Monique Tepe's Unseen Battle: Fear, Survival, and System Failure

Monique Tepe left her marriage to Michael McKee after approximately seven months. The divorce was finalized in June 2017. According to friends and family who spoke with investigators, the marriage allegedly involved strangulation, sexual violence, and death threats that continued after separation. An unsealed Franklin County affidavit states McKee told Monique he could kill her at any time, would find her and buy the house next to hers, and that she would always be his wife.

Monique rebuilt. She married Dr. Spencer Tepe in December 2020. They had two children and made a home in Columbus's Weinland Park neighborhood. On December 30, 2025, both were found shot to death inside that home. Their children were found alive.

This episode focuses on Monique's experience through the lens of psychology and neuroscience. We examine how years of alleged threats and abuse create a neurobiological condition where the brain recalibrates its understanding of danger — a process called normalization of deviance. We explore why post-separation is the most lethal window in domestic violence cases, why "just leave" fundamentally misunderstands the psychology of sustained threat, and how Monique's reported awareness of the danger coexisted with the absence of any institutional mechanism to stop it.

Court records allege McKee surveilled the Tepe home for weeks using stolen license plates and was captured on video at the property during the Big Ten Championship weekend. We trace how he allegedly moved between Virginia, Colorado, Nevada, and Illinois over a decade with no system connecting domestic violence allegations to his active medical licenses.

Michael McKee has pleaded not guilty. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

#MoniqueTepe #SpencerTepe #MichaelMcKee #TepeCase #DomesticViolenceAwareness #NormalizationOfFear #ColumbusOhioHomicide #SystemFailure #AggravatedMurder #JusticeForSpencerAndMonique

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This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.