IOC president praises progress of Milan's Winter Games venues

MILAN (AP) — International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry hailed the progress being made in the construction of key venues for next year’s Winter Games after visiting sites in Milan on Thursday.

Coventry, along with members of the IOC executive board and local organizers, toured the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in the south of the city as well as the Olympic Village in Milan.

“We’re here in this beautiful venue that is making me want to become a winter athlete,” joked Coventry, who competed at six Summer Olympics as a swimmer — winning seven medals, including two golds.

The Zimbabwean added: “We’ve had a wonderful tour this morning. We were earlier at what will be the home of ice hockey and it was really wonderful to see the fast pace and the progression.”

The Olympic Village was completed in July, a month ahead of schedule after 900 days of work.

However, the 1,200 bedrooms — which will house up to 1,700 athletes — are yet to be furnished and the gym and the canteen are still empty shells.

The facility will be converted into student housing after the Milan-Cortina Olympics.

“It really is a stunning venue,” Coventry said. “And even more importantly the legacy of the venue for student housing which I know is so important for Milano, it’s incredible.

“So we’re really truly grateful to have been here and to be visiting and looking forward to walking back in in a few months seeing all the country’s flags out the windows.”

Former Olympians were also among the delegation, including former swimmer Federica Pellegrini, who won gold in 2008 and silver four years earlier and also competed at three other Olympics.

“They all said that in their life, in their experience, they have never seen such a beautiful, high-quality village,” Milan-Cortina organizing committee president Giovanni Malagò said.

The Milan-Cortina Games will take place across a large swath of northern Italy. The opening ceremony will be at San Siro on Feb. 6.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/winter-olympics

A view of the Olympic and Paralympic Village in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

A view of the Olympic and Paralympic Village in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Executive Board and the IOC President Kirsty Coventry, right, visit the Olympic and Paralympic Village in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Executive Board and the IOC President Kirsty Coventry visits the Olympic and Paralympic Village in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

IOC President Kirsty Coventry, right, and Milano Cortina 2026 Foundation President Giovanni Malago visit the Olympic and Paralympic Village in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

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)