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

[drdetective]

It does seem riskier with cameras but the person(s) still has to be identified. That’s more difficult to do at night, unless they get a license plate number. Also, as someone who knows a number of officers, there are many people who won’t willingly turn over the video footage from their cameras.

Can you get it by subpoena?

 

[OhioSleuth614]

welcome fellow buckeye, and thank you for the update on the timing.

Thanks! I actually submitted a clip from one of my Ring cameras and noticed the change then. It’s just someone walking through the alley carrying a few bags (probably nothing) but I figured it was better to send it in and let the cops decide.

 

[maamager]

Thank you, @OhioGuy and @maamager, for your very helpful local insight, since you both are familiar with the actual neighborhood, not just data about the neighborhood.
Much appreciated.

thank you and now we have @OhioSleuth614 !!

Thanks! I actually submitted a clip from one of my Ring cameras and noticed the change then. It’s just someone walking through the alley carrying a few bags (probably nothing) but I figured it was better to send it in and let the cops decide.

1000000% did the right thing, who knows what moves the needle here. you could be giving some vital info…

 

[Sadi]

It does seem riskier with cameras but the person(s) still has to be identified. That’s more difficult to do at night, unless they get a license plate number. Also, as someone who knows a number of officers, there are many people who won’t willingly turn over the video footage from their cameras.

Why would someone not want to turn over their video footage to the police? My husband is a retired police officer and we would not hesitate to provide our videos/support etc.

 

[Cryptic]

If I were a doctor of dentistry on a great salary looking to raise my family in a nice area, this wouldn't be it.

But maybe Columbus just has that 'look' about it? I don't know.

As @stmarysmead illustrated, he is a young doctor.

The salary maybe great, but he can also have large debts. In addition to medical / dental school debts, he can have undergraduate debts (in an era when colleges are screaming for money, truly comprehensive academic scholarships can be extremely difficult to get- even for the gifted and hard working types).

In the end, I have a feeling that the true financial rewards of many doctors / dentists don't start until the debts are paid off and they have opened their own successful practices. This can involve business skills that not all of them may have.

As a result, buying a home in an area that can go from "pleasantly gentrifying" to "iffy" and back to gentrifying again by the block may not be that unusual.

 

[MrsWatson]

Respectfully, I disagree. I have watched so many Dateline, 48 Hours and 20/20 episodes where friends and or co-workers have gone to the house to check on someone, which then leads to a 911 call. IMO

I've worked two places where I requested a welfare check on an employee who always showed up and one day didn't. One was deceased and the other was close to, diabetic keratosis. I would always err on the side of caution. Especially for such a front-facing job like dentistry.

MOO

 

[Interested Torontonian]

Would a drug deal gone wrong fit with the basic facts?

 

[BlaiseFinlay]

i’d suggest the CPD’s crime map (linked), not whatever source you linked.

third-party crime sites tend to oversimplify and skew perception. the CPD crime map shows that most incidents in weinland park are property crimes like car break-ins, not homicide. that context matters when assessing an area.

From my experience, all crime statistics and maps can be misleading, for various reasons. Pictures can also be deceiving, particularly in urban gentrifying areas. (I always say that any tourist driving through the Hollywood Hills would guess completely wrong which side of the hill is the wealthier side, and that doesn't even have anything to do with a history of gentrification.)

My advice to anyone trying to assess the safety of a neighborhood in an urban area is to look at the grocery stores. First question is what grocery store chains are there in the neighborhood. Whole Foods? Then you're looking at an affluent or up-and-coming neighborhood. No major supermarket chains? Probably not an area you want to be walking around. Then the next question is, inside those grocery stores, how many things are locked up compared to the same store in a different neighborhood?

That's for neighborhoods as a whole. Urban living can create some crazy dynamics within neighborhoods. One block can be okay, the next block not. The Whole Foods in my area of the city is actually in one of the worst parts of the area. Like I'd get an alert on Citizen of a stabbing just a mile from me, and then I'd read that it was in the Whole Foods parking lot and just think "ah ok that makes sense." I still shop there.

I'll add that the specific crime of home break-ins often don't follow patterns of crime trends, and can strike wealthy areas. There have been multiple examples of that in LA.

 

[Ms Scarlett]

not sure if it was brought up but in the news videos of the area , across the street it showed "Zora;s House" that is a non profit they are open day and night ... wonder if they heard anything ..

