DOVER, MASS. (WHDH) - A Dover doctor told detectives he strangled his wife and dumped her body, weighted down with rocks, in pond near their home last week, officials said at the man’s arraignment Monday.
Ingolf “Harry” Tuerk, 58, was charged with murdering Kathleen McLean, 45, in Dedham District Court.
Dedham police responding to a May 15 report from McLean’s ex-husband that she was missing went to the Residence Inn where McLean and Tuerk were believed to be staying and where Tuerk had rented a room until May 17, officials said. Officers found Tuerk in the room, unresponsive with many cuts on his arms and legs, and he was taken to a local hospital.
Officers pinged McLean’s phone to 29 Valley Road in Dover, where she lived with Tuerk, and found the phone in a locked bedroom, police said. They searched the area for McLean but did not find her.
On May 16, officers spoke with Tuerk at the hospital and he allegedly told them he and McLean were arguing on May 14 when she hit him with a glass and he choked her until she passed out. Tuerk allegedly told police he drove to a nearby pond with McLean’s body and put her in the water and may have put a rock on her.
Officers went to the pond, following Tuerk’s directions, and found McLean there with rocks in her pants, police said.
According to police reports, Tuerk was charged with strangulation after putting his hand around McLean’s throat in December, along with several assault and battery charges. He also allegedly violated a restraining order in February by remotely turning down the temperature in the Valley Road home while McLean was staying there.
Last year Tuerk settled a lawsuit filed against him by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey’s office for falsely billing MassHealth.
He practiced urology at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Brighton at the time and paid $150,000 in the settlement.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)