Monique Tepe's Family Knew Michael McKee Was Dangerous — Why The System Couldn't Protect Her
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
True Crime Today
3.3 • 909 Ratings
🗓️ 20 January 2026
⏱️ 17 minutes
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Summary
Her family says they weren't shocked when police arrested Dr. Michael McKee. They'd suspected him from the moment Monique Tepe and her husband Spencer were found murdered in their Columbus home. They just couldn't say anything — they were protecting the investigation. But here's the part that should keep everyone up at night: Monique's family knew. They'd known for years that McKee was a threat. And the system still couldn't act until she was dead. There were no restraining orders on file. No 911 calls from the Tepe address. Police labeled this a "targeted domestic violence attack," but by the time they could do anything about it, two people were gone and two children were orphaned. Former FBI Special Agent Jennifer Coffindaffer joins Hidden Killers to examine the psychology of an eight-year grudge that allegedly ended in murder.
Monique did everything you're supposed to do when you leave a dangerous situation. She got out after seven months. She didn't fight over assets. She moved back to Ohio, rebuilt her life, remarried, had children. She never said McKee's name after the divorce — only called him "her ex-husband." Her family says she talked about emotional abuse. About torment. That she was always worried about him. Coffindaffer explains the behavioral profile of a grievance collector who never lets go, how McKee's demand for the rings back and the interest penalty clause in the separation agreement reveal control dynamics, and why watching Monique build a new family may have been the trigger that escalated obsession into alleged violence. For anyone who recognizes these patterns in their own life, Coffindaffer shares the warning signs that someone may never move on — even years after a relationship ends.
#MoniqueTepe #MichaelMcKee #TepeMurders #HiddenKillers #DomesticViolence #JenniferCoffindaffer #GrievanceCollector #TrueCrimePodcast #ColumbusOhio #SystemFailure
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is Hidden Killers Live with Tony Bruske, Stacey Cole and Todd Michaels. |
| 0:08.8 | Monique Teppy did everything you're supposed to do when you leave a bad situation. |
| 0:13.9 | She got out after seven months. |
| 0:15.6 | She didn't drag things out. |
| 0:17.8 | She let him keep the house. |
| 0:19.1 | She let him have the rings. |
| 0:20.3 | She just won it out. She paid him what the house. She let him have the rings. She just wanted out. |
| 0:21.5 | She paid him what she owed. She moved back to Ohio. Rebuilt her life, fell in love, got married, |
| 0:28.2 | had two kids, put eight years of time between her and him. Life had moved on for all intents |
| 0:34.6 | and purposes. Her family says, though, that she never said Michael McKee's |
| 0:39.0 | name after the divorce. She only called him the ex-husband. They say she did talk about the |
| 0:44.4 | emotional abuse, about the torment, how it still haunted her to that day. They say she always |
| 0:49.3 | worried about him coming for her. Eight years later, police say he drove 300 miles in the middle of the night and killed her anyway. |
| 0:58.5 | Jennifer Coffin-dafter retired FBI Special Agent is with us to help break this down as we look at the more personal angle of this. |
| 1:07.9 | I know you've said about this case that it reflects deep-seated resentment and hate |
| 1:13.7 | that just built up. What do we know about the psychology as someone who holds a grudge for eight |
| 1:18.5 | years after a seven-month marriage? Yeah, you know, listen, he obviously loved this woman in his sort of way, right? |
| 1:28.5 | A lot of people sadly love like that where he had to control where he, it was going to be |
| 1:34.7 | her with him. |
| 1:36.9 | And if that was going to happen, she wasn't going to have a life outside of that. |
| 1:40.6 | We see it over and over again. |
| 1:42.1 | I think what everybody is sort of latching on to |
... |
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