SURGEON PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO KILLING EX-WIFE AND HER DENTIST HUSBAND. (PHOTO).

 Surgeon pleads not guilty to killing ex-wife and her dentist husband

 An Illinois surgeon pleaded not guilty Friday to charges in the December killings of his ex-wife and her husband, a dentist, at their Ohio home.

Michael David McKee, 39, appeared remotely from jail for his arraignment, facing four counts of aggravated murder and one count of aggravated burglary involving a firearm suppressor, connected to the Dec. 30 deaths of Monique Tepe, 39, and Dr. Spencer Tepe, 37. McKee did not speak during the hearing, and his attorney, Diane Menashe, waived a request for bond for the time being.

McKee, who lives in Chicago, was arrested 11 days after the shootings near his workplace in Rockford, Illinois, and was transferred to Ohio earlier this week to face the charges. Two of the murder counts include a “prior calculation and design” allegation, while the other two note that the murders occurred during an aggravated burglary. All four charges carry additional firearm specifications, including three years for using a gun to commit aggravated murder and six years for using a firearm suppressor.

The Tepes were discovered shot dead in their Weinland Park residence, with Monique sustaining a chest wound and Spencer shot multiple times. Their infant children were unharmed. Investigators determined early on that the deaths were not a murder-suicide. There were no signs of forced entry, and a firearm had not been recovered.

Authorities identified a person of interest on a security camera near the home and linked McKee through a vehicle registered in his name seen near the scene on the day of the killings. That vehicle was traced to Rockford, where McKee worked at OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center. He was arrested on Jan. 10 without incident.