OH - Spencer and Monique Tepe found shot to death at home 2 children unharmed, Columbus, 30 December 2025 *ex-husband arrested*

[Sheila Terranova]

I think since it was him that opened it and if the Tepes completely ignored him that may have taken him from obsessed ex to homicidal ex

Well if their divorce was reopened it certainly was a recent contributing factor or possibly trigger bringing it into the present rather than the distant past. Anyway of determining by court docs for sure who opened it or why? Thank you in advance to all of the smart organized researchers !

 

[COSCitizen]

Maybe something happened after he bought the new house. Some additional bad news which caused him to spiral out of control.

It may have been something as trivial as failing to reach a personal milestone. If he had a goal similar to board-certified vascular surgeon by the age of 38, he might have started ruminating when he failed to meet his self-imposed goal. If he had another goal of being married at the age of 32, well that got blown out of the water, and as far as he was concerned his troubles started when the woman on whom he bestowed the honor of marriage abandoned him after seven months and returned home.

Some birthdays hit harder than others, and it isn't always the ones that end in zero. It can depend a lot on what one thinks one should have achieved by a certain age.

 

[kwins]

If the killer locks the kids in a room, it also puts them at increased risk. It may take LE longer to get to them if they have to break down the door. Also scaring the kids more. And if there is a fire, the children cannot run to an outside door. Also locking them in with a dog who may become agitated and aggressive, especially with no food and water, etc., is not good.

Any way we slice it, the killer put the children in harm's way. Short term and long term.

Well, no kidding. I'm certain the killer wasn't thinking about all the child endangerment scenarios.

 

[kwins]

As I say, autopsy will tell the tale. GSWs will tell us the killer's intent in terms of how he wanted them to die.

The ME report as well as the initial scene report, will absolutely report the location of the wounds. The ME report will not be released while there's an active investigation.

 

[osu]

Yes the good people of Columbus Ohio and Franklin county are providing his accommodations, room and board. And will be happy to provide him with some life lessons about having a moral core and knowing right from wrong.

With MM having no prior record, I’m sure he’s not acquainted with the Franklin County Jail which is known to be one of the roughest jails in the state with the most unpleasant living conditions. I can’t think of a better place for him.

 

[stmarysmead]

Has to be b/c her buying the wedding rings kind of sounds to me, like she wanted to marry him at that time. Something changed.

Maybe they had been dating for 5plus years, he was going to move to Va for his residency…and it was decision time. I read on here that she was able to change to remote work, that would be her doing. She bought the rings. He probably got a Physician’s loan to buy a house for them…that would account for the big mortgage, little equity.

So, off they go. Seven months later, she leaves. Could be abuse. Could be months of being stuck, working from home, no friends, no family, feeling bored and ignored. Maybe she thought it would be like Med school.

It’s not.

 

[Moon1871]

Well if their divorce was reopened it certainly was a recent contributing factor or possibly trigger bringing it into the present rather than the distant past. Anyway of determining by court docs for sure who opened it or why? Thank you in advance to all of the smart organized researchers !

The reasons to reopen a divorce case are usually of financial nature. Hidden assets that came to light, or, increased value of real estate that’s been sold off by one of the exes.

Having a hard time believing the reopening of the divorce case was a ‘clerical error’. The timing is just too coincidental. JMO.

 

[forgetmenot]

I think since it was him that opened it and if the Tepes completely ignored him that may have taken him from obsessed ex to homicidal ex

Any speculation why MM may have reopened the divorce case if it wasn’t simply the courts cleaning up files, as was earlier speculated?

 

[ttjo]

Maybe they had been dating for 5plus years, he was going to move to Va for his residency…and it was decision time. I read on here that she was able to change to remote work, that would be her doing. She bought the rings. He probably got a Physician’s loan to buy a house for them…that would account for the big mortgage, little equity.

So, off they go. Seven months later, she leaves. Could be abuse. Could be months of being stuck, working from home, no friends, no family, feeling bored and ignored. Maybe she thought it would be like Med school.

It’s not.

That makes sense, I love when something is a little off( to me) and someone makes sense of it.

 

[SophieRose]

Spoiler: Unverified

There a new YT video (a short) on this subject by former anchor Susan Hendricks, who says she interviewed a high school friend of MM’s, who wished to remain anonymous. She reports that the friend says of MM: only child, adopted, unaccepting of parents, estranged from parents since 2017. I think it means credible media coverage isn’t far off. The channel is Headline Crime and the video is a YT short.

The friend said he doesn't remember MM ever having a girlfriend in high school and the podcaster wonders if MT may have been his first girlfriend.

