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

[wibbleflea]

Uninterrupted presser

Sorry to say it but this didn’t sound like a confident team that’s on top of things, making sure to strengthen its case before making a move. Far from it.

 

[stmichael]

has this been posted yet? possible wifi issue between 2-5am for neighbors of the Tepes:

Columbus police looking to identify person of interest in deaths of Weinland Park couple

Police released new surveillance video on Monday, which shows a person walking through an alley near the home.

www.10tv.com

"Neighbor Eddie Zhang, who lives down the street from the Tepes, said he was shocked when he learned about the killings.
“They were very welcoming when I first moved in,” Zhang said.
Zhang said he did not hear anything unusual the night of the shooting.
“I did not hear anything, I was asleep,” he said. “I will say these houses are really well made. A lot of times I don’t hear what’s going on in the outdoors.”
Zhang said he has security cameras at the front and back of his home, but they were not recording between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Dec. 30, the time frame investigators believe the shootings occurred."

"several of the neighbors I have spoken with in this area told me they do have cameras but they weren't working at the time" reporter then says a couple of the cameras just weren't charged, but other neighbors' cameras did not record and they weren't aware. Even if not something as nefarious as a wifi jam, it's interesting that neighbors have spoken up and relayed their cameras weren't working, makes sense why there isn't better footage of a POI. Could have been an unlucky glitch of service or something too

Thanks for sharing this. Wifi Jammers are not quite as uncommon these days with home burglars making them from RadioShack, but still unlikely. They're actually very common in countries with rampant home invasions like South Africa. But this could just be a wifi outage. But wifi security is a vulnerability.

I have wifi cams, but also a backup hardwired POE CCTV 4k cam system. I recommend this level of redundancy to everyone. Anyone can cut a single black fiber optic cable coming off a utility pole to your home.

In reading further what the reporter said seemed more like common residential neglect of their systems. Your security layers are only as good as you keeping on top of them; cameras charged, configured correctly, proper zone placement and sensitivity etc. etc. This is a prevalent problem with residential applications. You'd be surprised how many people have lapses in changing their battery in non-hardwired Ring or Nest cams.

 

[ttjo]

Link to press conference details please? Edit: see it above. The Police basically said nothing new of value other than saying case is complex and they are working through it and can’t share details so as to not jeopardize the investigation. That seems to indicate they are close but not quite at the finish line yet. Seems like they are trying to confirm the motive. What do others think?

I think what The chief said about it taking time to gather evidence, and time to verify it. People should understand, they dont want to say something unverified. They said there is a fine line between community safety and investigative integrity, Its like their hands are tied.
I think all they rally owe the public is to assure them they are working on it and if possible community safety. ( If they can)
It’s not their priority to squash all the runaway internet stuff, thats up to the people not to create in the first place.

 

[Izzylizzy]

Sorry to say it but this didn’t sound like a confident team that’s on top of things, making sure to strengthen its case before making a move. Far from it.

Ditto but then again I remember feeling the same about Ashlee Buzzard and finally, WHAM!

 

[waldojabba]

"There is a lot of chatter on the internet...and much of what you read is just not factual"

- Assistant Chief Greg Bodker

Amen to this !!!
jmo

 

[moonglow123]

Sorry to say it but this didn’t sound like a confident team that’s on top of things, making sure to strengthen its case before making a move. Far from it.

Yeah, unfortunately listening to her words it doesn't seem like they've identified anyone at all. There's a chance they're trying to hold it close to their chest, but it truly does not seem like they have anyone in mind at this moment.

But it does seem like they're trying and I hope it goes somewhere. I understand these things take time.

 

[Izzylizzy]

How did the police go to the wrong house?
Did the dispatcher get or give the wrong address?

 

[Charlot123]

Yes - it is pocessive and non-descriptive .

It is a phrase, and we can hear it in songs, but I would not expect millennials to use it. It is not archaic, just slightly "parochial". If a millennial uses it, I'd think, "they probably heard it from parents and never moved out of the area where they grew up". It can come into use again, who knows?

 

[wibbleflea]

Ditto but then again I remember feeling the same about Ashlee Buzzard and finally, WHAM!

Agreed but that seemed like it was down to someone accidentally finding the body.

If the problem here is just the quantity of video footage and tips to process, that’s understandable. That’s not the feeling I got but I’d love to be wrong.

