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

[nerosleuth]

WSYX-TV in Columbus posted a 13 minute video on their YouTube channel page today recapping all of their news reports about this case in a 13 minute video.

And on the front page of today's edition of the Columbus Dispatch newspaper, there was a front page news article about the neighborhood where the murder occurred.

 

[whowy]

In the news report with the police after the murders (local news station, I believe), he mentioned the officers brought along therapy dogs to comfort the children and give them something else to think about etc. I don’t know if they would ask the 4 year old any questions about if they had any one staying with them or visiting?

Wondering if their own dog wouldn't have been more comforting.

 

[STLBlues]

So what is a semi automatic handgun

I'm so ignorant of guns so not being rude ,I'm in a country where even the cops don't have use of them

I'll try to be as basic in the explanation as possible. It would be a handgun with a magazine with X number of rounds (bullets). The magazine is inserted into the grip/handle and you "rack the slide" to insert the first round into the chamber. Once that is done, the gun is ready to fire. Pulling the trigger will result in the round in the chamber being fired, the spent casing ejected from the gun and the next round being loaded into the chamber. So, other than the first round, there is no need to manually eject the spent round and load the next round. As long as there are rounds in the chamber, every time you pull the trigger, the chambered round will fire, the spent casing will eject and the next round will load.

In an automatic weapon (like a military grade machine gun), pulling and holding the trigger will result in multiple rounds cycling through the above process until the trigger is released. With a semi-auto, you have to manually pull the trigger to fire each round. Hopefully, I was clear in explaining this.

 

[whowy]

Everyone, including the family, needs to be very careful they don't contaminate the children's memories. It's a skill to question children, they have a hard telling real from not real.

Children can be prompted to say almost anything.

Right! A 4 yr old would likely swear that Santa Clause was in their house the other night.

 

[Gabry L]

Yes, that's true for the most part, but there have been a few exceptions.
Probably if they (LE) want someone to let their guard down ?

There was a case of a single school teacher who was killed by a man she thought was going to propose to her, LE cleared him and he was even at the presser along with the woman's family .
It turned out LE had him on their radar all along, even thought they had him make an appeal at the press conf. and acted as though he was cleared.
Imo.

Laura Wallen's murder linked to love triangle, police believe

Authorities believe a Howard County teacher was murdered after her boyfriend found out she was going to talk to his fiance about being pregnant with his child.

www.fox5dc.com

Thank you for sharing this information about Laura Waller’s murder, which I was unfamiliar with! It’s fascinating to see how LE honed in on her boyfriend as the killer, and how LE asked Laura’s parents to hold hands with him while he spoke at the press conference, and pretend they didn’t know he was the suspect. Wow.

It’s a great example of what I meant, when spoke in a different comment about how LE sometimes is very strategic with their media coverage… sometimes what the public hears from family members isn’t accurate. Sometimes LE is letting a talkative family member (or neighbor, friend, colleague, etc) talk as much as they want, hoping to catch them in a lie or hoping they share more than they should. Sometimes what family members are saying or doing publicly is due to LE coaching them behind the scenes.

I’m so curious about whether/how much LE has been involved with the various media statements by and/or footage of Spencer and Monique’s family members, friends, and colleagues.

 

[justtrish]

So what is a semi automatic handgun

I'm so ignorant of guns so not being rude ,I'm in a country where even the cops don't have use of them

Semi-automatic means that when you pull the trigger once the bullet is fired and a new bullet is loaded from the magazine. Usually there are a few bullets in a magazine so for a handgun the magazine would be loaded into the gun, and you could fire one bullet and the casing is ejected and a new bullet from that magazine is loaded in and ready to be fired. The person would have to pull the trigger again to get that bullet to fire and then it would eject that casing and load a new bullet.

An automatic weapon would mean the person could pull the trigger once and hold it down and bullets just fire out.

A weapon that isn't semi-automatic would mean the person would have to manually reload each time they want to fire.

This is my very basic understanding and might not be exactly perfect in explaining it.

 

[keek]

I would assume patients were starting to arrive, so it's not just a co-worker not at their desk, but patients expecting dental care. That makes it important for the clinic to know what is happening, and to be alarmed early.

jmo

Yes and there is a lot more to their decision as told in the threads. Bunch of similar aged dentists and you become friends as well. This would be common in small offices no matter what the type of business, or shops, due to what they did go through to reach both of the victims, also knowing there is a baby and a four year old as their children. IMO

 

[MarciB]

The bubble butt comment made me laugh out loud

LOL @ bubble butt

 

[STLBlues]

Semi-automatic means that when you pull the trigger once the bullet is fired and a new bullet is loaded from the magazine. Usually there are a few bullets in a magazine so for a handgun the magazine would be loaded into the gun, and you could fire one bullet and the casing is ejected and a new bullet from that magazine is loaded in and ready to be fired. The person would have to pull the trigger again to get that bullet to fire and then it would eject that casing and load a new bullet.

An automatic weapon would mean the person could pull the trigger once and hold it down and bullets just fire out.

A weapon that isn't semi-automatic would mean the person would have to manually reload each time they want to fire.

This is my very basic understanding and might not be exactly perfect in explaining it.

That's actually a better simplified explanation than mine above.

 

[TIGER0822]

Brother in law is acting bizarre from day 1, why are the police letting him talk so much? Strategic?

He is an attention seeker. I believe it was him I saw in an interview. His profile does not match the poi. Stockier.

 

[Cassie P]

It's been discussed like a million times and everyone in medicine says it's not weird

I was in healthcare for over 40 years and calling 911 when an employee is an hour late and sending a group from the office to check up on the employee, driving an hour and a half, away is weird.

