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

[truecrimel]

I’m just getting starting to read up on this case so forgive me if I have some of the facts wrong. But, after listening to the 911 calls, I don’t find anything suspicious or odd about them. I agree with other commenters that said it makes sense that his office called for a wellness check if there were patients there waiting and his wife, likely his emergency contact, was also unreachable. I also don’t find the call from the friend who found the body odd either. It sounds as though, at least IMO, the friend either forced his way inside or let himself in. In the call, you can hear the kids crying loudly in the background and to me, it sounds like he’s inside the house ATP. Personally, if my friends were unreachable and I could hear their young children inside crying, I’d find a way and ask for forgiveness later. Also, it seems like people came to their home frequently. According to the BIL’s posts, he’s stayed there numerous times. It doesn’t seem unlikely to me that a friend would know their code to the door, or a family member. So maybe that is how the friend who discovered ST got inside? I don’t think any of it is as odd as others have suggested, but that’s JMO.

 

[truecrimel]

woah I found this SUPER interesting but saw a comment on the thread that someone was not finding the same results as the op had posted on x, so I checked google trend results and right now on december 29th, there was 1 search for monique tepe and 2 searches for spencer tepe. not sure how much to read into it as the perp likely wouldn't look them up until after the murders (unless searching for address or something) so could be suspicious or could be normal google searches unrelated to the murders

Definitely very weird. I hope police are looking into that - seems way too convenient that both victims were searched right before the murders to just to be a coincidence.

 

[truecrimel]

What’s more interesting about the narrowing window, is that LE even publicly announced it. They had already made the request with a timeline of midnight to 9:00 AM.

Perhaps they are watching a particular someone’s reaction to that announcement? Wire tap, phone calls …

The fact they haven’t released any information about suspects or POIs but have narrowed their timeline seems like a good sign, JMO

 

[Voidz]

I’m just getting starting to read up on this case so forgive me if I have some of the facts wrong. But, after listening to the 911 calls, I don’t find anything suspicious or odd about them. I agree with other commenters that said it makes sense that his office called for a wellness check if there were patients there waiting and his wife, likely his emergency contact, was also unreachable. I also don’t find the call from the friend who found the body odd either. It sounds as though, at least IMO, the friend either forced his way inside or let himself in. In the call, you can hear the kids crying loudly in the background and to me, it sounds like he’s inside the house ATP. Personally, if my friends were unreachable and I could hear their young children inside crying, I’d find a way and ask for forgiveness later. Also, it seems like people came to their home frequently. According to the BIL’s posts, he’s stayed there numerous times. It doesn’t seem unlikely to me that a friend would know their code to the door, or a family member. So maybe that is how the friend who discovered ST got inside? I don’t think any of it is as odd as others have suggested, but that’s JMO.

What’s your gut feeling - do you believe it was a random robbery gone wrong, or were they targeted by somebody they possibly knew?

 

[moonglow123]

I do hope law enforcement being so tight-lipped means they have a suspect in mind. This person must've been caught on numerous cameras. There must be a short list of potential suspects when the crime seems so personal, targeted and well-planned.

No signs of forced entry, nothing stolen, no one reporting hearing gunshots as far as we know.

I do wonder how the perpetrator gained entry. Basement window, they would've had to have familiarity with it and know it would be unlocked, if it was. Doors, they either bypassed the electronic lock, knew the code or somehow got Spencer or Monique to let them in. All pointing at someone that was confident they'd be able to do these things successfully, had strong familiarity with the house and/or knew them personally.

Even if electronic door locks are easy to bypass, the killer would have a lot of gall strolling up to the house and assuming they'd be able to do it perfectly and swiftly enough to avoid any sort of detection.

I do hope LE has a lot of footage and is able to trace the path they took to/from the house.

 

[Sevenwilliams]

The friend said in the 911 call that it was all locked and was considering if he should break in...presumably he would have tried the handles to then state that it was locked.

when the officers showed back up the second time he aired over the radio that the back door was open and that were 3 males already in the house, presumably the friends. Its possible that they broke in, to check... not entirely out of the question.

If a client had threatened Spencer, it is likely that the rest of the staff knew. Or maybe it was a general threat, and not specific to Spencer. I wonder if the clinic had recently upped its security?

I think if he was threatened at the office, it's highly unlikely that someone followed him 75 miles home just to kill him, also I think that would've been mentioned to the 911 call taker to help justify the urgency of a simple wellbeing check.

