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

[Cassie P]

Police release person of interest video in murders of Spencer and Monique Tepe

WSYX ABC 6 is On Your Side, providing local news, first warning weather forecasts and alerts, traffic updates, consumer advocacy, and the latest information about sports, politics, law enforcement, community events, government waste, and much more, including ABC network news and entertainment...

abc6onyourside.com

'On Monday evening, police released a video showing a person of interest walking in the alley near the Tepe’s residence. Investigators said the killings occurred sometime between 2:00 and 5:00 a.m. on the morning of December 30 in the upstairs of their residence'
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“I’ve counted more than two dozen cameras nearby, not including police cameras across the street,” said Lana Oriani, a local resident closely following the case. “That’s what makes this so shocking.”

Jan 5, 2026
'The Columbus Division of Police release the following statement on Monday, Jan. 5etectives 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. Recovered video footage shows a person of interest walking in the alley near the Tepe’s residence during that timeframe.'

He's a cool number.

 

[Knox]

I think the video shows a very thin, tall young man wearing a puffer jacket. His legs are very thin. But the image really has very little detail - I think people can interpret it differently due to lack of detail.

Looking at this again, this isn’t the alley directly behind the Tepe’s home. There isn’t room to park a car like the one seen in the video. It’s either further down at the end where the apartments are, or the alley on the other side of the street - I posted a photo of the business that has a camera that points that way.

 

[BryanHall]

This may be a dumb question, but what did Monique do for a living before marrying Spencer? She was probably 34 when she married Spencer. Did she have a job where she dealt with conflict, finances, or legal issues? I don't remember this being mentioned.

 

[OhioSleuth614]

I also couldn’t tell. Even if we don’t get official confirmation which garage this video was taken from, some of these sharp TikTok people should be able to piece it together quickly. The trash and recycling cans usually have the address stamped on the front of them so if you could see that on the cans directly across the alley said (example) 1000 Summit St you could surmise that the garage is for 1001 N. 4th St since the alley runs between the east side of Summit and west side of 4th

The pavement looks to be in pretty bad shape so it's likely not behind any of the newer build homes in the area. I'm guessing it's further up the alley but before 11th. If this is all they currently have I have to imagine it's relatively close to the house in question.

 

[acutename]

Police release person of interest video in murders of Spencer and Monique Tepe

WSYX ABC 6 is On Your Side, providing local news, first warning weather forecasts and alerts, traffic updates, consumer advocacy, and the latest information about sports, politics, law enforcement, community events, government waste, and much more, including ABC network news and entertainment...

abc6onyourside.com

'On Monday evening, police released a video showing a person of interest walking in the alley near the Tepe’s residence. Investigators said the killings occurred sometime between 2:00 and 5:00 a.m. on the morning of December 30 in the upstairs of their residence'
View attachment 635251
“I’ve counted more than two dozen cameras nearby, not including police cameras across the street,” said Lana Oriani, a local resident closely following the case. “That’s what makes this so shocking.”

Jan 5, 2026
'The Columbus Division of Police release the following statement on Monday, Jan. 5etectives 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. Recovered video footage shows a person of interest walking in the alley near the Tepe’s residence during that timeframe.'

thin, hunched a little... wearing jeans? not obviously carrying any weapon or extra clothing.

 

[Gigglingtoes]

@maamager here you are

 

[I am not Sherlock H.]

If I am looking at the video of a POI walking, they appear to be traversing ice or fallen snow or uneven ground? So it makes it difficult to determine their typical gait. I at first thought they were inebriated, but it might simply be difficulty or caution on the ice or fallen snow? MOO

 

[stmarysmead]

This is so terribly sad. All those security cameras, special locks, etc. All the efforts by almost every resident and by the city itself to ‘keep watch’…and yet this young couple cannot sleep safely in their own beds.

 

[OhioGuy]

I think it was reported early that there were three 9mm shell casings at the scene. I don’t know anything about guns, but I assume nearly any handheld weapon would be easily hidden in a coat pocket?

 

[Sadi]

thin, hunched a little... wearing jeans? not obviously carrying any weapon or extra clothing.

He’s dressed for the elements. Not sure about the weapon though.

 

[sunflowermomma]

This is so terribly sad. All those security cameras, special locks, etc. All the efforts by almost every resident and by the city itself to ‘keep watch’…and yet this young couple cannot sleep safely in their own beds.

and good friends/staff to call it in and go check on them so fast when they noticed something was wrong. Thinking of them tonight ):

 

[browneyes]

Agreed. But in this dense of an area, unless some one has their system set to record 24/7, this POI likely didn’t get close enough to any camera to trigger it to turn on and record. I know if it was my home, I wouldn’t want alerts every time a person/car went down the alley because you’d be getting ten alerts an hour during the day.

My cameras record 24/7. Alerts don’t bother me.

 

[MarciB]

How are friends able to enter house right away after ST was a no show at work? Perhaps the back door was not locked on a regular basis. Why would these friends not attend to the little kiddos left alive in home? Something is not right

the friends called 911 first

 

[MassGuy]

I think it was reported early that there were three 9mm shell casings at the scene. I don’t know anything about guns, but I assume nearly any handheld weapon would be easily hidden in a coat pocket?

Yup. You’re talking about a typical handgun. No issue concealing it wearing a coat like that.

 

[moonglow123]

This may be a dumb question, but what did Monique do for a living before marrying Spencer? She was probably 34 when she married Spencer. Did she have a job where she dealt with conflict, finances, or legal issues? I don't remember this being mentioned.

No, she worked in early childhood education.

 

[Canaille]

Wondering if the alley was a mix of snow and sludge and if the POI was walking in wet footwear? speculation.

Good thought. So, if his shoes were wet, did he remove them when he got to the house or were there foot prints left?

 

[OhioSleuth614]

I also couldn’t tell. Even if we don’t get official confirmation which garage this video was taken from, some of these sharp TikTok people should be able to piece it together quickly. The trash and recycling cans usually have the address stamped on the front of them so if you could see that on the cans directly across the alley said (example) 1000 Summit St you could surmise that the garage is for 1001 N. 4th St since the alley runs between the east side of Summit and west side of 4th

Actually I think it's here - this is north in the alley right before 9th. Unfortunately, if you go any further the street view is from 2019 and the area looks completely different. My guess is the camera is on the tan garage on the right, you can kind of see the gutters and the door to the white house on the left in the video CPD shared. I could be wrong but it looks pretty similar IMO.

 

[Voidz]

But wouldn't that show signs of forced entry?

Not if the door was unlocked, or someone picked the lock. It’s very easy to pick even an electronic lock with a wire.

Balcony door locks can often be unlocked initially and secured only by a latch or multi-point mechanism. If someone accessed the home through an unlocked door and later exited through the same door, simply closing it could cause the latch or locking points to re-engage automatically.

 

[MarciB]

and good friends/staff to call it in and go check on them so fast when they noticed something was wrong. Thinking of them tonight ):

they said earlier it wasn't forced entry

 

[flowershop]

Oh really? They were actually found in the basement in a bedroom down there wow that sheds a whole different aspect on this.

This recent news article suggests to me that both of the murders took place upstairs. JMO

Investigators said the killings occurred sometime between 2:00 and 5:00 a.m. on the morning of December 30 in the upstairs of their residence.

Police release person of interest video in murders of Spencer and Monique Tepe

Police released a video showing a person of interest walking in the alley near the Tepe’s residence during the timeframe of the murders.

abc6onyourside.com