DEDHAM, Mass. — The Massachusetts doctor accused of killing his wife and throwing her body in a pond took the stand Tuesday in Dedham’s Norfolk Superior Court and wept during emotional testimony as he detailed her final moments.
Urologist Dr. Ingolf Tuerk, 63, of Dover, told the courtroom through tears that he was acting in self-defense when he struck his wife, 45-year-old Kathleen McLean, after a heated argument. Tuerk said McLean hit him in the head with a glass.
Tuerk said he was “scared to hell” and that he grabbed McLean’s neck until she passed out.
“I snapped, I kind of blacked out,” Tuerk testified. “She just flailed around. She kind of flailed around, and we fell on the floor together. When I came out of my blackout, that’s where we were.”
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 to 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.
In an interview at Norwood Hospital, police say Tuerk, who goes by the name Harry, admitted to fighting with his wife.
He allegedly told police he strangled her and, when he realized she was dead, carried her body through thick brush and dumped her body 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.
Tuerk formally served as the Chief of Urology at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Boston.
Jurors are expected to begin deliberations on Thursday.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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