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

[FromGermany1]

Ohio Dentist's 1-Year-Old Was Likely Stuck in Crib For Hours As Parents Lay Slain

Monique and Spencer Tepe's children, ages 4 and 1, were heard crying from inside the house as a friend desperately called police from outside the residence, unable to get in.

people.com

When Spencer's friend arrived at the residence later that morning, worried that he had not shown up to work, the friend told a 911 dispatcher that he could hear children crying inside.


The friend, who requested anonymity owing to security concerns for his family, called 911 again, sobbing, as he told the dispatcher he could see a body inside.


Rob Misleh, who is married to Spencer's sister, tells PEOPLE that they think it was 17-month-old Beckham crying.


"[He] was in the crib right, and was unable to get out of the crib on his own and also it was at a time he would've been well awake by this time," he says, confirming that the child likely also hadn't had food for a while by the time police arrived at the house.

 

[ttjo]

Investigators now accuse McKee of breaking into the Tepes' home weeks before the killings. That evening, Monique left a gathering early due to concerns about McKee, according a probable cause affidavit previously obtained by PEOPLE.

Autopsy Reveals Extensive Injuries that Caused Spencer Tepe's Death During Home Invasion

Spencer Tepe suffered injuries to various parts of his body when he was killed, per a coroner's report

people.com

Any chance he could have gotten into her car, got a remote for the garage , maybe they had a spare key in there and he got one cut. LE hasn’t said a word about the video camera at their door. Whether it even recorded anything or if it was working? How did he get in with no sign of forced entry , between the cameras and the keypad locks, nothing registered???

 

[Cassie P]

This Dispatch article has a breakdown of where the shots were. Monique was shot once in the right cheek and the remainder of the shots were to her right chest, right torso, right forearm/hand and left arm.
Spencer was shot once in the left ear and the remainder of the shots were to his left neck, left chest, left upper back, left hand and right elbow.

https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/courts/2026/02/03/spencer-monique-tepe-autopsy-total-gunshot-wounds-columbus-ohio-weinland-park-shooting-michael-mckee/88378994007/

Thank you, for more accurate information. I was responding to a comment about so many bullets in their faces.

 

[Cassie P]

In some countries 'femicide' is now a separate crime of a man targeting a woman for relationship/sexual reasons.

It makes it, theoretically, a more serious crime. Whether it works as prevention is a different question.

IMO, many people feel inherently entitled to control their spouse and children, especially when they can't control anything else, but they use psychological/emotional weapons (eg guilt trips). The way some people, often men, choose violence is mysterious to me. But it must be that for them, killing these people is gratifying.

Is there evidence he was suicidal?

In terms of MM being suicidal, I have not heard. I imagine he is on a watch in jail. I believe he may be a narcissist and they do not usually commit suicide. However they may consider it when backed into a corner or suffer consequences for their behavior.

We don't know if reality has yet hit MM. I believe he thought he could get away with the crime. The tricks with the phone and license plates. Carefully checking out the property ahead of time, etc. Timed everything so carefully. Firing the gun on Dec 30th when everyone would think it was firecracker noise. Planning the crimes to coincide with the OSU football schedule.

So he may still think he can talk his way out of this which would be a classic narcissist belief. We don't yet know if reality has dawned on him yet. When it does yes he may become suicidal.

Yes I have had the same thoughts. Why are men so violent and angry? They act out their rage against other men but against helpless women and children as well. Gun violence is a leading cause of death for children in the US. Most violence against women is from a male perpetrator.

The world seems to take it for granted, boys will be boys kind of thing. But if women were the ones killing men at the same rate we can well imagine what would happen.

 

[Cassie P]

DBM

 

[COSCitizen]

After reading about the alternate license plates and the phone I think he thought he could get away with it as well. However, like many very smart people who are very good at one thing, he thought he was very good at everything, and could certainly outsmart those stupid cops. I doubt he followed any modern case like the Idaho slasher case and learned the massive amounts of resources that even a relatively poor state can throw at forensics when it is a high profile case. And since it is a truism that when a woman is killed, first you look at her spouse, and then you look at her ex'es, I doubt he had read many police procedurals either.

