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

[Mitch1]

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 !

I read this (the 6/17/2025) as him being the plaintiff which is why I thought he reopened it?

https://twitter.com/x/status/2010132411762229257

 

[bestill]

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.

Especially a monster from your past! I know we have all dated or married people that we regret giving them the time of day. Imagine you've closed that door permanently to that relationship, moved on, have a great life, precious family. One cold winter night you are awakened by your biggest regret staring you in the face with a gun or you are awakened by your loved one being shot to see that biggest regret behind the trigger!! My hope is that she died before she knew who the shooter was but I have a suspicion he would want her to know it was him.

 

[academyrd]

Especially a monster from your past! I know we have all dated or married people that we regret giving them the time of day. Imagine you've closed that door permanently to that relationship, moved on, have a great life, precious family. One cold winter night you are awakened by your biggest regret staring you in the face with a gun or you are awakened by your loved one being shot to see that biggest regret behind the trigger!! My hope is that she died before she knew who the shooter was but I have a suspicion he would want her to know it was him.

Unfortunately I think it’s going to come out that he took more time with her. What a coward and what a monster.

 

[stmarysmead]

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.

Excellent post. It’s not victim-blaming to suggest someone might seek out a husband with the prospects to give them a comfortable life. People have lots of reasons to select or reject a suitor…they might want someone with the same religion, or political views, or education, or desire to have children….or yes, a career path to provide a certain status on life.
A beautiful personable woman like M was in a position to have…choices.

 

[Charlot123]

Agreed about his career. He is in an in-demand specialty. Changing jobs can be because another practice pursued and offered more money, preferred location…family experience with that.

Malpractice paid by employer. Lawsuits in certain high risk specialties and in a sue-everybody era is viewed differently from different perspectives. We had a Dr friend who stopped to offer words of assurance to a woman he knew awaiting surgery, had zero to do with procedure and was briefly cited in her malpractice case.

I’m still curious about the information that seemed to indicate he was opening a Columbus office. IIRC that didn’t look like a practice he was joining…but a solo practice…but I could be mistaken. Was he trying to move close to her? I wonder if she and/or her family heard about this from mutual friends.

Still stumped on how he got in and out of that house past the security like a Ninja. It certainly was a high risk operation for an Ex with a gun to be caught in any stage of this situation. Would ruin his career without any revenge success.

Malpractice is paid by the employer, and not all hospitals/employers are willing to pay an insanely high one. So MM might have been looking towards the situation that would be uneasy for a while, but 100% not impossible to deal with.

All depends on how one looks at the situation. My friend was facing a divorce during that time, and while being upset, managed the impossible. (“You need the money. So don’t prevent me from making it. Let us negotiate what you need, and what I need, and do it the fastest way”). They kept a normal relationship, and years later, he offered a mature assessment of their divorce: it helped them both move forward and develop as people.

When I am reviewing these stories, I am thinking that the ability to move on, to explain to oneself that this door is closed, walk away, means a lot. A normal person would say, “married once = I am marriage material. Let me process the mistakes on my side, and move forward. I’ll find another woman and be happy”.

The divorce of Monique and MM was so easy. No children, no vast property to divide, nothing.

He chose to get upset, to hold on to his grudge, to not search for ways out, to cut off people who loved him and finally, choose the worst ever way to deal with it.

We can discuss it all, and choose to believe gossips or not, but it doesn’t change the net end. I always remember the words of the poem by Leigh Hunt, “not love, but vanity sets love a task like that”.

Monique and Spencer were happy together. No one had the right to take their lives from them. And to me, ultimately is the story of MM’s vanity.

The media might make a case out of it, but honestly, it doesn’t change the net end.

ETA: MM being a doctor means nothing. He could be a programmer or an engineer recently laid off. His human traits were impossible.

 

[stmarysmead]

I read this (the 6/17/2025) as him being the plaintiff which is why I thought he reopened it?

https://twitter.com/x/status/2010132411762229257

It looks like in different paragraphs both are called plaintiff/defendant. Can anyone explain that? Is that a ‘no-fault?’

 

[Voidz]

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

In Ohio, a divorce case can be reopened years later for limited reasons, often related to financial matters. This usually involves enforcing the original divorce terms, fixing paperwork or clerical issues, completing the division of assets like retirement accounts (such as a missing QDRO), or addressing unpaid or unfinished financial obligations. Reopening a case does not mean the divorce itself is being reconsidered or that new support obligations are being created.

It will be sad to find out if this is some banal clerical thing which has triggered all of this.

 

[Starrlight]

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,

That is not why there's a shortage of doctors.

 

[Voidz]

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.

I also thought it was interesting how similar they were in some aspects - he even spoke the same second language as her ex.
Your post shows that the ex may have felt like Spencer was an upgrade to him, and it probably drove him to be incredibly jealous and resentful.

