Illinois surgeon Michael David McKee evaded a medical malpractice lawsuit for years before he allegedly killed his ex-wife and her dentist husband in their Ohio home in December.
McKee, a 39-year-old vascular surgeon, allegedly failed to train a physician’s assistant, leading to a patient being injured during treatment and needing emergency surgery in 2023, according to Las Vegas-based lawyer Dan Laird, according to WSYX on Tuesday.
Laird said he was duped during his two-year pursuit of McKee when the suspected double murderer’s surgery group allegedly handed out 𝒻𝒶𝓀𝑒 addresses and “questionable” state-issued phone numbers.
“Interestingly, the address that was given to us by the surgery group that he worked for turned out to be a 𝒻𝒶𝓀𝑒 address,” Laird told the outlet, referencing Las Vegas Surgical Associates LLP. “It was an address that doesn’t exist.”
Michael David McKee appears in court after his arrest on Jan. 12, 2026.WBNS
McKee was named in the medical malpractice suit from a client of the surgical group after a procedure allegedly went wrong, requiring the patient to undergo an emergency surgery, according to KSNV, citing court records.
Laird claimed that McKee failed to train a physician’s assistant, which led to the patient’s injury.
McKee held a medical license in Nevada for just over two years before it expired last June — six months before he allegedly killed his ex-wife, Monique Tepe, and her husband, Spencer.
The Nevada lawyer was mystified over McKee’s disappearance, claiming it was not normal for doctors to vanish.
“They tend to be highly responsible people,” he told WSYX. “They’re not the kind of people who just disappeared suddenly, and this was very surprising to us.”
McKee was named in the medical malpractice suit from a client of the surgical group after a procedure allegedly went wrong, requiring the patient to undergo an emergency surgery.WBNS
Spencer and Monique Tepe were found fatally shot in their Columbus, Ohio, home on Dec. 30, 2025.Gofundme
In October, Laird reached out to McKee’s colleagues, including Dr. Peter Caravella, who was named alongside the surgeon in the lawsuit, during his search for the missing doctors just months before the gruesome murders
“He said he has no idea where Dr. Michael McKee is now,” Laird recalled. “He just disappeared.”
A judge sided with Laird and granted a declaration of due diligence, which allowed McKee to be notified of the lawsuit by a newspaper notice.
The newspaper notice, a rare type of lawsuit serving, is granted when a defendant “has departed from the state, or cannot, after due diligence, be found within the state or conceals himself to avoid being served,” according to Clark County Legal News.
McKee is facing two counts of aggravated murder for the Dec. 30 fatal shootings of the Tepes.
The couple were discovered in their Columbus, Ohio, home and are believed to have died between 2 and 5 a.m.
McKee, who was married to Monique for two years before their divorce in 2017, was arrested in Rockford, Illinois.
He attended Ohio State University, graduating from the College of Medicine, and obtained his medical license in the state in 2014 at the age of 28, according to USA Today.
Dan Laird revealed he has attempted over a dozen times to serve McKee with no luck.WSYX ABC 6
Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office
After his divorce, he obtained his medical license in Virginia, where he completed his residency at Virginia Tech Carilion Clinic.
He then obtained licenses in three states — California, Maryland and Nevada — by 2023.
McKee was later given his Illinois medical license in 2024.
He was employed by OSF Saint Anthony in Rockford when he allegedly trekked over 300 miles to Ohio to carry out the heinous killings.
“OSF is cooperating with authorities who will provide further information,” a spokesperson for the faith-based Catholic practice said in a statement to The Post Tuesday night.
The medical group did not confirm whether the suspected gunman was still employed — but no doctor profile for him appears on its website.
The Tepes were murdered just before their fifth wedding anniversary.ABC 6
The home where the Tepes were killed in Columbus, Ohio, on Dec. 30, 2026.ABC 6
Spencer and Monique Tepe were killed just shy of their fifth anniversary.
If found guilty, McKee could face a maximum sentence of life in prison with no possibility of parole.
He could be handed the death penalty under the aggravated murder charges, although Ohio hasn’t executed an inmate since 2018.