aggravated burglary on Jan. 16.
Monique Tepe, 39, and Spencer Tepe, 37, died on Dec. 30 after being found shot in their home on the 1400 block of North 4th Street in Weinland Park. The couple’s two children, both under the age of 5, were found physically unharmed inside the home.
On Jan. 10, Columbus police identified McKee, a Chicago resident, as a suspect in the deaths. He was arrested the same day in Illinois and is currently being held in the Winnebago County (Illinois) Sheriff’s office’s custody until he is extradited to Ohio.
Police identified McKee, who was previously married to Monique, after tracking a vehicle seen near the Tepe home shortly before the homicides took place and leaving shortly after. That vehicle was found in Illinois and McKee was found to have ownership of it, court records say.
While burglary is often associated with theft, the charge does not necessarily indicate McKee stole something from the residence or intended to do so. Under Ohio law, anyone who illegally enters a home with the intent to commit a crime commits burglary.
Court records show McKee is accused of using a silencer or an automatic firearm.
A court date for McKee has not been set.
When will Michael McKee come to Ohio to face charges?
McKee will remain in Illinois until transportation to Ohio is finalized. Columbus police said interstate transports typically are handled by a third-party company the division contracts with for that purpose.
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Those transport companies have schedules and routes that must be coordinated, as well as multiple stops on each trip, police said. Based on Illinois court records, McKee’s transport to Ohio is likely to occur after Jan. 19.
McKee’s transport to Ohio is part of a legal process called extradition. When a person is arrested for a crime in another jurisdiction from where they are charged, either in-state or in another state, the process allows the agency that charged the defendant to come and get them.
Extradition hearings can be waived, as McKee did. At those hearings, a judge would determine whether the warrant and supporting paperwork for the defendant are valid and, if so, set a deadline for their transport.
In McKee’s case, a judge has set a hearing for Jan. 23 to determine the status of transporting him to Ohio. If McKee is already in Ohio at that point, the hearing will not take place.
What happens to McKee after he’s in Ohio?
When McKee is brought to Franklin County, he will be housed in the Franklin County jail. He will then appear in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, where a judge will set a bond.
McKee does not yet have an attorney listed as representing him in Ohio.
How are murder and aggravated murder different in Ohio law?
Ohio law separates homicide offenses into six primary charges: aggravated murder, murder, involuntary manslaughter, voluntary manslaughter, reckless homicide and negligent homicide.
The two most serious are aggravated murder and murder. Under Ohio law, murder is defined as purposefully causing a person’s death or causing a person’s death as a proximate result of – or a direct link to – committing another crime, typically felonious assault. Murder has a mandatory sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years if there is a conviction.
Under Ohio law, there are several ways prosecutors can seek to prove aggravated murder. They include:
Purposefully causing a death with prior calculation and design, often called premeditation
Purposefully causing a death while committing another violent crime such as kidnapping or aggravated burglary
Purposefully causing the death of a child under the age of 13
Being under detention and causing the death of another person while in custody or after escaping from custody
Purposefully causing the death of a law enforcement officer who is acting in their official capacity
Purposefully causing the death of a first responder or military member who is known to be either and with the intent of killing a person in one of those groups
Ohio law allows judges to have sentencing options for aggravated murder. They include life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20, 25 or 30 years, life in prison with no possibility of parole and, in some specific circumstances, the death penalty.
The death penalty can only be sought by prosecutors under certain guidelines outlined under Ohio law that include the killing of multiple people, assassinating a government official and committing a murder for hire. Franklin County prosecutors have not sought the death penalty in any case since 2019.
Court filings associated with McKee’s indictment on Jan. 16 did not list any capital specifications, meaning the court records don’t currently indicate prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty.
