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

[Moonstrawbs]

Just drove past the house on my way home from work. Not much to add,

Yes,remember they have no obligation to update the public. What is concerning is that we have this killer on the loose and they're kinda down playing it.

If they're downplaying it then that to me says they know who they're after...jmo.

 

[TMich6811]

An employee is late one hour, would you immediately assume foul play and call 911? And rush to the home to check it out? Would you consider first perhaps a car accident or serious family emergency?

I can think of a handful that if I called emergency contacts with no answer I’d call 911 assuming something bad happened yes. 1 or 2 I would go to their homes, again yes.

Did they immediately assume foul play?

It’s okay for us to have different opinions on things. Just fyi

 

[tlcya]

I agree, just enough to know there isn’t a need for fear or that they are doing what they should.

I’m trying to think of some good recent examples. Melodee maybe?

I understand what you are saying, something to the effect of there is no cause for alarm, or we do not feel there is a public risk.

But really wouldn't that be akin to admitting they feel this crime was targeted towards the couple? And what if that tips their hand in some way they feel is detrimental to the investigation? MOO LE cannot win. If they have pressers that tell the public nothing other than don't worry, nothing to see here, they will be criticized. If they say nothing - criticized. JMO

 

[Gabry L]

I, too, am hoping that LE being so quiet means that they're busy gathering, verifying, and organizing the necessary information they need to arrest a suspect. If they're not asking the public for more help, I'm hopeful that it means they don't NEED the public's help, because they have a lot of good information already.

Statistically, it is more likely that ST and MT were murdered by someone they know than by a stranger. There's been a lot of discussion in this thread about the house's doors, locks, points of entry, and how someone could have gotten in, but my hunch is that a break-in wasn't necessary because it was a friend or family member already in the house. Someone who was either invited for a visit (it was the holidays!), or maybe a relative who had been temporarily living there.

If the Tepe family had a relative (or relatives) visiting or staying with them, that could explain the "...or anyone who lives there" comment the caller made. It could explain why there was no sketchy stranger/masked burgler for neighbors to notice. It could explain how the murderer was able to commit the crime so "easily," without signs of a break-in, struggle, or robbery. It could explain why friends and co-workers so quickly suspected the Tepes needed help - maybe they knew, from conversation with Monique or Spencer, that they'd been having struggles with a family member (maybe related to substance abuse, mental illness with violent tendencies, threats, etc).

I find it interesting that the Police are guarding at least two different households with relatives of ST and MT. It makes sense for them to guard the house where ST and MT's children are staying, since they could potentially be in danger from this un-arrested murderer. If the murderer doesn't know which house the children are in, guarding TWO houses would be a good way to throw him off, maybe...? Or maybe there's a larger family dispute of some sort going on, such as the murderer being a relative or family friend that some family members suspect, while others are trying to protect. Maybe one family member turned in another (or a family friend), and is now in danger of retaliation from other family members, or something convoluted like that. Maybe LE are guarding the houses of family members who have received threats.

I'm doing a ton of speculating, I know. I have no real info. I just think that these murders are likely to be deeply personal and targeted, a result of the rage of a relative or "friend" of the Tepe's. I'd guess that the door locks and security system aren't so relevant, and ST and MT were more likely betrayed and blindsided by someone they had in their home. My heart breaks for them and their children and loved ones.

 

[TMich6811]

I understand what you are saying, something to the effect of there is no cause for alarm, or we do not feel there is a public risk.

But really wouldn't that be akin to admitting they feel this crime was targeted towards the couple? And what if that tips their hand in some way they feel is detrimental to the investigation? MOO LE cannot win. If they have pressers that tell the public nothing other than don't worry, nothing to see here, they will be criticized. If they say nothing - criticized. JMO

Maybe, I don’t know. I agree they can’t win. We’ve seen cases where their silence meant failure and that’s hard too. Maybe in my mind, at least making their presence known means they are on top of it which in itself eases fear.

I’ve skimmed and am mostly reading backwards but they are engaging with the public so I don’t actually think it’s relevant here anyway because it seems sufficient for so recent

 

[BlaiseFinlay]

“A person who worked with Spencer Tepe called 911 on Tuesday morning after he didn’t show up to work. The caller said he could not get in contact with him or his wife.

“He’s been reliable, and we cannot get in touch with him, his wife, his family, anybody that lives in that house,” the caller said. “

Police request photos as investigation into death of dentist, wife continues

Monique Tepe was a “loving, patient, and joyful mother whose warmth defined her,” the family said.

www.newsnationnow.com

I find it odd that he said “anybody that lives in that house”.

Did they have someone living with them?

This doesn’t strike me as odd. He’s anticipating a question and answering it, to speed up the call. I think it’s an important detail that it was the owner who called the police from vacation. Rings true to me that the owner would be the first one to make that call and to make it promptly.