If the employee in question had been in a car accident or rushed to the ER with a seriously ill child and found out the cops were called and co workers rushed to their home and broke in, they might not be too happy.

 

[su5ie]

I'll try to be as basic in the explanation as possible. It would be a handgun with a magazine with X number of rounds (bullets). The magazine is inserted into the grip/handle and you "rack the slide" to insert the first round into the chamber. Once that is done, the gun is ready to fire. Pulling the trigger will result in the round in the chamber being fired, the spend casing ejected from the gun and the next round being loaded into the chamber. So, other than the first round, there is no need to manually eject the spent round and load the next round. As long as there are rounds in the chamber, every time you pull the trigger, the chambered round will fire, the spent casing will eject and the next round will load.

In an automatic weapon (like a military grade machine gun), pulling and holding the trigger will result in multiple rounds cycling through the above process until the trigger is released. With a semi-auto, you have to manually pull the trigger to fire each round. Hopefully, I was clear in explaining this.

Thank you for your explanation, it is very clear and understandable

Just after my post I did a little research and while there are many semi automatic handguns , glock and sig seem to be the most popular and reliable

I had a look up suppressors for these and Interestingly a gun must be adapted to fit one of these

Choosing the Best Glock 19 Suppressor - Liberty Suppressors - Firearm Sound Suppressor and World Class Silencer

You shouldn’t get a Glock 19 suppressor without knowing it inside out. Let us tell you how to find the best suppressor for your Glock, which will make shooting a lot better.

libertycans.net

 

[Sadi]

Wondering if their own dog wouldn't have been more comforting.

Possibly, but because the dogs are trained for situations like this and a distraction too.

 

[TIGER0822]

Why wouldn’t he pick up the casings and take them with him?

I guess he did not think of it.

 

[STLBlues]

Thank you for your explanation, it is very clear and understandable

Just after my post I did a little research and while there are many semi automatic handguns , glock and sig seem to be the most popular and reliable

I had a look up suppressors for these and Interestingly a gun must be adapted to fit one of these

Choosing the Best Glock 19 Suppressor - Liberty Suppressors - Firearm Sound Suppressor and World Class Silencer

You shouldn’t get a Glock 19 suppressor without knowing it inside out. Let us tell you how to find the best suppressor for your Glock, which will make shooting a lot better.

libertycans.net

Glock and Sig Sauer are very popular and reliable and have huge followings.

Yes, a firearm has to be modified to accept a suppressor (if it wasn't factory built that way).

To be honest, and in my experience, I don't think suppressors are as common as people think they are. I'm in my late 50s and have been around firearms my whole life. In that time, I've only seen 2 suppressors in person.

 

[Cassie P]

Semi-automatic means that when you pull the trigger once the bullet is fired and a new bullet is loaded from the magazine. Usually there are a few bullets in a magazine so for a handgun the magazine would be loaded into the gun, and you could fire one bullet and the casing is ejected and a new bullet from that magazine is loaded in and ready to be fired. The person would have to pull the trigger again to get that bullet to fire and then it would eject that casing and load a new bullet.

An automatic weapon would mean the person could pull the trigger once and hold it down and bullets just fire out.

A weapon that isn't semi-automatic would mean the person would have to manually reload each time they want to fire.

This is my very basic understanding and might not be exactly perfect in explaining it.

Can you explain the casing situation a bit more?
Are the casings automatically ejected with each shot?
Why would the killer leave the casings? Time issue?
Can the casings be used to identify the killer's gun?

 

[Cassie P]

I guess he did not think of it.

This doesn't fit? He planned everything else quite well. How to gain entrance to the house without breaking in. Murdered two adults and made a successful escape without detection. Still at large a week later.

Perhaps an amateur and had not committed this crime before?

 

[Cassie P]

Brother in law is acting bizarre from day 1, why are the police letting him talk so much? Strategic?

Can the family stop the family from giving interviews? <modsnip: no source link>

 

[STLBlues]

Can you explain the casing situation a bit more?
Are the casings automatically ejected with each shot?
Why would the killer leave the casings? Time issue?
Can the casings be used to identify the killer's gun?

The casing is the part of the round that holds the gun powder an primer, it is tube shaped. The bullet is the actual projectile part of the round, think the tip of the round.

With a semi-auto or automatic firearm, yes, a casing would be ejected with each round fired...unless the firearm was equipped with a brass catcher. People use brass catchers to catch the spent casing so it can be reloaded thus, saving money on buying new rounds. IMO, It would not be practical to have a brass catcher on a gun to commit a crime...too bulky. With a revolver, the casings are NOT ejected with each shot fired.

The casings might be able to be used to ID the gun but, if my forensic understanding is correct, investigators would need possession of the gun to compare it to the casings and/or bullets.

Edited to correct typos.

 

[STLBlues]

The casing is the part of the round that holds the gun powder an primer, it is tub shaped. The bullet is the actual projectile part of the round, think the tip of the round.

With a semi-auto or automatic firearm, yes, a casing would be ejected with each round fired...unless the firearm was equipped with a brass catcher. People use brass catchers to catch the spent casing so it can be reloaded thus, saving money on buying new rounds. IMO, It would not be practical to have a brass catcher on a gun to commit a crime...too bulky. With a revolver, the casings are NOT ejected with each shot fired.

The casings might be able to be used to ID the gun but, if my forensic understanding is correct, investigators would need possession of the gun to compare it to the casings and/or bullets.