Why Monique Tepe Never Reported: Therapist Breaks Down Coercive Control and Silent Fear
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
True Crime Today
3.3 • 907 Ratings
🗓️ 22 January 2026
⏱️ 14 minutes
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Summary
Monique Tepe allegedly knew she was in danger. She talked about it for eight years. And she never called the police.
Family members say Monique described Michael McKee as emotionally abusive. She told them about death threats during their brief marriage. She said she was terrified. She warned people. But when Police Chief Bryant was asked about prior reports of threats or concerns, she confirmed there were none.
Why don't victims report? Why do women who clearly understand the danger stay silent when it comes to the system?
In Part 2 of our three-part interview series, psychotherapist Shavaun Scott explores the victim experience. Shavaun has over thirty years working in domestic violence shelters and trauma recovery — and she's a survivor herself. Her ex-husband died by revenge suicide after she asked for divorce. She understands what Monique may have been carrying in ways most people never will.
We examine coercive control — the psychological abuse that leaves no bruises. We explore why victims hope distance and time will be enough protection. We ask what it does to someone to live in fear for years while building what looks like a happy life. And we dig into the heartbreak of Monique's wedding vows, where she talked about "waterfalls of tears" from her past.
She told people. She just didn't tell the system.
#MichaelMcKee #MoniqueTepe #SpencerTepe #CoerciveControl #ShavaunScott #TrueCrime #DomesticViolence #VictimSilence #HiddenKillers #WhyVictimsDontReport
Link to Shavaun Scott's Substack Discussing Dangerous Ex's:
https://open.substack.com/pub/shavaun/p/when-leaving-is-the-most-dangerous?r=1fklc&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
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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.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is Hidden Killers Live with Tony Bruske, Stacey Cole, and Todd Michaels. |
| 0:09.2 | Monique Teppy allegedly knew she was in danger. |
| 0:12.5 | Family members say she talked about being terrified of Michael McKee for eight years. |
| 0:17.8 | She described the abuse. |
| 0:19.1 | She told people about the death threats, but she never filed a |
| 0:22.4 | police report. There were no stalking complaints on record. She built a new life, new husband, |
| 0:27.1 | two children, a home full of love while carrying the weight of that fear every day. |
| 0:32.1 | Why don't victims report? What is it like to live with that burden for years? Shavon Scott, psychotherapist and author, is with us to help us break all that down. Monique left that marriage in seven months. The family says she was willing to do anything to get out of there. That's not someone who slowly is realizing something was wrong. |
| 0:55.1 | That's someone who recognized danger fast and acted. What does it tell you when the victim |
| 0:59.2 | identifies the threat so quickly seven months into a marriage and is just, you know, I'm out |
| 1:05.9 | the door. We're not working on this. I'm done. |
| 1:08.8 | Smart woman. Smart woman. |
| 1:17.6 | And there are many intelligent women who stay for years because they're being so easily manipulated. |
| 1:18.7 | But he was apparently so extreme with the threats to kill her that this was not one she |
| 1:24.5 | could remain in denial about. |
| 1:26.4 | So good for her. She had, you know, |
| 1:30.1 | at least some semblance of a good life and children and a loving man for a while. But some |
| 1:37.5 | women don't report because they're afraid that it's going to cause escalation. Yeah. |
| 1:49.2 | And it's, I tried to look up data on this and it's hard to get good data. |
| 1:54.0 | But it looks like, you know, with the restraining order, about 50% of the time, |
| 1:55.7 | restraining orders work. |
| 2:04.6 | You know, the stalker, the perpetrator, the angry husband, they take it seriously, they don't want to go to jail, and they stop. |
... |
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