BRISTOL, England (AP) — U.S. rugby star Ilona Maher is set to make her first start for the Bristol Bears on Sunday at the Exeter Chiefs.
The 28-year-old Maher, who helped lead the U.S. to the bronze medal in rugby sevens at the Paris Games, was named as a winger in the starting lineup announced Friday ahead of her second Premiership Women’s Rugby match in England.
Last Sunday, Maher entered as a replacement an hour into Bristol's 40-17 loss to defending champion Gloucester-Hartpury.
The arrival of Maher, the most followed rugby player on social media, has boosted ticket sales. Her debut game drew 9,240 fans to Ashton Gate, a Bristol women's team home record.
Exeter didn't release figures but said that Sunday's game at Sandy Park will feature “ our biggest home crowd this season.”
Maher has more than 8 million followers combined on Instagram and TikTok. She also was a runner-up on the “Dancing With The Stars” TV show.
The Vermont native is returning to the 15-a-side game in hopes of boosting her chances of making the U.S. team for the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup in England. She can play at wing or center.
Last Sunday's game was her first 15s appearance since 2021.
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
Bristol Bears' Ilona Maher during the Premiership Women's Rugby match between Bristol Bears and Gloucester Hartpury at Ashton Gate, Bristol, England, Sunday Jan. 5, 2025. (Adam Davy/PA via AP)
Bristol Bears' Ilona Maher during the Premiership Women's Rugby match between Bristol Bears and Gloucester Hartpury at Ashton Gate, Bristol, England, Sunday Jan. 5, 2025. (Adam Davy/PA via AP)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Police in Ohio's capital city said Wednesday that they have gathered enough evidence to link a man charged in the double homicide of his ex-wife and her husband in their Columbus home last month to the killings.
Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said in an Associated Press interview that authorities now believe Michael David McKee, 39, a vascular surgeon who was living in Chicago, was the person seen walking down a dark alley near Monique and Spencer Tepe's home in video footage from the night of the murders. His vehicle has also been identified traveling near the house, and a firearm found in his Illinois residence also traced to evidence at the scene, she said.
An attorney representing McKee could not be identified through court listings.
His arrest Saturday capped off nearly two weeks of speculation surrounding the mysterious killings that attracted national attention. No obvious signs of forced entry were found at the Tepes’ home. Police also said no weapon was found there, and murder-suicide was not suspected. Further, nothing was stolen, and the couple’s two young children and their dog were left unharmed in the home.
“What we can tell you is that we have evidence linking the vehicle that he was driving to the crime scene. We also have evidence of him coming and going in that particular vehicle,” Bryant told the AP. “What I can also share with you is that there were multiple firearms taken from the property of McKee, and one of those firearms did match preliminarily from a NIBIN (ballistic) hit back to this actual homicide.”
Bryant said that the department wants the public to keep the tips coming. Investigators were able to follow up on every phone call, email and private tip shared from the community to the department and some of that information allowed them to gather enough evidence to make an arrest, she said.
That work culminated in the apprehension of McKee in Rockford, Illinois, where the hospital where he worked — OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center — has said it is cooperating with the investigation. He has been charged with premeditated aggravated murder in the shooting deaths. Monique Tepe, who divorced McKee in 2017, was 39. Her husband, a dentist whose absence from work that morning prompted the first call to police, was 37.
McKee waived his right to an extradition hearing on Monday during an appearance in the 17th Judicial Circuit Court in Winnebago County, Illinois, where he remains in jail. Bryant said officials are working out details of his return to Ohio, with no exact arrival date set. His next hearing in Winnebago County is scheduled for Jan. 23.
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said Wednesday that the city doesn't prioritize high-profile cases any more than others, noting that the city's closure rate on criminal cases exceeds the national average. The city also celebrated in 2025 its lowest level of homicides and violent crime since 2007, Ginther said.
“Every case matters. Ones that receive national attention, and those that don’t,” he told the AP. “Every family deserves closure and for folks to be held accountable, and the rest of the community deserves to be safe when dangerous people are taken off the street.”
Ginther said it is vital for central Ohioans to continue to grieve with the Tepes' family, which includes two young children, and loved ones, as they cope with “such an unimaginable loss.”
“I want our community to wrap our arms around this family and these children for years to come,” he said.
This undated booking photo provided by the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, shows Michael David McKee, who was charged in the killing of his ex-wife, Monique Tepe, and her husband Spencer Tepe at their Columbus, Ohio, home on Dec. 30, 2025. (Winnebago County Sheriff's Office via AP)
Spencer and Monique Tepe's home in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos)
This image taken from video shows Michael David McKee walking into the courtroom on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Rockford, Ill. (WIFR News/Pool Photo via AP)
