Jury finds Mass. doctor charged with murder in wife’s death guilty of lesser charge

DEDHAM, Mass. — A jury on Thursday found a Massachusetts doctor charged with murder in the 2020 death of his wife guilty of a lesser charge.

Deliberating jurors in Dedham’s Norfolk Superior Court returned a verdict convicting 63-year-old Ingolf Tuerk of voluntary manslaughter in the death of 45-year-old Kathleen McLean.

Tuerk, the former chief of urology at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Boston, took the stand during his murder trial earlier this week and delivered emotional testimony, detailing his wife’s final moments.

The Dover resident told the courtroom through tears that he was acting in self-defense and “scared to hell” when he grabbed McLean’s neck until she passed out.

Tuerk claimed that McLean had struck him in the head with a glass during a heated argument, prompting him to “snap,” “blackout,” and strangle her.

“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.”

Dover doctor accused of murdering wife cries during emotional testimony

The prosecution sought a first-degree murder conviction, but during trial, Tuerk’s attorney, Kevin Reddington, argued that the murder was not premeditated.

Because the jury cleared Tuerk of murder, he’ll avoid life in prison. In Massachusetts, voluntary manslaughter is punishable by imprisonment for up to 20 years.

Dedham police 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 said 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 said Tuerk, who goes by the name Harry, admitted to fighting with his wife.

Police said he told investigators that 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 said 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 is due back in court for a sentencing hearing on May 16.

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