And sending an employee out to check makes more sense when you consider those employees can’t see any patients until he arrives. They weren’t “understaffed”, because they had no need for staff beyond a receptionist until he arrived.

I also understand their point about them getting especially concerned when they couldn’t reach his wife. One person can oversleep, but the likelihood of a husband, wife, and two children oversleeping, combined with neither spouse having their phone set to receive calls from the office is low. Carbon monoxide may very well have been their worry, no one jumped to the conclusion that they must have been victims of a crime.

I think the point being made is that a family emergency wouldn’t be enough to stop a dentist from calling the office, asking someone to call the office, or at least answering their phone. Heck, when that judge in Orange County shot and killed his wife, the first thing he did was call his clerk to let his chambers know he wouldn’t be in the next morning.

We actually had this happen at my office. Our receptionist had passed away at her home. I recall receiving the email about her death early-to-mid afternoon that day. In hearing accounts later, the other staff were concerned because it was out of character for her, but they wanted to cover for her so she wouldn’t get in trouble for being late. So they tried reaching her and meanwhile covered the reception desk for a while before sounding any alarm. I’m not sure all the details of what happened over the next few hours, but ultimately my understanding is they were able to get in touch with someone she was close to, who went to her home and found her.

So in that case, you had greater delay because 1) the staff intentionally delayed alerting management thinking they were protecting her, which isn’t an option in a dental office setting with patients waiting; 2) business could continue on as usual without her; and 3) she didn’t have a spouse with 2 young kids who was also unreachable. And even still, they had taken the steps necessary to get someone into her home within a few hours of her being late.

 

[TMich6811]

This doesn’t strike me as odd. He’s anticipating a question and answering it, to speed up the call. I think it’s an important detail that it was the owner who called the police from vacation. Rings true to me that the owner would be the first one to make that call and to make it promptly.

And sending an employee out to check makes more sense when you consider those employees can’t see any patients until he arrives. They weren’t “understaffed”, because they had no need for staff beyond a receptionist until he arrived.

I also understand their point about them getting especially concerned when they couldn’t reach his wife. One person can oversleep, but the likelihood of a husband, wife, and two children oversleeping, combined with neither spouse having their phone set to receive calls from the office is low. Carbon monoxide may very well have been their worry, no one jumped to the conclusion that they must have been victims of a crime.

I think the point being made is that a family emergency wouldn’t be enough to stop a dentist from calling the office, asking someone to call the office, or at least answering their phone. Heck, when that judge in Orange County shot and killed his wife, the first thing he did was call his clerk to let his chambers know he wouldn’t be in the next morning.

We actually had this happen at my office. Our receptionist had passed away at her home. I recall receiving the email about her death early-to-mid afternoon that day. In hearing accounts later, the other staff were concerned because it was out of character for her, but they wanted to cover for her so she wouldn’t get in trouble for being late. So they tried reaching her and meanwhile covered the reception desk for a while before sounding any alarm. I’m not sure all the details of what happened over the next few hours, but ultimately my understanding is they were able to get in touch with someone she was close to.

So in that case, you had greater delay because 1) the staff intentionally delayed alerting management thinking they were protecting her, which isn’t an option in a dental office setting with patients waiting; 2) business could continue on as usual without her; and 3) she didn’t have a spouse with 2 young kids who was also unreachable. And even still, they had taken the steps necessary to get someone into her home within a few hours of her being late.

re: 911 call and this first paragraph thought, not a direct reply but just a thought prompt

I, and most of here, would likely handle information giving in a 911 call different than others because we can guess what will be asked by previous case knowledge. Some of that can just be problem solving skills for others too. That doesn’t make us questionable

 

[Justice101]

I can think of a handful that if I called emergency contacts with no answer I’d call 911 assuming something bad happened yes. 1 or 2 I would go to their homes, again yes.

Did they immediately assume foul play?

It’s okay for us to have different opinions on things. Just fyi

No gun found so obviously yes

 

[Sadi]

Just drove past the house on my way home from work. Not much to add,

Yes,remember they have no obligation to update the public. What is concerning is that we have this killer on the loose and they're kinda down playing it.

Possibly they’re trying to locate the suspect and haven’t been able to find them yet. The other thought is they are keeping quiet to not set off the suspect to cause self harm etc.?

 

[TMich6811]

No gun found so obviously yes

No, the previous poster implied the 911 caller immediate assumed foul play. That was my question.

 

[warp3dwing]

An employee is late one hour, would you immediately assume foul play and call 911? And rush to the home to check it out? Would you consider first perhaps a car accident or serious family emergency?