 

[Covert Operative]

I don't understand quite well at the moment, but I'm wondering about: her wounds on one side (right) and his wounds on the other side (left). Did MM force the pair to hug each other before shooting them??

Could it have been the way the may have been sleeping in the bed?

 

[Gemmie]

Spencer : left chest and left upper back? How would that happen? Did he try to get up?

Either that or he tried to shield his wife by laying on top of her. If that was the case, it's pretty heroic.

 

[girlhasnoname]

Per the grand jury indictment and charges (see @maamager documents above) he allegedly had a supressor on his gun.

Makes sense thank you for letting me know I am having trouble downloading the pdf @maamager was so kind to post.

 

[girlhasnoname]

To my understanding, no. A hate crime is typically defined as occurring when someone is targeted for being part of a group -- singled out and killed for being a person of color or LGBTQ+, etc. -- not just when someone is killed because someone hates them.

Right, here is the dictionary description of a Hate Crime:

a crime, typically one involving violence, that is motivated by prejudice on the basis of ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or similar grounds.

 

[girlhasnoname]

I don't know about other states, but in Ohio around New Year's Eve people are shooting off guns or fire crackers. No one thinks anything of it. I assume MM planned it this way?

Sorry for any confusion, I hadn't read the GJ indictment yet. It says the Tepe's were believed to be killed in the early morning hours (3 am-5am) and found around 10.

 

[girlhasnoname]

I remember at the beginning of the thread some posters thought it was odd that staff would be overly concerned if DDS Tepe was a no show no call so quickly. As a dentist office with patients booked throughout the day, being that late would have thrown all the appointments of schedule and been a MAJOR inconvenience for the rest of his patients.

I think that was the very reason they were so immediately concerned, especially if he had never done that before.

I'm still in shock at how rage filled this murder was. He was obliterating not just their physical bodies, but their happy and vibrant lives. He didn't shoot the children thankfully, but it was said Monique was shot in the torso several times. I wonder if there was ever an issue of pregnancy between Monique and MM during their short marriage?? Maybe MM wanted children and Monique didn't. They were obviously having issues early on.

Just my own questioning.

 

[Cassie P]

After reading about the alternate license plates and the phone I think he thought he could get away with it as well. However, like many very smart people who are very good at one thing, he thought he was very good at everything, and could certainly outsmart those stupid cops. I doubt he followed any modern case like the Idaho slasher case and learned the massive amounts of resources that even a relatively poor state can throw at forensics when it is a high profile case. And since it is a truism that when a woman is killed, first you look at her spouse, and then you look at her ex'es, I doubt he had read many police procedurals either.

Yes classic amateur mistake. They plan the crime and crime scene based on books and movies. Not real life. Not how LE actually investigates crimes.

 

[Gemmie]

Ohio Dentist's 1-Year-Old Was Likely Stuck in Crib For Hours As Parents Lay Slain

Monique and Spencer Tepe's children, ages 4 and 1, were heard crying from inside the house as a friend desperately called police from outside the residence, unable to get in.

people.com

When Spencer's friend arrived at the residence later that morning, worried that he had not shown up to work, the friend told a 911 dispatcher that he could hear children crying inside.


The friend, who requested anonymity owing to security concerns for his family, called 911 again, sobbing, as he told the dispatcher he could see a body inside.


Rob Misleh, who is married to Spencer's sister, tells PEOPLE that they think it was 17-month-old Beckham crying.


"[He] was in the crib right, and was unable to get out of the crib on his own and also it was at a time he would've been well awake by this time," he says, confirming that the child likely also hadn't had food for a while by the time police arrived at the house.

I'm still having a hard time understanding how the friend saw a body since they were shot in their bedroom with no way to see into windows up that high without the use of a drone, which I doubt they brought along with them when checking the home. Two bedrooms are on the 2nd floor. Sure, there's a bedroom in the basement, where one could look inside, but I doubt they'd sleep 2 floors down from young kids. Plus, MSM has said that the kids were "feet" away in another room. How did this friend see a body?