
A prominent Massachusetts doctor who was convicted of killing his wife and then dumping her body in a pond, learned his fate on Friday.
Dr. Ingolf "Harry" Tuerk, 63, was sentenced to between 12 and 16 years in prison with credit for time served in the 2020 death of his wife Kathleen McLean at their home in Dover. A jury found Tuerk guilty of the lesser count of voluntary manslaughter instead of first-degree murder in April.
Tuerk Killed McLean Because He Felt She was Going to Take His House and Money in Divorce
Prosecutors argued the killing was premeditated because the doctor felt as if his wife was going to take his house and money in a divorce. As previously reported, he and his wife were under the influence of alcohol when they started arguing with each other. In the heat of the situation, McLean allegedly hit him on the head with an object and "he reacted to that aggressive situation and choked Katie," until she passed out.
Tuerk later realized he had taken things too far and that McLean had died due to the strangulation, according to a police report filed in court.
McLean had been missing since Thursday, May 14, and investigators were looking into her disappearance when Tuerk confessed to the crime and led police to the pond where he hid the body on Saturday, May 16. When police recovered McLean's body, they found rocks and stones placed in the pockets of her pants.
Tuerk Had a History of Domestic Violence Against McLean
The death followed a series of domestic violence claims against the defendant. Police reports describe allegations in which Tuerk repeatedly beat and threatened McLean. For example, he allegedly threw her to the ground so hard in a January 2020 incident that her shoes were knocked off. In December 2019, he allegedly slammed her head into a headboard and strangled her while covering her nose and mouth.
Another alleged incident involved Tuerk grabbing scissors. Authorities say he told his wife that he was "king of this castle." He allegedly said she was just a guest, then cut off a piece of her hair. This allegedly resulted in her hand getting cut when she tried to stop him.
McLean ended up asking to clear a restraining order against her husband and didn't want him prosecuted. Tuerk would undergo therapy, and the couple would go to counseling. She said she did it for the sake of their family, according a May 2 court affidavit. She would die about two weeks later; she was last seen on May 14, 2020.
At one time, Tuerk was considered a top surgeon at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center and was once the head of the hospital's urology department. However, last year, Tuerk, also known as "Harry," agreed to pay $150,000 as part of a settlement against allegations that he falsely billed the state's Medicaid program for "portions of surgical procedures that never took place and office visits that he did not attend or supervise."