Unfortunately, it appears that they closed their cafe and had a staff reduction, so I’m not sure what their operations look like now.

 

[MrsWatson]

This handy link gives an idea of the cost of dental school. Not for the faint of heart, imo.

 

[Muddy K]

I spent the last hour or so reading through the posts here and decided to make an account to join the conversation.

I live two blocks from where this happened, in a newer home with a very similar design. I know the area has been discussed extensively. While I don’t think anyone would call it “super safe,” it’s y`10 years into a pretty intense period of gentrification. That said, I’ve never personally felt unsafe inside my home, though I have felt uneasy walking back after a night out. Most of the homes in the area were built with security systems installed, but many people we know don’t pay for monitoring. My fiancé and I like the neighborhood for its walkability and proximity to bars and restaurants we frequent, but being close to the “action” naturally comes with its own challenges.

I’d be happy to answer any questions about the area or the homes. I didn’t personally know Spencer or Monique, but I recently realized we do have mutual friends on Facebook.

As for the timeline, the updated CPD link now says they’re looking for video footage between 2:00 and 5:00 a.m.

@OhioSleuth614, so glad you joined. Welcome to Websleuths. Local perspective always adds so much when trying to understand/piece together the facts around a crime.

Question: Is this tragic double homicide resonating as a big blow to the community/area?

 

[ttjo]

Why would someone not want to turn over their video footage to the police? My husband is a retired police officer and we would not hesitate to provide our videos/support etc.

Afraid of retaliation? especially when they ( the public) don’t know who is responsible yet . Some people just dont want that worry.

 

[Ms Scarlett]

Can you get it by subpoena?

I’m not an attorney, so I’m not sure. If it’s a security camera, it would be easy enough for an individual to say they don’t have it, or that it doesn’t keep a recording. I am friends with LE in and around Columbus and some people don’t want to cooperate with LE for certain reasons, including, they don’t want a target on their back.

 

[OhioSleuth614]

As @stmarysmead illustrated, he is a young doctor.

The salary maybe great, but he can also have large debts. In addition to medical / dental school debts, he can have undergraduate debts (in an era when colleges are screaming for money, truly comprehensive academic scholarships can be extremely difficult to get- even for the gifted and hard working types).

In the end, I have a feeling that the true financial rewards of many doctors / dentists don't start until the debts are paid off and they have opened their own successful practices. This can involve business skills that not all of them may have.

As a result, buying a home in an area that can go from "pleasantly gentrifying" to "iffy" and back to gentrifying again by the block may not be that unusual.

While this can be true, I don't think it's necessarily applicable in this case. They lived in a house that they could have fairly easily sold for ~$700k which is more than sufficient to buy a place in a more "family friendly" suburb.

 

[Ms Scarlett]

Why would someone not want to turn over their video footage to the police? My husband is a retired police officer and we would not hesitate to provide our videos/support etc.

The reasons my LE friends have told me is that some people don’t like LE and/or they don’t want a target on their back…particularly if it involves gang activity.

 

[ttjo]

The reasons my LE friends have told me is that some people don’t like LE and/or they don’t want a target on their back…particularly if it involves gang activity.

Don't know if anyone has said no to l/c about showing video but I sure hope that someone’s dislike of L/E doesn't stop them

 

[raja]

LE are guarding two relatives homes. Either they are concerned for their safety, or they are keeping a very close watch on someone.

How do we know this? Is this a fact?

 

[OhioSleuth614]

@OhioSleuth614, so glad you joined. Welcome to Websleuths. Local perspective always adds so much when trying to understand/piece together the facts around a crime.

Question: Is this tragic double homicide resonating as a big blow to the community/area?

Honestly, I don’t think many people outside the immediate area even knew about it until the larger news outlets picked it up. The fact that it involved a successful, younger, attractive couple with two young kids has definitely drawn more attention. That being said, the general consensus seems to be that it was targeted, so people aren’t quite as on edge as you might expect.

 

[MGF]

It is common to do a welfare check on an absent employee . What is not common is a group of friends and co-workers doing a welfare check.

He's a dentist. If he doesn't show up to work, and he has seven or eight appointments that day the clinic is out $10,000 or more. So yes, they're going to find out why he's not there, and not answering his phone.

 

[nightowl1975]

My guess is the friend used a simple drone to peek inside the upstairs window. Younger generations have them and use them often just for fun, but it’s the first idea that popped into my head if I wanted to look inside windows upstairs.