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

[Simply Caustic]

There was a shooting about a mile away, behind the Go-Go, in June of 2023. The known specifics of that shooting do not match up to the murders of the Tepes as far as a shared perpetrator, but being in such close proximity does give us some information: LE had camera footage, and good enough quality to provide details about what the individuals involved were wearing and what went down before the shooting.

I am hopeful that LE will have equally good footage to review in this case.

 

[Sillybilly]

Hey folks,

We don't allow posting on the public thread of sleuthing anyone who is not officially named a POI/suspect.

 

[Knox]

Just getting in and catching up, apologies if this has already been posted/discussed.

Columbus police spokeswoman Nicole Jaros said Jan. 2 police had no updates to share. The division released a QR code that allows people living near the shooting site to submit footage from security and doorbell cameras. Police said they are specifically seeking footage captured in the area bordered by Summit Street, North Grant Avenue, East 7th Avenue and East 11th Avenue between 12 a.m. and 9 a.m.

Columbus double homicide, lack of info shakes Weinland Park community

Neighbors say they don't know why Spencer Tepe, 37, and Monique Tepe, 39, were apparently gunned down in their home, and that scares them.

www.dispatch.com

The starting timeframe is specific, this must mean LE has proof of life prior to 12 AM?

 

[OhioGuy]

Just getting in and catching up, apologies if this has already been posted/discussed.

Columbus police spokeswoman Nicole Jaros said Jan. 2 police had no updates to share. The division released a QR code that allows people living near the shooting site to submit footage from security and doorbell cameras. Police said they are specifically seeking footage captured in the area bordered by Summit Street, North Grant Avenue, East 7th Avenue and East 11th Avenue between 12 a.m. and 9 a.m.

Columbus double homicide, lack of info shakes Weinland Park community

Neighbors say they don't know why Spencer Tepe, 37, and Monique Tepe, 39, were apparently gunned down in their home, and that scares them.

www.dispatch.com

The starting timeframe is specific, this must mean LE has proof of life prior to 12 AM?

Since they specifically said midnight, I’m guessing they have some type of phone activity from one or both victims around then. That shrinks the time of the event down to about 12a-7a at the absolute latest since he’d be on the road by 645a or so in order to make his 8a appointments. In my mind this makes it highly, highly unlikely they opened the door of their own accord (ie someone knocking then pulling a gun).

If they were found in the bedroom I wonder if they never even woke up. First shot to the wife and two to the husband if the initial shot startled him awake and he was thus knocked/fell off the bed as it has been reported he was adjacent to the bed on the floor when the friend saw him on the final 911 call.

 

[Normancita]

Since they specifically said midnight, I’m guessing they have some type of phone activity from one or both victims around then. That shrinks the time of the event down to about 12a-7a at the absolute latest since he’d be on the road by 645a or so in order to make his 8a appointments. In my mind this makes it highly, highly unlikely they opened the door of their own accord (ie someone knocking then pulling a gun).

If they were found in the bedroom I wonder if they never even woke up. First shot to the wife and two to the husband if the initial shot startled him awake and he was thus knocked/fell off the bed as it has been reported he was adjacent to the bed on the floor when the friend saw him on the final 911 call.

It makes me wonder if someone they knew (or someone who had access to the keypad code or an open window) was lying in wait for them inside the house.

Do we know where the Tepes were that evening leading up to midnight?

 

[MSU24]

I'm trying to understand what the forum rules are. Can I post links to court records or do I have to tell others what to search on which site?

 

[debrat007]

Since they specifically said midnight, I’m guessing they have some type of phone activity from one or both victims around then. That shrinks the time of the event down to about 12a-7a at the absolute latest since he’d be on the road by 645a or so in order to make his 8a appointments. In my mind this makes it highly, highly unlikely they opened the door of their own accord (ie someone knocking then pulling a gun).

If they were found in the bedroom I wonder if they never even woke up. First shot to the wife and two to the husband if the initial shot startled him awake and he was thus knocked/fell off the bed as it has been reported he was adjacent to the bed on the floor when the friend saw him on the final 911 call.

Ohio guy (grew up for time in Findlay and brother a buckeye) - you are very insightful!
Someone mentioned bedrooms (except basement one) were on second floor. How would the friend have been able to see him on the floor?
Of course we don’t know they were found in same bedroom. Thoughts?

