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