CHICAGO (WCMH) — Residents of a Chicago apartment building say local police and Columbus law enforcement have around-the-clock security guarding the apartment of a man accused of killing Spencer and Monique Tepe.
According to a woman who lives in the same building as Dr. Michael McKee, investigators have been in and out of the suspect’s apartment, removing boxes of potential evidence in the murder of the Tepes, who were found shot dead inside their Weiland Park neighborhood home on Dec. 30.
Gera-Lind Kolarik spoke with NewsNation’s Ashleigh Banfield and said a Columbus police crime lab van was parked in the underground garage, where investigators were storing materials collected out of McKee’s 12th floor apartment.
Kolarik said the commotion surrounding her building has come as a shock to many residents, who she described as predominantly professionals, including McKee, who police say murdered his ex-wife Monique and her current husband, Spencer.
Michael McKee’s neighbor discusses ‘shock’ of murder charge
A memo was sent to all residents in the Lincoln Park building, informing them the investigation would be taking place over several days and they would likely encounter law enforcement officials in and around the building.
“Now that is what alarmed a lot of residents, to what was happening” Kolarik said. “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.”
Kolarik said her interactions with McKee were brief, but cordial.
“We really talked at the poolside, and that was during the summer, shortly after he moved in, and we talked at the pool, and he was very friendly,” she said. “I saw him last week, and you know, we would just say, Hi. How are you?”
McKee, a licensed surgeon in two states and listed as a surgeon at OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford, Illinois, is facing premeditated aggravated murder charges in Franklin County Municipal Court.
Neighborhood surveillance video led police to McKee as they were identified a car that he was linked to. This led to his arrest and booking into the Winnebago County jail in Rockford on Saturday. He did not speak during a brief court appearance Monday, with an attorney saying that McKee would not fight extradition and would plead not guilty.
McKee was married to Monique Tepe from August 2015 until 2017.
