Dover doctor Ingolf Tuerk sentenced to 12 to 16 years in wife's strangling death
A doctor from Dover, Massachusetts was sentenced to 12 and 16 years in the strangling death of his wife.
Ingolf Tuerk was charged with murder in the death of his wife, 45-year-old Kathleen McLean, in May 2020. Tuerk admitted to putting his hands on McLean's neck but said he was defending himself during a fight after she threw a glass at him.
"I snapped, I kind of blacked out," Tuerk testified during his trial. "I grabbed her. On the neck."
"I can't imagine a human being's last moments on earth while being strangled by her husband, it's simply difficult to fathom," said the judge. He also said while Tuerk wasn't charge with improper disposal of a body, he still remarked that Tuerk threw his wife's body away "like a bag of trash."
Tuerk's defense attorney asked for 8 to 10 years in prison and reminded the judge that while McLean's children gave emotional victim impact statements, they still had two happy years living with Tuerk. He also reminded the judge that Tuerk had no criminal record.
Apologizes to victim's family
Tuerk also spoke, asking for McLean to forgive him for what he did. "I think about you every day. I wish I could make it all un-happen." He apologized to McLean and her family and said he played a "terrible role" in her death. "I can't even imagine the loss and pain I've caused you by my actions," he said, addressing her children.
Tuerk also apologized to his family and children. "I'm very sorry for having let you all down in such an unimaginable way."
Victim impact statements
The first victim impact statement came from Sophia, the victim's daughter. She said she can't stop thinking about her mother and has dreams about her. "I constantly think about what I could have done to change the outcome or what I could have done or said to have saved her," she said in her statement. "A part of me was forever lost when the monster stole my mother in the dark." She said she and her siblings will continue their mother's legacy.
The second victim impact statement came from Sam Rocca, the victim's son who was 13 when his mother died. "The past five years have been the worst, loneliest years of my life," he said in his statement. "It's hard to have a childhood when you can't sleep, you're crying all the time and just everything feels like a lot and you have no mom to tell you, 'don't worry, it'll be OK.'" Sam Rocca said he is graduating high school in two weeks and his mother would have been happy to see him graduate.
The third victim impact statement came from Mary Grace Rocca, the victim's daughter. She said she's been living in fear for the past five years and is afraid to trust anyone. "Without her guidance, I felt lost," she said.
The final victim impact statement came from McLean's sister, Beth Molanson. "It has taken five years to this day to get to this, five years of daily grief, trauma, loss and heartbreak of losing my best friend." She recounted telling her nieces and nephew and her mother that McLean had died and cleaning her sister's body after the autopsy was done. "Katie was a daughter, she was an auntie, a sister, a friend, she was a caregiver, she was vibrant and full of life," said Molanson. "She always had a smile, she was calm, she had more patience than anyone I know and most importantly, she was a mother to her three children Sophie, Gracie and Sam. Everything she did in her life centered around her three babies."
Admitted to strangling wife
McLean's body was later found in a pond near their Valley Road home weighed down by rocks. Prosecutors said the medical examiner found "injuries and bruising consistent with strangulation."
Police found Tuerk unresponsive in a Dedham hotel the same day his wife's body was found. He testified during his trial that he had tried to kill himself. He told police at the time he strangled his wife, panicked when he realized she was dead and dumped her body in the pond.
Convicted of voluntary manslaughter
A jury convicted Tuerk of voluntary manslaughter in April.
Tuerk and McLean got married in December 2019. McLean had accused Tuerk of abuse several times and had filed a restraining order against him in February 2020.
Tuerk was once the head of urology at Boston Medical Center-Brighton (formerly St. Elizabeth's Medical Center). At the time of McLean's death, Steward Medical Group said in a statement, "Dr. Tuerk has not seen or treated patients as part of Steward Medical Group for more than a year. He was formally terminated in February."
