The doctor charged with murdering his ex-wife and her dentist husband just days after the couple celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary appeared in an Illinois courtroom on Monday.

Michael McKee, 39, arrived at Winnebago County Court around 1:30 p.m. in handcuffs shackled to his waist by a large chain, wearing a yellow jumpsuit.

Once inside the courtroom, he was joined by Winnebago County Assistant Public Defender Carrie Poirier, who told the judge her client would invoke his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.

She also informed the judge that McKee would be waiving his extradition hearing and intended to enter a plea of not guilty to both counts of aggravated murder with premeditation he is facing in Franklin County, Ohio.

Michael McKee court, Monique Tepe and Spencer Tepe.WBNS 10TV/YouTube; Rob Misleh

McKee is accused of murdering his ex-wife Monique Tepe, 39, and her husband Spencer Tepe, 37, just before 4 a.m. on Dec. 30, as their two young children slept in their bedrooms.

McKee and Monique had married in August 2015 but separated after just seven months. Monique moved back to Ohio while McKee remained in Virginia, where the vascular surgeon was completing his residency.

The two were divorced in June 2017, and soon after, Monique began dating Spencer after meeting him online.

Michael McKee.WBNS 10TV/YouTube

In 2020, Spencer purchased the couple’s home in Columbus, and on Dec. 13 of that same year the couple married in a small ceremony attended by family members.

They went on to welcome a son and daughter in the next few years, with Monique staying home to care for the children.

Their bodies were discovered by Spencer’s coworkers after he failed to show up for work on the morning of Dec. 30.

In a series of frantic 911 calls, one individual reported hearing the couple’s children crying inside and upon investigating, discovered Spencer lying dead in his bedroom.

Monique and Spencer both died from gunshot wounds, according to police — just days after celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary.

Monique Tepe and Spencer Tepe.Courtesy of Rob Misleh

McKee, meanwhile, moved to Las Vegas after completing his residency, and in 2025, he purchased a penthouse apartment in Chicago while taking a job in the Illinois city of Rockford.

Police identified him as a suspect in the case after obtaining security footage from cameras in the neighborhood that showed a car arriving and then leaving around the time of the murders, according to a copy of the probable cause affidavit obtained by PEOPLE.

Police eventually located that car 400 miles away in Rockford, according to the affidavit. McKee was arrested in Rockford just before 12 p.m. on Jan. 10.

McKee will remain in the Winnebago County Jail for the time being, but is expected to be extradited back to Ohio by the end of the week.

Once in custody, he will appear in Franklin County Court to be formally arraigned on two counts of aggravated murder with premeditation.

If convicted of those charges, McKee would face the possibility of life in prison or could even be sentenced to death.