Jurors heard evidence of divorce conflict, surveillance devices and a protective order.

TOPEKA, Kan. — A Shawnee County jury convicted Brian McKay of first-degree murder after prosecutors said he beat, strangled and drowned his estranged wife, Monica McKay, in a bathtub at their co-owned Topeka-area home.

The verdict on May 14 ended an eight-day trial focused on a failing marriage, alleged stalking and the final weeks before Monica McKay was killed on Nov. 27, 2024. Jurors found Brian McKay, 55, guilty of five counts, including premeditated first-degree murder, felony murder, aggravated burglary, stalking and violating a protective order.

Prosecutors told jurors the killing grew out of a bitter divorce that Monica McKay, 50, filed on Oct. 19, 2024, about a month before her death. They said the divorce hurt Brian McKay financially and that he had become increasingly focused on her after they separated about four months earlier. The case also included a protection from stalking order that Monica McKay obtained before filing for divorce. Brian McKay was made aware of the order on Oct. 17, 2024, and served that same day. During the trial, prosecutors framed those facts as part of a pattern that moved from conflict to surveillance to violence.

The killing happened at 2333 SE Tecumseh Road, a home Monica and Brian McKay co-owned. Prosecutors said Monica McKay was beaten, stripped, strangled and forcibly drowned in a bathtub. A preliminary autopsy listed drowning as her cause of death. Authorities later said she also had injuries consistent with strangulation, and the final autopsy described the cause of death as drowning with contributing factors of strangulation and multiple blunt force trauma. Those findings became central to the prosecution’s case because they pointed to a violent struggle rather than an accident.

The jury heard evidence that hidden devices had been found before the killing. According to an arrest affidavit described in court, one of Monica McKay’s adult sons had previously found devices inside the home and believed they were being used to monitor her. The devices were described to investigators and the court as covert cameras, microphones and possibly an Amazon Echo device. The affidavit also said Brian McKay placed a GPS tracking device on a vehicle used by Monica McKay. Investigators said the tracker followed her from home to work and recorded other patterns that matched her normal movements.

Police also questioned Brian McKay after Monica McKay’s death. When investigators asked when he had last seen his estranged wife, he said he had not seen her since she got what he called a “stupid restraining order.” Officers also noted marks on his body. One mark was a red spot on his left cheek, which he said was tied to skin cancer removals. Another was a scratch on the back right side of his neck, which he said came from a twig while he was clearing brush with his tractor. Prosecutors used those details as part of a broader case built on motive, access, physical evidence and alleged surveillance.

Monica McKay worked in health care leadership in Topeka. She had been director of physician clinics since 2023 at the University of Kansas Health System’s St. Francis Campus, after serving as director of primary care from 2018 to 2023. She and Brian McKay married in 2009, later divorced, then remarried. By fall 2024, court filings and testimony showed the relationship had again broken down. Prosecutors said the breakup had emotional and financial stakes for Brian McKay, while Monica McKay had sought court protection from stalking in the days before she filed for divorce.

Brian McKay did not testify in his own defense. He told Shawnee County District Judge Maban Wright that he made that decision after speaking with his lawyers. The defense questioned the thoroughness of the sheriff’s investigation and challenged the state’s view of the evidence. Closing arguments came near the end of the trial, with each side given one hour. The jury, made up of seven men and five women, deliberated several hours before returning guilty verdicts on all counts.

The courtroom was packed when the verdicts were read. More than 60 people watched from the gallery. Monica McKay’s aunt, Deanna Compton, said afterward that she felt “happy, happy, happy” that Brian McKay had been convicted. Jay Spiegel, described as a close friend of Monica McKay, said he was relieved and “glad that the system worked the way it was supposed to.” Spiegel added that justice had been served and said Monica McKay deserved that outcome.

Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay said after the verdict that his thoughts were with Monica McKay’s family and loved ones. The convictions leave Brian McKay facing sentencing before Wright at 2 p.m. July 20. The court still must enter the sentence, and any appeal would come after that step.

Author note: Last updated June 17, 2026.