 

[SophieRose]

Ohio guy (grew up for time in Findlay and brother a buckeye) - you are very insightful!
Someone mentioned bedrooms (except basement one) were on second floor. How would the friend have been able to see him on the floor?
Of course we don’t know they were found in same bedroom. Thoughts?

I'm assuming they normally slept in the third bedroom on the second floor with the children. Maybe they were taken down to the basement bedroom by the perp.

 

[OhioGuy]

Ohio guy (grew up for time in Findlay and brother a buckeye) - you are very insightful!
Someone mentioned bedrooms (except basement one) were on second floor. How would the friend have been able to see him on the floor?
Of course we don’t know they were found in same bedroom. Thoughts?

One of the earlier posts in this thread mentioned the final 911 caller was a friend who saw the body from outside the house. Total speculation but this could’ve been a neighbor who could look in if the blinds weren’t drawn, or this friend could’ve brought over a ladder. A standard 20-24 footer would reach those windows easily. That final 911 call was pretty descriptive and confident in what they saw, so I feel like they were close up to the window somehow. I’ll go back and see if I can find which post referenced it.

 

[TIGER0822]

I'm assuming they normally slept in the third bedroom

I'm trying to understand what the forum rules are. Can I post links to court records or do I have to tell others what to search on which site?

on the second floor with the children. Maybe they were taken down to the basement bedroom by the perp.

Dbm

 

[Ms Scarlett]

I'm assuming they normally slept in the third bedroom on the second floor with the children. Maybe they were taken down to the basement bedroom by the perp.

This article mentions that the friend got into the house and saw Spencer’s body. We’ve heard conflicting info tho.

Ohio police seek suspect after dentist and his wife found shot to death at home

Officers in Columbus, Ohio, were dispatched to the couple's home on the morning Dec. 30 for a welfare check and found them dead at the scene.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[MSU24]

Not sure what I'm allowed/not allowed to link, but it's worth going to the Franklin county court records search and looking up her maiden name and connecting dots there.

 

[OhioGuy]

Post #204 in this thread shared the below, which came directly from an NBC article. It looks like some others have since been deleted during the moderator cleanup. I removed the callers name from the quote below as NBC did the same (guessing for privacy from media)

An hour later, a second person called 911 from outside the couple’s home. The caller, an unidentified male, said he could hear children in the house but had no way of getting inside.
At 10 a.m., Spencer’s friend reported seeing a body inside before breaking down into sobs. “There’s blood. He’s laying next to his bed, off of his bed, and there's blood. I can’t get closer to see more than that,” according to 911 logs.

My opinion is that this call came from outside the home as I’m interpreting it to mean he can’t physically get closer. You could also interpret it to mean the caller is unwilling to go closer based on what he’s seen.

 

[TIGER0822]

One of the earlier posts in this thread mentioned the final 911 caller was a friend who saw the body from outside the house. Total speculation but this could’ve been a neighbor who could look in if the blinds weren’t drawn, or this friend could’ve brought over a ladder. A standard 20-24 footer would reach those windows easily. That final 911 call was pretty descriptive and confident in what they saw, so I feel like they were close up to the window somehow. I’ll go back and see if I can find which post referenced it.

A ladder makes sense.

 

[Lisbeth_S]

One of the earlier posts in this thread mentioned the final 911 caller was a friend who saw the body from outside the house. Total speculation but this could’ve been a neighbor who could look in if the blinds weren’t drawn, or this friend could’ve brought over a ladder. A standard 20-24 footer would reach those windows easily. That final 911 call was pretty descriptive and confident in what they saw, so I feel like they were close up to the window somehow. I’ll go back and see if I can find which post referenced it.

I think the friend said so.ething to the effect of "I can't get any closer sorry" and "I can't look" in the 911 call...initially I thought it was because he was looking from the outside so he couldn't see more that that, but with that last remark it is very possible that he was inside. Maybe he had a code to the door...

 

[OhioGuy]

I think the friend said so.ething to the effect of "I can't get any closer sorry" and "I can't look" in the 911 call...initially I thought it was because he was looking from the outside so he couldn't see more that that, but with that last remark it is very possible that he was inside. Maybe he had a code to the door...

