Michael McKee Won't Fold — The Bundy-Peterson Psychology Behind His Plea
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
True Crime Today
3.3 • 912 Ratings
🗓️ 5 February 2026
⏱️ 16 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Michael McKee didn't negotiate. He didn't collapse. With surveillance footage, a ballistics match, and years of documented threats on the table, he pleaded not guilty and waived his bail hearing while reserving the right to revisit it. That's a chess move from a defendant who apparently thinks he can win.
Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott — author of "The Minds of Mass Killers" — has spent three decades studying violent offenders. She explains the psychology of defendants who refuse to fold. Ted Bundy represented himself. Scott Peterson watched his trial like it was happening to someone else. Chris Watts tried to manipulate homicide detectives while his family's bodies were still being recovered. These aren't isolated behaviors — they're patterns.
What is narcissistic grandiosity and where does it come from? Is it developed or innate? McKee completed over a decade of elite medical training as a surgeon. Scott analyzes whether that professional background — the ability to compartmentalize, to view complex situations as problems to be solved, to operate with precision under extreme pressure — potentially feeds into the kind of detachment we see in certain courtroom defendants. For someone like this, what does "winning" even mean if conviction is likely? And as this case moves toward trial, what courtroom behaviors would confirm we're dealing with this psychological profile?
#MichaelMcKee #TrueCrimeToday #ShavaunScott #NotGuiltyPlea #TedBundy #ScottPeterson #ChrisWatts #NarcissisticGrandiosity #TepeMurders #ForensicPsychology
Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/
Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod
X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod
Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872
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.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This is Hidden Killers Live with Tony Bruske, Stacey Cole, and Todd Michaels. |
| 0:09.2 | Michael McKee pled not guilty to two counts of aggravated murder. |
| 0:12.9 | The state says they have surveillance footage, a ballistics match, a cell phone that went dark during the murder window, years of documented threats. |
| 0:19.8 | McKee's response wasn't to negotiate. |
| 0:22.3 | It wasn't to collapse. |
| 0:23.6 | He waived his bail hearing, but reserved the right to revisit it. |
| 0:27.8 | A chess move, not a surrender. |
| 0:30.7 | There is a type of defendant who treats the courtroom like an arena, not a place of |
| 0:35.9 | accountability, but a final stage to prove what they've always |
| 0:39.9 | believed about themselves, that they're smarter than everyone else in the room. |
| 0:44.3 | Ted Bundy represented himself and cross-examined witnesses. |
| 0:48.5 | Scott Peterson watched his own trial like a spectator as someone else's tragedy. |
| 0:53.6 | Chris Watts tried to con homicide detective days after his family was dead. |
| 1:01.0 | What connects these defendants isn't just what they allegedly did. |
| 1:04.9 | It's how they process being caught. |
| 1:07.8 | Chavon Scott is with us, author of The Minds of Mass Killers, to help break all of |
| 1:13.7 | this down. Let's get into this a little bit deeper on the forensic side of it. You've evaluated people |
| 1:20.3 | who've committed various types of serious violence when someone faces substantial evidence and |
| 1:26.8 | pleads not guilty anyway. |
| 1:29.3 | What's typically driving that decision? |
| 1:31.5 | Is it legality, psychology, both? |
| 1:33.8 | Are they just along for the ride at this point if they know they did it? |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from True Crime Today, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of True Crime Today and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.