Norfolk DA: Dover man arrested, charged with wife’s murder

DOVER, Mass. — A 58-year-old man has been charged with the murder of his 45-year-old wife, according to Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey and Dover Police Chief Peter A. McGowan.

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Kathleen McLean was last seen in her home on Thursday evening and police were investigating the circumstances of her disappearance. Her remains were found on Saturday night in an outdoor area near her home on 29 Valley Road.

Her husband, Ingolf Tuerk, has been arrested and charged with murder.

Police had been investigating McLean’s disappearance since last Thursday when she was seen in the couple’s Dover home.

This is not Tuerk’s first brush with the legal system. Last fall, he settled allegations of filing false Medicaid claims, agreeing to pay $150,000 to settle the charges with the state.

Dover has one of the lowest crime rates in Massachusetts, so naturally, news of the murder allegation stunned the neighborhood.

"I happen to personally like the guy very much," said neighbor Phil Luttazi. "I didn't see any indication whatsoever."

Tuerk could be arraigned Monday in Dedham District Court, though that schedule is tied to the state of emergency protocol.

Luttazi said Tuerk and his wife bought the sprawling new house a few years back and he'd often see him walking through the neighborhood.

“Never wore shoes. Never saw him wear shoes,” Luttazi remembered. “Going for a walk or cutting his grass, he’d be doing it barefoot.”

The grass grows thick on Dr. Tuerk’s lawn. On the porch are rockers and pots of purple viola. On Sunday morning, a few people left other pots of flowers under a tree in the front yard in memory of Kathleen McLean.

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