Police reports depict explosive relationship between Dover doctor and murdered wife

DEDHAM, Mass. — An abusive relationship was spiraling out of control before a Dover woman was found murdered over the weekend, according to court documents filed by prosecutors in Dedham District Court Monday.

Dr. Ingolf Tuerk has been charged in connection to the murder of his wife, Kathleen McLean, whose body was found in a pond with rocks in her pants over the weekend, a police report states.

McLean, 45, was reported missing by her ex-husband on Friday, who said she was last seen at the home she lived in with Tuerk, 58, in Dover.

According to court documents, police in Dedham found Tuerk and McLean’s cars in the parking lot of a hotel where Tuerk had reserved a room from May 8-May 17, 2020.

Police wrote in a report that they found Tuerk passed out on the bed in the hotel room with scrapes on his arms, legs and forehead. Tuerk was then taken to Norwood hospital for treatment.

Shortly after, officers went to the couple’s Dover home on Valley Road and found McLean’s children from her previous marriage inside the home. They say McLean’s ex-husband, Steven Rocca, was there picking up the kids as they arrived.

In the couple’s bedroom, police say they found Kathleen’s purse and cell phone but could not find her.

In a Saturday morning interview at Norwood Hospital, police say Tuerk, who goes by the name Harry, admitted to fighting with his wife Thursday night. He allegedly told police he strangled her and, when he realized she was dead, carried her body through thick brush and dumped her into a pond at a new home construction site near their own home.

Police say Tuerk’s detailed instructions led them to McLean’s body, which they say was found naked from the waist up and with rocks weighing down her pants.

Court documents filed in Dedham Monday paint a picture of an abusive relationship and a 'he-said, she-said’ fight through the Justice Department over a restraining order.

On Feburary 3, a police report detailed months of abuse alleged by McLean to officers, who helped her pursue a restraining order. But no sooner had officers returned from escorting her to the courthouse in Dedham that day than they say Tuerk showed up at the police station claiming abuse at McLean’s hands.

Both claimed the other was jealous and possessive, often allegedly calling phone numbers found in the other’s phone to verify the identities of one another’s contacts.

Officers wrote in their report Tuerk was despondent but cooperative as they confiscated his weapons, ammunition and license to carry while serving the restraining order.

No more than two days after serving the restraining order, McLean was back at the police station claiming Tuerk violated the order by dropping the temperature on the home’s thermostat and locking McLean out of the device to turn it back up.

That’s when court documents show McLean agreed to allow police to search her phone records for information related to her previous complaints.

On February 6, 2020, Tuerk was charged with strangulation, assault and battery on a household member, and two more counts of assault and battery. Police cited corroborating evidence from McLean’s text messages; she had texted friends about the time Tuerk allegedly attacked her with a pair of scissors in front of her son and the time she alleged he threw her to the floor so hard her shoes came off.

It’s unclear how the couple reconciled differences between February and McLean’s disappearance on the evening of May 15.

In a teleconference Monday, Tuerk entered a plea of not guilty to the single count of murder. He was held without bail.

Boston 25 News had not been able to reach Tuerk’s attorney, Howard Cooper, as of this posting.

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