I do hope law enforcement being so tight-lipped means they have a suspect in mind. This person must've been caught on numerous cameras. There must be a short list of potential suspects when the crime seems so personal, targeted and well-planned.

No signs of forced entry, nothing stolen, no one reporting hearing gunshots as far as we know.

I do wonder how the perpetrator gained entry. Basement window, they would've had to have familiarity with it and know it would be unlocked, if it was. Doors, they either bypassed the electronic lock, knew the code or somehow got Spencer or Monique to let them in. All pointing at someone that was confident they'd be able to do these things successfully, had strong familiarity with the house and/or knew them personally.

Even if electronic door locks are easy to bypass, the killer would have a lot of gall strolling up to the house and assuming they'd be able to do it perfectly and swiftly enough to avoid any sort of detection.

I do hope LE has a lot of footage and is able to trace the path they took to/from the house.

I know it's still early in the investigation, but I think we have to take the phrase " nothing was taken" with a grain of salt. No one other than the police have been in the house. So, there is actually no one to verify if anything was actually taken from the home.

 

[Lulu777]

Was there snow on the ground that day? Wondering about footprints.

 

[Sadi]

I do hope law enforcement being so tight-lipped means they have a suspect in mind. This person must've been caught on numerous cameras. There must be a short list of potential suspects when the crime seems so personal, targeted and well-planned.

No signs of forced entry, nothing stolen, no one reporting hearing gunshots as far as we know.

I do wonder how the perpetrator gained entry. Basement window, they would've had to have familiarity with it and know it would be unlocked, if it was. Doors, they either bypassed the electronic lock, knew the code or somehow got Spencer or Monique to let them in. All pointing at someone that was confident they'd be able to do these things successfully, had strong familiarity with the house and/or knew them personally.

Even if electronic door locks are easy to bypass, the killer would have a lot of gall strolling up to the house and assuming they'd be able to do it perfectly and swiftly enough to avoid any sort of detection.

I do hope LE has a lot of footage and is able to trace the path they took to/from the house.

Another thought is when Spencer was walking to the garage, the suspect was waiting and forced him back inside. It’s dark outside and they knew the time he would be leaving for work.

 

[Sadi]

when the officers showed back up the second time he aired over the radio that the back door was open and that were 3 males already in the house, presumably the friends. Its possible that they broke in, to check... not entirely out of the question.

I think if he was threatened at the office, it's highly unlikely that someone followed him 75 miles home just to kill him, also I think that would've been mentioned to the 911 call taker to help justify the urgency of a simple wellbeing check.

I know it's still early in the investigation, but I think we have to take the phrase " nothing was taken" with a grain of salt. No one other than the police have been in the house. So, there is actually no one to verify if anything was actually taken from the home.

If the friends did enter the home, would the 4 year old have come to where they were or were they hiding due to being scared? What about the dog?

 

[Cassie P]

Maybe it’s wishful thinking but I agree. There’s been no press conference, no plea for tips outside of a single “Please upload anything you think might be helpful from 2-5am, here’s the QR code” and the area they asked for footage from is pretty small. The local articles, even in the first day or two, all stated along the lines of “repeated requests for comment from CPD were not returned.”

Is it common for the Columbus police to refuse to do a press conference when a local crime makes the national news?

 

[Cassie P]

What’s your gut feeling - do you believe it was a random robbery gone wrong, or were they targeted by somebody they possibly knew?

Home robberies resulting in a double homicide are statistically rare. So more likely to be something else. But of course possible.

 

[tlcya]

Is it common for the Columbus police to refuse to do a press conference when a local crime makes the national news?

MOO refuse is an unusual word choice. LE do not owe the public a presser in any case no matter the state. it is not common in general for LE to provide pressers simply because the public wants one, whether the case is local or national news. IMO If they have nothing to share, there will be no presser. If they do have info but they feel is better kept close to their vests for the purposes of furthering their investigation or narrowing their suspect pool, there will be no presser.

 

[Speculaytor]

There has been no proof provided that the Dr (Spencer) was in the basement. Some people assumed that he was in the basement and seen from someone looking inside the basement window. The police dispatch traffic I provided earlier indicated that 3 males went into the house, so I believe Spencer was seen by one of the males who entered the house. Personally, I believe Spencer was in the owner’s suite on the 2nd floor.

