Kathleen McLean was keen to give her marriage another try, but there was a final argument with Ingolf Tuerk that would seal her fate underwater, weighed down with rocks in her pocket
After finding love later in life, Kathleen McLean and Dr Ingolf Tuerk were newlyweds living in a $2.4 million home in Dover, Massachusetts, with some of their children. The couple had met on an online dating app in November 2017 and had married two years later at a drive-thru wedding chapel in Las Vegas.
Tuerk was a renowned urologist who specialised in robotic surgery. He was chief of urology at St Elizabeth’s Medical Center and highly respected in his field. German born Tuerk, who had the nickname Harry, was charismatic and would turn up to work on his Harley-Davidson. He was also competitive and had once been a member of the East German Olympic decathlon team in the 1980s, but he quit in favour of studying medicine at university.
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Kathleen, 45, was Tuerk’s third wife and they both had children from previous relationships – Tuerk had two and Kathleen had three. Kathleen ran Birch Tree Energy and Healing, an alternative healing service, and was passionate about helping people.
Couple in crisis
By 2020, the couple were already in crisis. Tuerk’s career was in chaos after he was accused of falsely billing the government for surgeries that never happened. He agreed to pay £150,000 as part of a settlement and stopped working at the hospital.
Tuerk and Kathleen’s marriage was also strained. A few weeks after their Vegas wedding, Tuerk had gone to see a divorce lawyer, seemingly regretting their decision to marry. He would later say he was drunk and didn’t really remember the wedding. When Kathleen found out from seeing it on his phone, she was devastated. They were having arguments and the arguments were escalating.
In February, Kathleen went to the police and asked for a restraining order. She claimed that Tuerk was physically abusive and she’d grown afraid of him. There had been an incident when she was working on a school project with her daughter and Tuerk had started an argument. He’d allegedly said, “I’m the f*****g king of this castle – you are only a guest,” before leaning in to cut off a piece of her hair. As she’d reached up to try to stop him, the scissors cut her hand.
Kathleen started divorce proceedings and Tuerk was forced to move out of the house. But by May, to everyone’s surprise, he had moved back in and Kathleen asked for the restraining order to be lifted. They were going to give their marriage another chance. They even arranged a prenuptial agreement that put Kathleen’s name on the deeds of the house.
Four days after moving back in, on 14 May, the couple had an evening meal with Kathleen’s children and shared some drinks, but in the morning, Kathleen and Tuerk had gone. Soon the police were being contacted. Kathleen’s ex – the father of her children –said she was missing. A friend of Tuerk also called the police to say that Tuerk had sent him a disturbing text the evening before that said, “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.”
Investigators tracked Tuerk down to a local hotel where he had self-inflicted wounds to his wrists. There was a syringe in the room so they administered Narcanto reverse the effects of any suspected overdose. After a check at the hospital, Tuerk confessed that he had “gone too far” and that Kathleen was dead.
A drunken argument
Tuerk directed the police to a local pond, where they found Kathleen’s body in the water, weighed down with rocks in her trousers. Tuerk said he had killed her in self-defence during a drunken argument after she’d attacked him. He was charged with murder but pleaded not guilty.
The scandal of the surgeon’s arrest spread quickly and Kathleen’s death was devastating for all who knew her. The trial was scheduled four times over five years, which sparked fury among her loved ones.
Finally, in April this year, Tuerk was in court facing a jury. He took the stand and wept heavily as he described what happened on the day of Kathleen’s death. He said they’d been drinking and Kathleen had seen a text on his phone from another woman and had been angry. They had taken the argument upstairs so they wouldn’t upset her three children.
He said Kathleen had grabbed him and smashed a glass over his head, which made him “snap” and he put his hands around her neck. “She just flailed around,” he said. “We fell to the floor together, in sync. When I came out of my blackout, that’s where we were – she was not responsive.”
Tuerk said he’d begged his wife to wake up. When she didn’t, he alleged that he had put her on the bed and attempted CPR. When it hadn’t worked, he put her body in the car and drove to a nearby pond. After putting her body in the water, she floated to the surface and he realised he needed to weigh her down.
“I walked through the yard and tried tolook for something that may, you know,bring her down,” he testified. He found rocks and put them in the pockets of her trousers.His defence said he’d“panicked” and the death wasn’t premeditated.
Tuerk said he’d hidden the body because he didn’t want her children to find her remains. Afterwards, he had attempted to take his own life. The defence also made claims that Kathleen had been trying to gain control of Tuerk’s money and assets, and that’s why she had taken him back.
The prosecution agreed it had been about money – but said Tuerk had killed Kathleen because he was worried about losing his wealth and his house in his third divorce, thanks to their prenuptial agreement. All Kathleen had wanted was to give her husband one last chance and establish stability for her children.
Treated like ‘trash’
They said that Tuerk hadn’t been in danger of Kathleen and he’d disposed of her body “like a piece of trash”. They said he hadn’t snapped in the heat of the moment and instead had been “cool, calm and collected”. If it had been an accident, why hadn’t he dialled 911, they asked.
Tuerk, now 63, was found not guilty of murder by the jury, but guilty of voluntary manslaughter. Kathleen’s family were extremely disappointed and said they didn’t feel that she had got justice – especially after waiting for five years.
In May, Tuerk was sentenced. Kathleen’s family said the way she had been described in court was wrong. “She was vibrant and full of life. She always had a smile, she was calm. She had more patience than anyone I know,” her sister Beth Melanson said. Kathleen’s children spoke of their grief while Tuerk apologised for the pain he’d caused. He was sentenced to 12 to 16 years in prison with credit for time served.