Correct, we must’ve been posting at the same time but he says “I can’t get any closer.” Can take this to mean I physically can’t get any closer or “I’m unwilling to get any closer based on what I see” and there’s no physical barrier. My guess is the former but both are entirely plausible.

 

[getthefax]

They reset. One point is this home seems to be equipped with smartlocks both front and back (from the Redfin listing pics). Well, in the industry it's a open secret that a lot of these residential smartlocks are well, not so smart and give a sense of false security. Sometimes all you need is a magnet and a paperclip. There's been much discussion about this in the security community, and even common criminals are savvy to this now (heck, I've seen burglars with wifi jammer packs these days). You can check out many vids on lockpicking lawyer on YT for great examples of how easy it is. So there's that regarding the "no forced entry".

LockPickingLawyer

This channel aims to educate consumers about weaknesses and defects in security devices so they can make better security decisions. It should go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: do not use any of the information presented in my videos for illegal purposes. My mailing information is...

www.youtube.com

It feels important that they didn’t have double/triple locks on their doors (a la NyC apartments). They do not seem to have felt threatened or afraid based on the home security. I’d think if they had cause to fear they’d have doubled up on those locks.

Thanks for pointing out the lock styles.
(Edited by me for typo)

 

[stmichael]

Ohio guy (grew up for time in Findlay and brother a buckeye) - you are very insightful!
Someone mentioned bedrooms (except basement one) were on second floor. How would the friend have been able to see him on the floor?
Of course we don’t know they were found in same bedroom. Thoughts?

That report came only from WSYX ABC 6 Columbus based off the 911 call (and was repeated by People etc.) It stated:

Several coworkers drove to the home to check on Tepe. One friend called the police again at 9:57 a.m. after hearing children crying inside the house but receiving no answer at the door. Minutes later, the caller reported seeing Spencer's body inside the home near a bed, according to another 911 call.

"There is a body inside," Spencer's friend frantically told dispatchers. "Our friend wasn't answering his phone. We just did a wellness check. We just came here, and he appears dead."

1. We don't know it's accuracy. I've heard the dental practice's 911 call but have not heard a link to this one.
2. We don't know if the friend had access into the residence/crime scene.
3. We don't know if the basement was used as say a guest bedroom and that for whatever reason is where they ended up and that's the location cited (you can see into the basement through the large egress window). I doubt this because reports of the wellness check said the officer checked both the front and back door, so he would have seen the same thing and had probable cause to immediately enter.
4. It is possible that he like @OhioGuy suggested procured a ladder and checked the second story windows, though seems a bit more far fetched. There are actually not that many windows and the sides of the houses between are minimized for privacy. Maybe they had an extendable pole cam or a drone even, yes far-fetched but who knows?


The wedding video that they are keeping up on YT, though heartbreaking from a human perspective, provides a lot of layout from a clinical web sleuthing angle, including the inside of the house and a hovering drone shot of the entire neighborhood/back alley/yard, adjacent streets etc.

 

[Knox]

Since they specifically said midnight, I’m guessing they have some type of phone activity from one or both victims around then. That shrinks the time of the event down to about 12a-7a at the absolute latest since he’d be on the road by 645a or so in order to make his 8a appointments. In my mind this makes it highly, highly unlikely they opened the door of their own accord (ie someone knocking then pulling a gun).

If they were found in the bedroom I wonder if they never even woke up. First shot to the wife and two to the husband if the initial shot startled him awake and he was thus knocked/fell off the bed as it has been reported he was adjacent to the bed on the floor when the friend saw him on the final 911 call.

Agree with your timeline, but most killers disable the male first (biggest threat).

Still confused about the initial report from the friend. Was the friend inside the home? If not, the only bedroom window with an accessible view from outside is in the basement, correct? I assume the parents would occupy the upstairs primary, not the smaller basement bedroom. But with small kids, maybe not?

Which leads me to wonder if he was chased and fled downstairs, or maybe something woke him and he was checking on the kids?
Regardless - the witness didn't report seeing MT, only ST. So it wouldn't seem they were both in bed and/or together in the same location?

 

[Knox]

Not sure what I'm allowed/not allowed to link, but it's worth going to the Franklin county court records search and looking up her maiden name and connecting dots there.

Thanks, Link to Search - Case Information Online