May I ask why you think that Spencer was in the owner's suite on the 2nd floor? I am honestly wondering what your thinking is on that? I did think they had said he was by the bed, on the floor, in the 911 call, but I didn't hear him say where. I guess many of us assumed it would be basement bedroom because there is a window they could see through, I wasn't thinking they had gone into the house and saw him then.

 

[TMich6811]

As an employer, there are some folks I would call 911 by an hour and other folks I would never even if I didn’t hear from them again. I think we usually know our coworkers/workers well enough to know who would never be late without a word and who just flakes a lot

 

[TMich6811]

IMO seems like a lot of anger at the husband and less at her.

 

[Cassie P]

I do hope law enforcement being so tight-lipped means they have a suspect in mind. This person must've been caught on numerous cameras. There must be a short list of potential suspects when the crime seems so personal, targeted and well-planned.

No signs of forced entry, nothing stolen, no one reporting hearing gunshots as far as we know.

I do wonder how the perpetrator gained entry. Basement window, they would've had to have familiarity with it and know it would be unlocked, if it was. Doors, they either bypassed the electronic lock, knew the code or somehow got Spencer or Monique to let them in. All pointing at someone that was confident they'd be able to do these things successfully, had strong familiarity with the house and/or knew them personally.

Even if electronic door locks are easy to bypass, the killer would have a lot of gall strolling up to the house and assuming they'd be able to do it perfectly and swiftly enough to avoid any sort of detection.

I do hope LE has a lot of footage and is able to trace the path they took to/from the house.

This doesn't sound like someone hopped up on drugs

MOO refuse is an unusual word choice. LE do not owe the public a presser in any case no matter the state. it is not common in general for LE to provide pressers simply because the public wants one, whether the case is local or national news. IMO If they have nothing to share, there will be no presser. If they do have info but they feel is better kept close to their vests for the purposes of furthering their investigation or narrowing their suspect pool, there will be no presser.

People in Columbus are worried and concerned. I would think the police would make some effort to answer a few questions to either alert the public to danger or calm them down.

I respectfully disagree that the local police owe the public nothing. We pay their salaries, they work us. They are public servants. They could stand up and make a few public statements like would be the case in most other communities when tragedy strikes.

 

[TMich6811]

This doesn't sound like someone hopped up on drugs

People in Columbus are worried and concerned. I would think the police would make some effort to answer a few questions to either alert the public to danger or calm them down.

I respectfully disagree that the local police owe the public nothing. We pay their salaries, they work us. They are public servants. They could stand up and make a few public statements like would be the case in most other communities when tragedy strikes.

I agree with the tail end of this.

We’ve seen a few good examples of this - LE offers a few statements without feeding into our need for theatrics

 

[stmarysmead]

Another thought is when Spencer was walking to the garage, the suspect was waiting and forced him back inside. It’s dark outside and they knew the time he would be leaving for work.

This has occurred to me as well. That walk from the garage to the house, that fence that anyone could scale, are vulnerabilities that would keep me from buying/renting that house. Someone could be just sitting in the dark, doing drugs, whatever….and surprise anyone exiting that garage.

But if the victims were found in their bedroom, the Dr near his bed… I think that rules out that kind of scenario. I don’t think the killer would force them to upstairs to their bedroom at gunpoint or downstairs for that matter. . Why bother?

Unless they were looking for something specific, something they believed might be in the Master bedroom, like a safe. Likewise, I wonder how anyone could say so immediately that nothing was taken. Thinking of our home, if my husband were out of town, I doubt he could accurately come home and make such an immediate appraisal. He sometimes asks me “When did you buy that?” about something we have owned for 10 years. If the house looks tidy and the TVs are still on the walls does not mean that nothing was taken.

 

[Cassie P]

I have a gentler view of the 911 operator. At the fundamental level, what she is very true.

In general, a person not showing up for work would not be cause for an immediate police response. I would not be surprised if a good number of people in the Columbia area live in a world where a variety of similar situations don't lead to immediate police responses.

Now, if the caller had supplied the 911 operator with details as to why this particular person failing to show up for work (doctor with scheduled patients) constitutes more cause for alarm, I would expect a little more from the 911 dispatcher.

But.... at the end of the day, the police in the Columbus area could well get far more calls than they can immediately "Send the Cavalry" to.

I agree. An employee who is an hour or two late for work is not typically a police matter unless the caller supplies legitimate reasons for police intervention.

 

[steeltowngirl]

Is it common for the Columbus police to refuse to do a press conference when a local crime makes the national news?

There was a press conference last week.