Wonder if the estrangement played any part in their divorce, more of his anger may have come out. Maybe his parents took it's side.

 

[academyrd]

Has to be b/c her buying the wedding rings kind of sounds to me, like she wanted to marry him at that time. Something changed.

This is JMO:

They were in their 20s when they met, maybe they were casually dating for a while. Maybe it was easy for him to hide what a controlling monster he really was for those years. People can do that. Think about your own relationships with coworkers, you show them one side of you (professional, polite, etc.) even if that is not your true personality. He clearly was able to trick her into thinking he was a guy worth marrying. He was a handsome guy, he's in med school, etc. on paper back then, he looks the part of "successful man you want to marry." After all, that's what your supposed to do, go to college, get a job, meet a partner and get married and have kids. That's the playbook.

But clearly, once they started to live together, once she moved to VA and he was in residency, she began to see a side of him that was not acceptable. The rumor is he was controlling and abusive, emotionally at the least. When you are young, you can find yourself in those types of relationships and it takes courage and maturity to leave. So, she left. The rumor is she had to "escape" meaning her family had to come rescue her with a U-Haul when he was at work. The rescue is a success and she goes back to Columbus to start a new life, but now she has done something he considers to be a blow to his ego and his pride. Being the narcissistic controlling egocentric monster that he is, getting "abandoned" like that is going to burn him. He's going to focus on that and not be able to let it go. During the divorce the rumor is he threatened to "always be in her life" and to "buy the house next door" so now that is his mission.

As the years go by, his apparent lack of social skills would catch up to him at work, in dating, socially. He has his career but I bet he did not have much beyond that. Limited friend, limited partners, certainly no one like Monique who was beautiful, radiant, special. So as he's approaching 40 where is he? He has no spouse. He has no family. His prospects are dwindling. He is potentially struggling at work and having trouble with the boards plus facing a malpractice lawsuit. A lot is piling up on him. He is starting to feel like a real loser. Meanwhile, the Tepes are picture perfect. Anytime he wants he can pull up YT and go watch her happiness. Each time he watched that video would be an ego death. Seeing the perfect family with perfect beautiful kids from afar would be salt in the wound. For him, those should be his kids, his house, his life. He's incapable of blaming himself so he must blame her. Fast forward to holidays 2025.. it's cold, it's depressing, he still has nothing, everyone finds him odd at work and socially, he is now so far gone he has given up hope. Like an incel who has taken the black pill or whatever. He snaps and decides to do the one thing he can do to ruin her life and settle the score from 2017 in VA....

 

[Knitpicker]

yes, he took the video. he's a filmmaker and has a degree in photojournalism

That makes sense and what I had thought. Very well made and professional.

 

[kwins]

The ME report as well as the initial scene report, will absolutely report the location of the wounds. The ME report will not be released while there's an active investigation.

Additionally, the location of GSWs is only going to confirm that the killer's intent was intentional homicide.

 

[Charlot123]

Seems like the ex has been an issue for a while. No one is implying he did anything wrong, but I agree that some things should be left private. Especially since it shows inside their house. Everyone talks about lock security but we should be mindful what is put online also.

I think that the world has become so dangerous that we have to revise many traditions and attitudes to things. However, I suspect that he lurked in the darkness, and the Tepes lived their lives openly. The saddest part, unless he did anything extraordinary, restraining orders would not have helped much.

 

[ttjo]

This is JMO:

They were in their 20s when they met, maybe they were casually dating for a while. Maybe it was easy for him to hide what a controlling monster he really was for those years. People can do that. Think about your own relationships with coworkers, you show them one side of you (professional, polite, etc.) even if that is not your true personality. He clearly was able to trick her into thinking he was a guy worth marrying. He was a handsome guy, he's in med school, etc. on paper back then, he looks the part of "successful man you want to marry." After all, that's what your supposed to do, go to college, get a job, meet a partner and get married and have kids. That's the playbook.

But clearly, once they started to live together, once she moved to VA and he was in residency, she began to see a side of him that was not acceptable. The rumor is he was controlling and abusive, emotionally at the least. When you are young, you can find yourself in those types of relationships and it takes courage and maturity to leave. So, she left. The rumor is she had to "escape" meaning her family had to come rescue her with a U-Haul when he was at work. The rescue is a success and she goes back to Columbus to start a new life, but now she has done something he considers to be a blow to his ego and his pride. Being the narcissistic controlling egocentric monster that he is, getting "abandoned" like that is going to burn him. He's going to focus on that and not be able to let it go. During the divorce the rumor is he threatened to "always be in her life" and to "buy the house next door" so now that is his mission.