In the employer's call to 911, he stated that it was Monique not answering his calls as being even more worrying than Spencer. I'd say it was the combo of neither answering multiple calls over an hour that triggered the alarm for him.

 

[Justice101]

I was doing a google maps street level dive and it looks like those 4 house were very new. It had been a empty field previously. I think their house in the second one from the bottom 1411. Here is also a photo of the garage in the back. I wonder if someone could have taken him at gunpoint when he presumably came home in the dark from work on Monday? This would have concealed him from viewing from all the neighbors, etc.

The neighborhood is "mixed" in a lot of older apartments, partially run-down (or at least older) houses, etc. We have areas in our town like that and probably higher crime in general there.

Take that for whatever that is worth. Possibly someone in the neighborhood who watched and saw them and who wanted to rob them because they were "rich"???

 

[Justice101]

 

[whowy]

I am thinking like you: Between the police camera on the corner, the ring camera on their door and the numerous ring cameras around the neighborhood, they have got to have a lot of video of someone.

The person might have been totally on foot or had a mask on, and they are searching wider and wider video of where they came from or a car they came from.

My guess is they have something on video and they are trying to establish the identity of the suspect and there will be an arrest by Friday.

I assume that interviews by LE have established when friends, etc claim to have visited the couple. Every interviewee says "they were fine when I left". LE now needs all available video to corroborate those stories & detect whether any unknown individuals were in the vicinity.
Wondering whether the murders were done to silence the couple....

 

[warp3dwing]

I was doing a google maps street level dive and it looks like those 4 house were very new. It had been a empty field previously. I think their house in the second one from the bottom 1411. Here is also a photo of the garage in the back. I wonder if someone could have taken him at gunpoint when he presumably came home in the dark from work on Monday? This would have concealed him from viewing from all the neighbors, etc.

The neighborhood is "mixed" in a lot of older apartments, partially run-down (or at least older) houses, etc. We have areas in our town like that and probably higher crime in general there.

Take that for whatever that is worth. Possibly someone in the neighborhood who watched and saw them and who wanted to rob them because they were "rich"???

I used to live a four-minute drive due north from the Tepes'. Essentially, I-71- and the railroad tracks that parallel them - create a rather stark divide between the more prosperous areas to the west and low income/high crime areas eastward. (There's a very sad history surrounding the highway's creation.)

Anyone living on the edge of the divide is certainly at greater risk of theft and crime. I can personally attest to this. Double homicide is certainly well beyond the usual property crime or mugging, but sometimes plans go terribly wrong when firearms are involved.

ETA: The lack of forced entry is a tick against a break-in gone bad. However, I'll put this out there: in my experience, many new residents of Columbus were from smaller towns in Ohio, often places where security and locked doors/windows perhaps weren't top priority. I lived with people like this in my apartment building, and I had to constantly remind them to lock the building door.

 

[academyrd]

Of course it’s usually someone they know or something personal. But let’s not forget the Idaho cops immediately came out and said those murders were targeted, and while in a sense they were, they were committed by a psycho stalker killer who the victims did not know.

I sense a similar theme here. Done in the middle of the night. No explanation. Beautiful woman at the center of it all. I just can’t shake this feeling that she was the main target of an incel type psycho and he was collateral damage. Yes I know he was shot multiple times but there are reasons for that too.

 

[forgetmenot]

I may have missed it but are there cameras around the front, back and sides of the house and cameras around their garage in the alley behind the house?

 

[warp3dwing]

Of course it’s usually someone they know or something personal. But let’s not forget the Idaho cops immediately came out and said those murders were targeted, and while in a sense they were, they were committed by a psycho stalker killer who the victims did not know.

I sense a similar theme here. Done in the middle of the night. No explanation. Beautiful woman at the center of it all. I just can’t shake this feeling that she was the main target of an incel type psycho and he was collateral damage. Yes I know he was shot multiple times but there are reasons for that too.

Absolutely. How many times were LE sure it was someone close to the victim due to the targeted nature or gross overkill when it turned out to be some random creep from down the block? That's basically the story of every new genetic genealogy arrest 40 years post-crime.

It may still be more likely to be targeted, but it seems like the set of persons of interest that would want to harm this couple is very small, indeed.

No word from LE regarding sexual assault or really much of anything regarding Monique (apart from a single gunshot), AFAIK.

 

[indicolite22]

I'm trying to figure out what type of perpetrator would not ransack the place while searching for valuables or make it look like a robbery when it wasn't. Random burglars would likely leave a disarray behind.

 

[WWP]

I reviewed Spencer’s Venmo and noticed a few payments noted for bets in 2023. Could be a bad debt retaliation?

I also keep going back to the concern of the co-workers. Did they know something going on in Spencer’s life that would make them immediately concerned especially when his wife didn’t answer? Like a stalker or a past relationship issue?