 

[waldojabba]

Ditto

It doesn't give me a lot of confidence that they started out the press conference by acknowledging that their officer went to the wrong house for a well being check.
Then another 40 minutes goes by until the coworker's arrive at the house. Serious blunder right there. Although I do appreciate that LE owned up to it.

They do not have a suspect they have identified.

Basically they are working the case...so altho I think it will be solved, right now it doesn't appear imminent.

JMO

 

[waldojabba]

Ditto but then again I remember feeling the same about Ashlee Buzzard and finally, WHAM!

All it takes is that one tip that leads you to the perp but if you have 100 tips, it may be tip number 99.
So she is correct, it takes patience.
jmo

edit to add - I would have liked to hear that they have called in some people form other departments etc to help review video footage but there was not mention of that

They also seemed to side step the local safety issue - if I were a neighbor that would not make me feel secure in the least. And actually since they have no suspects they cannot assure anyone locally that there is not a threat. But .. the ususally say it any -

 

[armchairagatha]

All it takes is that one tip that leads you to the perp but if you have 100 tips, it may be tip number 99.
So she is correct, it takes patience.
jmo

I don’t think they were soliciting more tips from the public? That seems to indicate they already have enough to work on. JMO.

 

[wibbleflea]

In reading further what the reporter said seemed more like common residential neglect of their systems.

Agreed. People aren’t good at making technical choices or at testing results (for example, seeing if a camera’s motion-detection is effective in low light) or at maintaining anything technical.

I once discovered that the data backup system at a company whose name is known to everyone with a phone or a computer had been backing up precisely nothing in one department. It was easy to fix but just hadn’t been tested and had been working this way for years. Luckily, it had never been needed. For consumers and home owners, problems like these are more widespread.

 

[Izzylizzy]

All it takes is that one tip that leads you to the perp but if you have 100 tips, it may be tip number 99.
So she is correct, it takes patience.
jmo

The Chief should have gotten ahead of this and didn't.
That said maybe she had the little presser today because an arrest is imminent.
I highly doubt she ever would have said they have a suspect if indeed they did.

 

[waldojabba]

I don’t think they were soliciting more tips from the public? That seems to indicate they already have enough to work on. JMO.

I think it was implied - if you see something say something - She mentioned even if it was not on the same day etc. I listenend quickly but that was my impression that they were definitely still open to information and continue to canvas and follow all leads
But we all hear and see things in different ways -
JMO

 

[Cassie P]

It doesn't give me a lot of confidence that they started out the press conference by acknowledging that their officer went to the wrong house for a well being check.
Then another 40 minutes goes by until the coworker's arrive at the house. Serious blunder right there. Although I do appreciate that LE owned up to it.

They do not have a suspect they have identified.

Basically they are working the case...so altho I think it will be solved, right now it doesn't appear imminent.

JMO

Yes it doesn't sound like they have much right now.

 

[armchairagatha]

The Chief should have gotten ahead of this and didn't.
That said maybe she had the little presser today because an arrest is imminent.
I highly doubt she ever would have said they have a suspect if indeed they did.

This didn’t appear to be a press conference initiated by the Police. This was the news station inviting them to give an update on the case.

 

[Cassie P]

All it takes is that one tip that leads you to the perp but if you have 100 tips, it may be tip number 99.
So she is correct, it takes patience.
jmo

edit to add - I would have liked to hear that they have called in some people form other departments etc to help review video footage but there was not mention of that

They also seemed to side step the local safety issue - if I were a neighbor that would not make me feel secure in the least. And actually since they have no suspects they cannot assure anyone locally that there is not a threat. But .. the ususally say it any -

Yes it was a disappointing press conference.

 

[Izzylizzy]

This didn’t appear to be a press conference initiated by the Police. This was the news station inviting them to give an update on the case.

Six in one half dozen in the other.
For all we know the Chief set it up.
What we do know is if the Chief wasn't prepared to talk she wouldn't have done it.
imo

 

[Kemug]

I live in a city - not Columbus. On the ring app in our city, I’ve seen a lot of posts lately about people coming at 2-3am and checking front doors to see if they’re locked - even in decent neighborhoods. It sounds like the Tepes had a keypad front door, and I’ve had those in the past and they can be tricky. If you didn’t shut the door right, it wouldn’t lock. It makes me wonder if this was sort of stranger after all who just happened to find an unlocked door.

IIRC (can't guarantee it!) a few decades ago in my city, there were a few cases over several years where someone would try the back door in the middle of the night. And if open, take a child, or attempt to. Horrific. Sorry I can't remember more.