In retrospect, when I listen to the dentist boss phone call, it sounds like maybe he knew something was up (with what we now know to be the ex). It will be interesting to find out if the trusted staff knew there were issues with someone.

 

[Charlot123]

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.

Well, logically, if you were looking into “money and prestige” in 2015, you’d look for a programmer, lol! Definitely not a doctor.

Women looking for doctors IMHO themselves wanted to enter this field (as a doctor or a nurse) but it didn’t work for them. Alternatively, they had respected doctors in the family. Seriously, it is something personal.

With her first husband, she met him in college so she knew him. She probably thought she’d change some of his traits but it didn’t work.

 

[Maat99]

Well, logically, if you were looking into “money and prestige” in 2015, you’d look for a programmer, lol! Definitely not a doctor.

Women looking for doctors IMHO themselves wanted to enter this field (as a doctor or a nurse) but it didn’t work for them. Alternatively, they had respected doctors in the family. Seriously, it is something personal.

With her first husband, she met him in college so she knew him. She probably thought she’d change some of his traits but it didn’t work.

And oddly no one seems to consider that maybe Spencer picked her.

 

[adot0902]

And oddly no one seems to consider that maybe Spencer picked her.

The type of people that are comfortable victim blaming and saying that type of horrible sexist rhetoric couldn't possible let a logical thought like that slip in. MOO.

 

[Charlot123]

That is not why there's a shortage of doctors.

Well, partially because of this.

Premed classes are the same STEM plus something more. Med school is a lot of memorizing.

And then residency requiring a lot of work…tons of investment.

Most people who have the guts for it can enter a programmers’ school and start earning the same/more in four years. Plus stocks plus other perks.

 

[steeltowngirl]

I wasn't crediting the killer with anything, but I do think it’s telling that the children were not harmed, and according to the BIL, were able to be removed from the home without seeing anything.

I understand your point - the kids weren’t harmed physically, thankfully. But we can’t be sure they didn’t see anything. Especially the 4 year old. She may not even realize or fully understand what she may have saw or heard. She may face significant psychological trauma in the years to come.

The children lost their parents to murder.
They were most definitely harmed.

JMO

 

[kwins]

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.

Hopefully, they don’t shuffle him off to another county, like the Pike County case.

The Pike County case has gotten so ridiculous that Ohio has now moved the two sons to out-of-state prisons.

 

[PipeyRella]

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.

oh! I'm happy to hear that, how fitting for the he is.

 

[Gators North]

Well, logically, if you were looking into “money and prestige” in 2015, you’d look for a programmer, lol! Definitely not a doctor.

Women looking for doctors IMHO themselves wanted to enter this field (as a doctor or a nurse) but it didn’t work for them. Alternatively, they had respected doctors in the family. Seriously, it is something personal.

With her first husband, she met him in college so she knew him. She probably thought she’d change some of his traits but it didn’t work.

“With her first husband, she met him in college so she knew him. She probably thought she’d change some of his traits but it didn’t work.”

It never does.

 

[Gators North]

I understand your point - the kids weren’t harmed physically, thankfully. But we can’t be sure they didn’t see anything. Especially the 4 year old. She may not even realize or fully understand what she may have saw or heard. She may face significant psychological trauma in the years to come.

The children lost their parents to murder.
They were most definitely harmed.

JMO

Yup, and I do hope that MM is charged with child endangerment. MOO

 

[stmarysmead]

This is all fun to discuss the merits of various professions …but it’s taken on kind of a “Mama, don’t let your babies grow up to be…Surgeons” kind of vibe….lol. To each his own and let the paychecks roll…lol

Things will be better when we have more actual evidence used to indict in this case!

 

[nerosleuth]

When I was at a a low point and was arrested, I tried to plea "guilty" at my first appearance because I didn't want to go through the whole thing and, well, I was guilty.

The judge wouldn't let me plead guilty and entered a not guilty plea on my behalf. I think it's pretty standard for initial "not guilty" pleas, even if it's not what the defendant wants.

Here is the reason why in Ohio a person cannot enter a guilty plea on a felony charge during their arraignment hearing.

Back in 1975 there was a mentally challenged man in Columbus who was arraigned for the murder of a 14 year old Christie Mullins, and during his first court appearance in municipal court he pled guilty to that crime and the judge immediately handed him a life imprisonment sentence.

Days after his sentencing it caused an uproar and the appeals court later ordered a retrial. A few years later the mentally challenged man had a jury trial in common pleas court on the murder charge and he was found not guilty.

And all along that mentally challenged man never committed that crime in the first place.

And ever since it has been the policy in Ohio that a defendant can only enter a guilty plea to a felony charge in a plea deal in common pleas court.

So when MM is back in Ohio, his first court appearance will be his arraignment to set his bail.

Then there will be a preliminary hearing in municipal court, and then a grand jury hearing.

If he is indicted by the grand jury, the criminal case is transferred over to common pleas court for trial on the criminal charges.