Mom Found Stripped, Strangled in Bathtub on Thanksgiving Day After Husband Stalked and Killed Her

A Kansas man has learned his fate for killing his wife on Thanksgiving Day in 2024 — a month after she had filed for divorce.

The victim, 50-year-old Monica Brook McKay, was found dead in a bathtub in her Tecumseh, Kan., home on Nov. 28, 2024, according to an affidavit obtained by PEOPLE.

Her then-husband, Brian P. McKay, was convicted this year of first-degree murder, among a slew of other offenses, online court records show.

An autopsy determined Monica’s cause of death to be “drowning with contributing factors of strangulation and multiple blunt force trauma,” per the affidavit, which notes that officers responding to Monica’s residence that day found her naked in a bathtub with foam coming out of her mouth.

The reporting party, who The Topeka Capital-Journal identified as Monica’s son, had arrived at the residence for Thanksgiving lunch and found her body.

He told police that they’d previously discovered covert cameras and recording devices in the home and believed Brian had planted them to monitor her, the affidavit states. A month before her killing, she had taken out a protection from stalking order against Brian.

When contacted by police, Brian told them he had not seen her since the issuance of the “stupid restraining order,” the affidavit alleges.

Following a months-long investigation involving security footage and Brian’s Google search records, police arrested him in February 2025 on a slew of charges, including two counts of first-degree murder.

In an online obituary and a GoFundMe posted soon after her death, Monica was remembered as a beloved mother who had built her career as a nurse.

“Monica was admired for her warm personality and inspiring presence, and she formed meaningful connections with everyone she encountered,” the obituary read, in part.

Brian was convicted by a jury in May 2026 of first-degree murder — intentional and premeditated, first-degree murder in the commission of a felony, aggravated burglary, and stalking — after served a protection order prohibiting contact, as well as violation of a protection order — stalking/sexual assault/human trafficking, according to his online court records.

A judge sentenced him to life with parole eligibility after serving a minimum of 50 years, per online court records. The sentences are to be served concurrently.

Brian, who had pleaded not guilty to all charges, is appealing the convictions and sentences, according to his court docket.