Dr Ingolf Tuerk, 58 years old, was previously charged with a billing scandal that he was required to pay $150,000 to resolve. The medical expert has now been arrested with allegations of murdering his wife, Kathleen McLean, and dumping her body in a small pond beside their home.
McLean was last seen residing in their home at Dover on Thursday. Her sighting was two days before her dead body was found on Saturday night, as stated by the office of Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey.
An innocent victim
Lisa Beatty, the Assistant District Attorney, told the judge of the case in a virtual consultation that McLean was found to have bruising and injuries that suggest she was strangled to death.
CBS News reported that official police documents revealed that local law enforcement found Tuerk in a hotel in Dedham, unresponsive. The authorities used Narcan, which is used to revive opioid overdose victims, to resuscitate him.
When Tuerk woke up in the hospital, he allegedly told law enforcement that he indeed strangled his wife, but panicked after realizing she had died, which caused him to throw her body into a nearby pond anxiously, according to the station.
Howard Cooper, acting attorney for Tuerk, did not challenge the decision to hold the suspect without bail but insisted on the assistance that his client has provided to countless patients.
"Dr Tuerk has long had a reputation as an extraordinary physician and surgeon," Cooper said. "The number of people he has helped and whose lives he has saved over the years include people from every background, every nationality, every religion, and race."
The suspect was a physician who practised urology at St. Elizabeth's Hospital and allegedly caused the false billing of over $31,000 that went into MassHealth intended for surgical procedures that were nonexistent, along with office visits he was not present at.
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The office of the attorney general stated that the doctor ordered his staff and other medical workers to document procedures that were never done. The surgeon was also accused of billing the state's Medical program for office visits even though he was not present among them, according to Beckers.
Contradicting his oath to save lives
In February, Tuerk was formally removed from the Steward Medical Group that handled St. Elizabeth's as stated by Steward.
The suspect has agreed to pay the required amount to resolve the allegations, as stated by the Massachusetts attorney general's office in November.
Tuerk and McLean got married in December before proceeding to divorce procedures as their relationship had a history of violence mixed within, stated published reports.
An alternative healing service, "Birch Tree Energy and Healing" was being run by McLean that promotes wellness, self-healing, and life transformation using intuitive modalities.
Tuerk's medical license is listed as active, but subject to restrictions, as stated by the state Board of Registration in Medicine.
Dr Tuerk is scheduled to return back to court on June 10 to continue the hearings regarding his suspected case of murdering his wife.
