An infant boy in Ohio was tragically left alone in his crib for several hours after his parents were brutally murdered in their residence.

Spencer Tepe, 39, a dentist, and his spouse, Monique Tepe, 37, were shot and killed in their Columbus home on December 30, leaving behind their two young children: three-year-old Emilia and one-year-old Beckham.

Concerned when Spencer didn’t arrive at work, a friend visited their home later that morning. He reported to a 911 dispatcher that he possibly heard children crying inside the house.

Rob Misleh, who is married to Spencer’s sister, shared with PEOPLE that he believes the friend likely heard 17-month-old Beckham crying from his crib.

“He was in the crib and unable to climb out on his own,” Misleh explained, adding that it was well past the time Beckham would usually be awake, and he hadn’t eaten for some time when authorities arrived.

Fortunately, Misleh expressed relief that neither Emilia nor Beckham seemed to have witnessed their parents’ violent deaths, as both children had separate bedrooms in the Columbus home.

‘From the time frame that we know, 2am to 5am [when police say the murders took place], the kids would’ve been in their beds, so we assume that… they did not see anything,’ Misleh said.

Authorities now say Monique’s ex-husband, Michael McKee, 39, entered the $700,000 home in the early morning hours of December 30 and opened fire at the couple, hitting Spencer multiple times and striking Monique at least once in the chest.

Monique Tepe, 37, and Spencer Tepe, 39, were fatally shot at their Columbus home on December 30, leaving behind their two young children, then-three-year-old Emilia and one-year-old Beckham

The children had their own rooms inside the $700,000 home (pictured), and are not believed to have witnessed the double homicide

He was taken into custody at a fast food restaurant near Chicago on January 10, and was officially indicted in Franklin County, Ohio on Friday.

The Illinois surgeon now faces four charges of aggravated murder with the use of an automatic firearm with a silencer and one charge of aggravated burglary.

McKee made his first court appearance in Illinois on Monday, and waived his extradition hearing, clearing the way for him to be sent back to Ohio to be arraigned on the charges.

He was then extradited to the Buckeye state and was booked into the Franklin County Jail on Tuesday, WHIO reports. 

The suspect was tracked from the murder scene with surveillance cameras, which led to a vehicle he owned, Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said, noting that he still had the gun used in the alleged double homicide on him when he was arrested.

‘Multiple weapons were taken from the property of McKee, and there is a preliminary link to one of the weapons that ties it to the homicides,’ Bryant said.

‘What we can say, this was a targeted attack. This was a domestic violence-related attack, as we know McKee is the ex-husband of Monique Tepe,’ she added.

‘We believe at this point we have the person responsible for the murders of Monique and Spencer Tepe, and that person is Michael McKee.’

Monique’s ex-husband, Michael McKee, 39, has been arrested for the alleged murders

He appeared in court in Illinois on Monday, and waived his extradition hearing, clearing the way for him to be sent back to Ohio to be arraigned on the charges

Records obtained by the Daily Mail show McKee married Monique in 2015 but they divorced seven months later. In her complaint for divorce, Monique stated that she and McKee were ‘incompatible.’

The couples’ separation agreement included a requirement that Monique had to pay McKee $1,281.59 back for ‘miscellaneous debt’, with the added clause that if she did not reimburse him buy July 1, 2018, she would be hit with 23 percent interest.

A former FBI agent has suggested that, ‘deep-seated resentment and hatred’ may have been a factor in the evidently, ‘very personal’ crime.

‘When I look at this case, we knew it was going to be very personal. For somebody to go up into the bedroom and kill these individuals with a gun,’ retired FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer told NewsNation.

‘This divorce happened about nine years ago. They were married for such a brief time, only seven months, so that is strange.’

The couple were killed ahead of their upcoming anniversary, the timing of which Coffindaffer said could have pushed McKee over the edge.

Records obtained by the Daily Mail show McKee married Monique in 2015 but they divorced seven months later 

Police say they tracked McKee to the scene using neighborhood surveillance footage

Family members now say McKee was a ‘monster’ and was abusive to Monique during their short marriage.

Misleh even told NBC News that the family ‘quicky believed’ McKee was involved in the double homicide. 

‘He was an emotionally abusive person when they were together, that is all I know,’ he said. 

In the years since the divorce, McKee has built a medical career spanning four states.

But court records obtained by Fox News show he was also facing at least two medical malpractice and negligence cases in the months leading up to the Tepes’ deaths.

Federal court records reveal he was named as a defendant in a civil rights and medical negligence lawsuit filed on June 7, 2024 in the US District Court for the District of Nevada.

State court records in Clark County also show he is the primary defendant in an active medical malpractice suit slated for a jury trial.

Nearly a dozen efforts to contact McKee about a lawsuit claiming he failed to train a physician’s assistant who injured a patient in 2023, though, proved unsuccessful, according to WSYX.  

Las Vegas attorney Dan Laird’s servicer documented at least nine attempts to contact the surgeon, with the address provided by his medical group proving non-existent and his phone number issued with the state medical board leading to a fax machine.

Ultimately, a judge granted a declaration of due diligence in the malpractice case, allowing McKee to be served via a newspaper notice.

But the fact that none of McKee’s available contact information was working led forensic scientist and Jacksonville State University Professor Joseph Scott Morgan to speculate to Fox News that McKee may have been trying to disguise himself.

Monique and Spencer were killed ahead of their wedding anniversary

He explained that the level of deception would only make sense for someone trying to throw people off, like investigators or a possible lawsuit. 

As McKee now faces charges for the double homicide, family members taking care of the Tepes’ two children said they are trying to figure out how to speak to them about what happened.

‘If [Emilia] wants to talk about it, we are to encourage that,’ Spencer’s cousin, Audrey Mackie, told PEOPLE, noting that the family is working with professionals and using resources like books on how to approach the matter.

In the meantime, it seems like the children do not fully understand the reality of their parents’ sudden disappearance.

‘I really don’t think that a four year old can grasp [what] is hard for us to even grasp,’ Misleh said. ‘It’s going to be years and years of processing.’

The Tepes were known as devoted parents ‘whose lives were filled with love, joy and deep connection to others,’ family members have said, adding that they loved to travel and laugh.

Spencer, a graduate of Ohio State University and a member of the American Dental Association, worked at Athens Dental Depot 

Spencer, a graduate of Ohio State University and a member of the American Dental Association, worked at Athens Dental Depot. He was said to have been a devoted father and a loyal Buckeyes and Cincinnati Bengals fan.

Monique, who also attended Ohio State University and had a background in education, was remembered as a ‘loving, patient, and joyful mother whose warmth defined her.’

The family is now raising funds to help support the two young children, garnering more than $233,000 as of Wednesday night.

‘The abrupt loss of Spencer and Monique has changed daily life in ways that are still unfolding,’ the GoFundMe says.

‘This fund exists to help provide stability and care for their children and the immediate family members who are supporting them during this time.’