Former Massachusetts Doctor Testifies He Killed Wife, Dumped Body in Pond

DOVER, Mass. — A former prominent urologist admitted in court this week to killing his wife and disposing of her body in a nearby pond, telling jurors he acted in fear and during a moment of emotional collapse.

Ingolf Tuerk, 63, the former chief of urology at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton, took the witness stand Tuesday in his murder trial, where he recounted the events leading up to the death of his third wife, 45-year-old Kathleen McLean, in May 2020.

With tears in his eyes, Tuerk described a heated confrontation inside their Dover home. He testified that McLean, angry over a text message from another woman, struck him in the head with a glass. The couple had reportedly been drinking heavily at the time.

“I snapped,” Tuerk told the court. “I grabbed her on her neck. She kind of flailed around, and we fell on the floor together.” He said he strangled her in what he claimed was an act of self-defense, insisting he feared for his safety.

After realizing McLean had died, Tuerk said he placed her body in the passenger seat of their car and drove to a nearby pond. He admitted to using rocks in an attempt to weigh the body down after dumping it in the water.

“I didn’t want the children to find her,” Tuerk said, referencing McLean’s three children, who were living in the home at the time.

At the time of the killing, the couple was in the midst of a contentious divorce. The COVID-19 pandemic added further strain to their already volatile relationship, according to Tuerk’s testimony.

During Wednesday’s closing arguments, prosecutors portrayed Tuerk as deceitful and manipulative, arguing that the killing was premeditated and driven by a desire to keep the family home.

The defense, however, maintained that Tuerk did not intend to kill his wife. Under questioning, Tuerk confirmed, “No, I didn’t mean to kill her.”

The trial now moves toward a verdict, as the jury weighs Tuerk’s emotional testimony against the prosecution’s claims of motive and intent.