By Elise Hammond, CNN
(CNN) — The clock is ticking for the man accused of killing a couple in their Columbus, Ohio, home to be sent back to the Buckeye State to face charges.
Michael David McKee was arrested over the weekend in Illinois on two counts of murder in the deaths of Monique Tepe and her husband, Spencer. McKee — Monique’s ex-husband — waived his right to an extradition hearing Monday.
Now, authorities in Ohio have 30 days to bring him to the state so proceedings can begin, according to Joey Jackson, a criminal defense attorney and CNN legal analyst. McKee’s public defender indicated to the judge that his client intends to plead not guilty in Ohio.
Key details of the case are still unknown. Police have not publicly given a possible motive — and it could be a while before it is revealed, according to Jackson.
It is not a “legal imperative” for prosecutors or investigators to offer a motive, he said. The state only has to prove that McKee intended and accomplished the murders. Simply put, at the time of a trial, prosecutors “don’t have to establish why you did what you did — they just have to establish that you did it,” Jackson said.
In practice, however, when lawyers enter a courtroom and present their case in front of a jury, they are trying to tell a story, Jackson said.
“Most people want to know why a person might have acted that way,” he said. “So even though a motive is not an element of the crime, meaning you don’t have to prove it, generally prosecutors will suggest one.”
Monique Tepe and McKee married in August 2015. Their divorce was finalized less than two years later — in June 2017, court records show — about a month after it was filed by Tepe, who was using her maiden name of Sabaturski at the time.
They had no children together and court records do not indicate any major conflicts throughout the divorce proceedings. The Tepes’ murders came more than eight years after the divorce.
Once the case goes to discovery and investigators seek to uncover more information about McKee, including his social media, internet searches and what he said to other people, a motive might become apparent through the evidence, Jackson said.
However, Jackson said, police and other officials involved in the case are likely trying to ensure McKee’s right to a fair trial, and it’s possible they won’t publicly talk about a motive until then. Prosecutors want to limit the information they give the public for two reasons, he said: to limit the details provided to the defense, and to preserve the integrity of witnesses’ accounts.
Jackson said he’s “not surprised” that even if investigators do know the motive, “that they’re not telling us.”
McKee also has not been formally indicted. That can’t happen until he is in Ohio, Jackson said. Right now, just a criminal complaint has been issued, he said.
Colleagues of Spencer, a respected dentist, had called 911 the morning of December 30 after he uncharacteristically didn’t show up to work. The couple was found dead later that morning in the home where they lived with their two children, ages 4 and 1, just north of downtown Columbus. Police say the children were found in the home unharmed.
Murder charges upgraded
The charges against McKee in Ohio were upgraded by Monday morning to premeditated, aggravated murder, records show. The Columbus Division of Police told CNN in an email that was because “detectives believe they met the elements” for McKee to face the more serious offense, without saying exactly what those elements where.
Premeditated, aggravated murder is a more serious offense and carries a possible life sentence without parole or the death penalty. That’s compared to 15 years to life in prison for murder.
Murder charges require prosecutors to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant “purposely caused the death of another person,” according to the Ohio revised code. For aggravated murder, the state must also prove the person committed the killing with “prior calculation and design.” Aggravated murder can also be charged if the deaths happened while another serious crime was taking place, according to the law.
The upgraded charges suggest investigators have evidence of premeditation, Jackson said, but noted that premeditation could be “formed in an instant.”
Columbus police last week released surveillance footage showing “a person of interest” walking in the alley near the couple’s home in the Weinland Park neighborhood. The video was taken during the timeframe investigators believe the couple was killed, police said at the time — early in the morning of December 30.
Columbus police have not said whether McKee is believed to be the person shown in the video, and they’ve not said why they were seeking information about the person.
According to CNN affiliate WBNS, the video links McKee to a vehicle that detectives say arrived shortly before the shooting took place and left moments afterward. Police later located the vehicle in Rockford, Illinois, where officers confirmed McKee was the registered owner, WBNS reported.
The allegation that McKee drove his car “from point A to point B” is one thing that could be “suggestive of premeditation,” according to Jackson.
Police have been reluctant to provide further details about the investigation and it’s not clear what other evidence authorities have connecting McKee to the Tepes’ killings.
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A suspect’s arrest in the killing of a Columbus, Ohio, couple leads to the next big question: What was the motive? News Channel 3-12.
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