As the years go by, his apparent lack of social skills would catch up to him at work, in dating, socially. He has his career but I bet he did not have much beyond that. Limited friend, limited partners, certainly no one like Monique who was beautiful, radiant, special. So as he's approaching 40 where is he? He has no spouse. He has no family. His prospects are dwindling. He is potentially struggling at work and having trouble with the boards plus facing a malpractice lawsuit. A lot is piling up on him. He is starting to feel like a real loser. Meanwhile, the Tepes are picture perfect. Anytime he wants he can pull up YT and go watch her happiness. Each time he watched that video would be an ego death. Seeing the perfect family with perfect beautiful kids from afar would be salt in the wound. For him, those should be his kids, his house, his life. He's incapable of blaming himself so he must blame her. Fast forward to holidays 2025.. it's cold, it's depressing, he still has nothing, everyone finds him odd at work and socially, he is now so far gone he has given up hope. Like an incel who has taken the black pill or whatever. He snaps and decides to do the one thing he can do to ruin her life and settle the score from 2017 in VA....

That was perfectly explained. Thank you.

 

[Charlot123]

I don't know if it's odd to anyone else but it seems strange monique was never listed on any of her husbands properties where she lived

I highly doubt monique went after any money from assets gained after her divorce, my point above is made because she doesn't come across as materialistic because if she was she would have ensured to be named on both properties

But it wouldn't stop a man with resentment and rage to feel she had reopened a divorce to somehow gain financially

I feel he spiralled in June after receiving a letter in error ,he may have recieved her address then too in that correspondence because it just seems to be too much of a coincidence for it not to be of importance in the grand scheme of things

One can have resentment or dislike of an ex without that escalating to a point of murder . After so much time had past something had to be the trigger imo

I agree. Plus, he might have misunderstood the purpose of the letter. I wonder if it was that clerical error that triggered it all.

 

[Knitpicker]

Not victim blaming but we know that Monique picked a surgeon and a dentist to marry. The latter she found on a dating app according to sources, which means she had probably set a filter looking for a doctor. Why was this? Because of the prestige and money that a doctor brings in? A doctor works long hours and their work-life balance is not great. Not even after they start practicing. We know that even Spencer was commuting 3 hours each day, so pretty much gone for 12 hrs each day. But a surgeon’s life is even harder and they deal with life and death situations every day. So it is conceivable that MM had no personal life to speak of after they were married and he was doing his residency. It was the worst of both worlds - no personal life and no money as a resident. Maybe he lashed out at her when she complained. She was always outgoing, liked to throw parties and had no friends in VA and her husband was always busy. There may have been no real abuse other than verbal fights. And then she left him abruptly and he had to figure out the reasons. Maybe he thought it was the lack of money and the really long hours as a resident. He would fix both once he started working and woo her back. Put his heart and soul into his work, and became a successful surgeon earning maybe ten times of what he was making as a resident. He could also control his working hours a little now and even move back to Columbus. But Monique completely moved on. He had fixed what he thought were the reasons she had left him, but he didn’t consider she would move on completely. That broke and enraged him. There is a fine line between love/obsession and hate/madness and I think he crossed that. JMO.

Entrepreneurs, tech people, social media marketers have more freedom and sometimes do better than Doctors.
Being a Doctor used to be the highest paid job before technology.
A surgeon can’t take his laptop to Hawaii and work there- but many people are doing that in other jobs nowadays.,
Gone are the days of putting a suit and tie on, and commuting to a city office.
There is a shortage of Doctors now because you can do much better with more freedom in other vocations,

 

[Cassie P]

Well, no kidding. I'm certain the killer wasn't thinking about all the child endangerment scenarios.

From start to finish, there was only one person he was thinking about: himself.

 

[Cassie P]

It may have been something as trivial as failing to reach a personal milestone. If he had a goal similar to board-certified vascular surgeon by the age of 38, he might have started ruminating when he failed to meet his self-imposed goal. If he had another goal of being married at the age of 32, well that got blown out of the water, and as far as he was concerned his troubles started when the woman on whom he bestowed the honor of marriage abandoned him after seven months and returned home.

Some birthdays hit harder than others, and it isn't always the ones that end in zero. It can depend a lot on what one thinks one should have achieved by a certain age.

Yes perhaps his life was not going as had hoped. Getting board certified was not as easy as he had hoped. Lawsuit, changing jobs. No wife and family.

He was falling behind when compared to his peer group. This can be especially hard for people who were stars in high school and college. The smartest person in the room. They can do fine until they hit their mid thirties when one day they look around and their peers are all way ahead of them.

 

[Sunny Day]

I cannot imagine the horror of being awakened in the middle of the night by a monster in your bedroom pointing a gun at you.