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

[arielilane]

The Columbus Division of Police wrote on Facebook: "Detectives believe the murder of Mr. and Mrs. Tepe occurred sometime between 2:00 and 5:00 a.m. on the morning of December 30th in the upstairs of their residence.



If you have information that could lead to the identity of the person in this video, please call 614-645-2228 or use the QR code provided. Anonymous tips may also be made to Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477."

Spencer and Monique Tepe deaths update: police reveal person of interest

Police have released footage of a "person of interest" walking near the home of Spencer and Monique Tepe, who were found dead on December 30.

www.newsweek.com

1/6/2026

The couple married in 2021 and were one month away from reaching their fifth anniversary, according to report by news outlet WSYX.



The short clip of footage shared by the police shows a person walking in an alley wearing lighter colored trousers and a darker jacket with the hood pulled up over their head.

The person walks with their head down, and the footage shows the person walking in different clipped segments.

The Columbus Division of Police Homicide Unit previously asked that "anyone who may have video, photographs, or other digital evidence related to this incident, including suspicious individuals or vehicles, from 12/30/2025, between 12 am to 9 am, in the area bordered by Summit St. (East Boundary) to N. Grant Ave. (West Boundary) and E. 7th Ave. (South Boundary) to E. 11th Ave. (North Boundary) use the attached QR code to upload that evidence to assist with the investigation."

They added that the submission "may remain anonymous, and no account is required."

 

[Fromeaster]

Lots of discussion about the shoes. Maybe this homeless drug addict found them in a dumpster and put them on not thinking about fashion.

 

[Charlot123]

Good point. I dated a girl from upstate NY a few years ago and it was basically a point of pride for her to never wear (what I would consider) winter-appropriate footwear

Same here. But, we are a huge state and everyone relies on a car. On campuses, people can quickly move between buildings.

 

[sunflowermomma]

Lots of discussion about the shoes. Maybe this homeless drug addict found them in a dumpster and put them on not thinking about fashion.

Do we know the suspect is a homeless drug addict? Are there similar cases where a family was murdered by a homeless drug addict that managed to get away without leaving evidence or robbing them? I know a lot of people on WS are terrified of homeless people, but most murders are committed by someone known to the victim. JMO

 

[STLBlues]

I also agree torso is more panic. Working in trauma healthcare, torso often times is NOT fatal if vital organs are missed. Although people also survive head shots, it’s much more unlikely. And if they do, recollection of the event is slim to none.

I had the thought that a torso shot may be due to a personal connection to her/not wanting to dismember her face.

Or the perp is familiar with or trained in firearm use. Firing a gun in a normal situation takes practice and training to be accurate. Firing a gun in a stressful situation (i.e. murder, self defense, etc) makes it very likely you will miss your target. That's why police are trained to fire at center mass (torso), the largest part of the body.

 

[Chimera]

OMG. I took the police vid, paused it and took this screenshot that I then blew up. For a split second, twice, it seems he looks straight ahead and his face is captured by the camera. Look, can we make out a face? OMG?View attachment 635376

Thanks for the enlarged photo.
Looks like a Caucasian male with possibly a mustache or a scarf/neck gaiter ?
Imo.

 

[MesquiteO21]

This is pure guessing, but a shot to the head is more than likely to be instantly fatal, while a shot to the torso might not be. If he didn't hit the heart or something vital, a person could possibly survive to torso shot, even if only a short time.

The torso hit seems like a panic shooting, to STOP someone.

Again, I'm not strong on any theory at this point, even as I lean toward random panic, not someone who deliberately entered the house to kill. I'm ready to change my mind when we learn more.

jmopinion, subject to change as we learn more

thought the same exact thing. i was a little surprised that M was shot only once (allegedly) in the chest...that's not always a death guarantee; a bullet theoretically could miss a major organ/artery and cause great damage but not kill. this makes me think that perp wasn't necessarily worried about killing her, just immobilizing her in the moment....which is interesting to ponder the reasons and circumstances for that. S being shot twice does make me think his death was intended.

MOO.

 

[Inthedetails]

i initially thought the same thing, but watching more interviews with him he does seem to be careful to not say too much. At this point, because we as the public don't know much, everyone is still a suspect as far as i'm concerned but i'm not sure how high he is on my list.
MOO.

My sense that Monique was a vivacious, talkative, people-person. It could be her brother is the same way - very big, demonstrative, and open with conversation.

I'm not reading anything into anything at this point.

jmopinion

 

[Justice101]

Thanks for the enlarged photo.
Looks like a Caucasian male with possibly a mustache or a scarf/neck gaiter ?
Imo.

This photo makes the BG photo looks like in 4K.

