Cops: Doc accused of murdering wife admitted that he ‘went too far’
A prominent Dover surgeon with a troubled career and turbulent marriage told cops he choked his wife to death during an argument Thursday night, according to a police report, only months after he was charged with trying to strangle her.
Dr. Ingolf Tuerk, 58, pleaded not guilty to the single murder charge Monday in Dedham District Court. Police said in court papers he told them Saturday where to find the body of his wife, Kathleen McLean, 45, near their Valley Road home, after admitting he had choked her to death during an alcohol-fueled fight.
The urologist, once a celebrated surgeon at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, was already facing separate charges of strangulation and violation of an abuse prevention order brought against him in February, in the midst of contested divorce proceedings in a Norfolk probate court.
Howard Cooper, Tuerk’s attorney, told a judge during the hearing it was his first time hearing the details of the police report and requested the audio recording of his client’s alleged confession and copies of search warrants and notes taken by police.
The couple’s divorce proceedings listed a hearing as recently as last Monday in a Norfolk County court, with no judgment reached. They had just gotten married in Las Vegas in December, Clark County, Nevada records indicate.
In February, McLean had told police her husband — after being fired by St.Elizabeth’s Hospital over a $150,000 settlement with by the Attorney General’s Office over allegedly fraudulent billing — “sits around the house all day and does nothing.” She said he was “becoming more possessive and abusive,” demanding to see her phone and tracking her calls.
She described an argument in which she said he “smashed her head on the headboard … put one hand on her throat and the other on her nose on mouth.” She said she felt as “though she was going to die.” Tuerk,
who told police she was becoming manipulative and tracking his calls, was at that time charged with strangulation and ordered to stay away.
Last Friday morning, Tuerk, also known as “Harry,” sent a text message at 4:31 a.m. to a friend of the couple named Curt hours after McLean was last seen, according to the report.
“Curt I am sorry brother but she is a vindictive devil, she played us all, I am really sorry brother, but she manipulated us all love you Harry,” the text allegedly read.
Police responded to Tuerk’s room at the Residence Inn in Dedham where the doctor was staying and said they found him unresponsive, lying in bed with wounds to his wrist and forehead.
Tuerk was given Narcan, Assistant Norfolk District Attorney Lisa Beatty told the Dedham judge, as police were unsure if he had recently used narcotics. He was transported to Norwood Hospital while police began to search for McLean by “pinging” her phone.
On Saturday, police were called to Norwood Hospital, where they said Tuerk waived his Miranda rights, and began telling them the couple had been drinking and arguing when McLean hit him in the head with an object, possibly a glass, and Tuerk began to choke her.
“Harry explained that Katie was fighting at first and he continued to choke her,” the police report states. “Harry stated that Katie then passed out and he realized he went too far. Harry stated that Katie was dead in the bedroom (Harry is a doctor).”
Police said Tuerk told them he panicked and placed McLean’s body in the front passenger seat of his Jeep and he drove her to a nearby pond in front of a vacant home for sale, placing her in the water, receiving cuts on his body from the bushes near the site.
State Police followed Tuerk’s detailed directions to the pond, where they found McLean submerged, naked from the waist up, with several rocks in her pants, the police report states.
The surgeon was fired from St. Elizabeth’s Hospital by Steward Medical Group in February, the organization’s executive vice president confirmed Sunday.
Tuerk had not seen or treated patients on behalf of Steward Medical Group for more than a year, Patrick Lombardo, executive vice president of Human Resources told the Herald Sunday.
Attorney General Maura Healey’s Office settled with the urologist for $150,000 last November for allegedly inappropriately billing the state’s Medicaid program, MassHealth, for $31,000 for portions of surgical procedures that never took place and office visits that he did not attend, the AG’s office said in a statement.
Tuerk’s medical license in Massachusetts appeared active, subject to restrictions as of Monday evening.
St. Elizabeth’s Hospital featured Tuerk’s flamboyant image in a promotional video posted on YouTube in 2012, featuring the thenchief of urology rolling up to the hospital’s entrance on a black motorcycle emblazoned with flames.
Patients in the video, still online as of Monday evening, offer testimonials to Tuerk’s skills, while Tuerk tells the audience of his work in robotic surgery.
Beatty said a grand jury could be convened in July to seek an indictment.