Do you seriously cannot make out facial characteristics from that mess of blurriness... this is like all the bigfoot photos

 

[tlcya]

Lots of discussion about the shoes. Maybe this homeless drug addict found them in a dumpster and put them on not thinking about fashion.

while it is certainly possible the killer is homeless and/or on drugs nothing about the video clip suggests or indicates either IMO

 

[steeltowngirl]

This photo makes the BG photo looks like in 4K.

Do you seriously cannot make out facial characteristics from that mess of blurriness... this is like all the bigfoot photos

^FACT!!

 

[Charlot123]

About the boots

This is the idea of the ones that I think he may be wearing

Definitely not fashionable but comfy for cold winter

Men's Snow Boots

Free Shipping with $75 purchase. Explore details, ratings and reviews for our men's winter boots at L.L.Bean. Our high-quality men's boots are built to last and made for the shared joy of the outdoors.

www.llbean.com

 

[Ms Scarlett]

Or the perp is familiar with or trained in firearm use. Firing a gun in a normal situation takes practice and training to be accurate. Firing a gun in a stressful situation (i.e. murder, self defense, etc) makes it very likely you will miss your target. That's why police are trained to fire at center mass (torso), the largest part of the body.

Thank you for explaining this. I have taken gun courses and was always taught to aim for the torso and more specifically, the chest. Now, I understand why.

 

[calmdownjudy]

Interesting. So, according to the article in the LA Magazine, the POI video is believed to be after the murders occurred and now LE is trying to figure out when the suspect (not saying the person in the POI video is a suspect) actually entered the home.

So, this killer could have been in the house the entire time, waiting for them to go to sleep, so he/she could ambush them. That's a very high level of hatred and cold-blooded.

I also think it's interesting that the person capable of this locked the door on the way out too. They could have done that to buy them more time or they cared about the safety of the children.

 

[Voidz]

It’s interesting to me that the NY Post article names the person who has taken in Spencer and Monique’s children. A previous article stated that police were guarding two homes of Spencer and Monique’s family members. One of my guesses about why was that the children might have been in danger from the killer, and guarding TWO homes would make the killer question where the children were.

If media is specifying where the children are, clearly there’s no concern about the killer targeting them.

To me, that’s another strong clue that the killer is someone known to Spencer and/or Monique, not a random stranger… AND it’s a clue that LE have a suspect in mind and are working hard to gather enough evidence to make an arrest. I could be wrong, but I think that if they were totally in the dark about the suspect, they’d be keeping the kids’ location a secret.

Yeah. I am leaning more towards a family member who maybe wanted to raise the children or benefit from their life insurance or wills.

Thanks for the enlarged photo.
Looks like a Caucasian male with possibly a mustache or a scarf/neck gaiter ?
Imo.

I agree - I think it’s a Caucasian male in his 30s or early 40s. Wearing a mask.

 

[Curiousobserver]

This one is going to take some time and old fashioned police work. Hopefully a person who knows this individual well will recognize him from these images. Unfortunately they are of poor quality and a random stranger is not going to be able to ID this person on the street.

 

[Inthedetails]

thought the same exact thing. i was a little surprised that M was shot only once (allegedly) in the chest...that's not always a death guarantee; a bullet theoretically could miss a major organ/artery and cause great damage but not kill. this makes me think that perp wasn't necessarily worried about killing her, just immobilizing her in the moment....which is interesting to ponder the reasons and circumstances for that. S being shot twice does make me think his death was intended.

MOO.

And/or perhaps the horror shooting a woman was overwhelming and one shot was enough, but stopping a man required two shots. And someone not experienced might be horrified to shoot someone in the head - but shooting a body in a panic might happen. Speculation, of course. I don't know what happened.

But if someone wanted to KILL two adults in the middle of the night, why not shoot them in the head while they were unaware?

With a torso shot not being a guarentee of death (but would assuredly stop anyone), the perp wouldn't know if the victims where alive enough to ID him in a 911 phone call, even if they didn't survive.

I am considering the perp didn't enter the home to kill. speculation, subject to change

jmopinion

 

[Ms Scarlett]

My sense that Monique was a vivacious, talkative, people-person. It could be her brother is the same way - very big, demonstrative, and open with conversation.

I'm not reading anything into anything at this point.

jmopinion

I believe the BIL is married to Spencer’s sister.

 

[Inthedetails]

I believe the BIL is married to Spencer’s sister.

Oh! I thought he was Monique's brother.

Thanks for the correction.

jmo

 

[wibbleflea]

Thanks. I never watched plunder before

Same here. Wouldn’t usually link to it but this particular video is mostly recordings of calls. (There is some shockingly poor speculation in various YT videos on this case, masquerading as research. The channels publishing it are popular. It’s jarring.)