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

[honora]

Monique and Spencer Tepe and their two children. I'm unsure how recent the photo is.

View attachment 634123

(from: Spencer Tepe and Monique Tepe, Columbus OH Death: Beloved Residents Has Died – Legaccy)

Just so sad, heartbreaking for wee children.

 

[indicolite22]

The police dispatch audio indicates that three of Spencer's friends entered the house through the back door. The last 911 caller stated "there's a body inside". If the friends opened the bedroom door, wouldn't they see two bodies? Does that mean that Monique wasn't found in that bedroom? If they didn't enter the room, how did they see Spencer's body? Or did they call 911 before entering the house and saw the body through a window?

 

[ChatteringBirds]

To be fair I dont think the police could have done anymore ,what they can do for a welfare check without having some sort of exigent circumstances.

Police, having seen nothing unusual from the outside of the house, could have then called back the person who requested the welfare check to assess whether to break-in.

They needed more information at that point, especially whether there were vulnerable occupants (disabled or any children).

I agree with those saying they shouldn't just walk away from a welfare check without directly discussing with the caller why the request was made. IMO.

 

[MSU24]

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 would be shocked if this turns out to be a botched robbery. It's not a place you want to be walking at night and break-ins are more common in the area, but nothing about what we know says the shooter's intentions were to rob.

They likely entered the house through the keypad and we don't think an alarm went off as the victims were still in bed. If they intended to rob the place, they could have taken things from the first and second story quietly and left without a trace. Instead, they went directly to the third floor, into the master bedroom, shot 2 people, locked and closed the bedroom door and exited the house with nothing of note missing or disturbed.

 

[MassGuy]

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?

That was Super Bowl time, likely squares or something.

The prompt reaction does leave me open to the possibility they knew about some issue going on.

 

[Sallyann29]

Hi all. I'm from the UK, so please excuse any ignorance on my part when it comes to how US 'systems' work, legal and otherwise.
Does anyone know if this was a new build that the Tepe's moved into, or was there a previous owner(s) of this house? How long had the Tepe's lived there?

 

[steeltowngirl]

I agree. I watch wayyyyy too much Netflix, Hulu, etc. but this feels like a "hit". And if you want MT dead, and you fire one shot ... best make sure it was successful. Seems odd to me that she was only shot once UNLESS she was shot accidentally and then panic ensued. I dunno. ALL OF IT SEEMS OFF.

I feel like a professional hit would only take one shot. And wouldn’t leave casings behind. But maybe it wasn’t professional.

I’m leaning towards targeted robbery by someone they don’t know directly, but the perps knew about the Tepes through a third party.
Could also be a relative or friend that was visiting or staying with them.

JMO

 

[AH1122]

Hi all. I'm from the UK, so please excuse any ignorance on my part when it comes to how US 'systems' work, legal and otherwise.
Does anyone know if this was a new build that the Tepe's moved into, or was there a previous owner(s) of this house? How long had the Tepe's lived there?

Per the auditors site- it was built in 2019 and was transferred (purchase complete) to Spencer Tepe in May of 2020. I believe he was the first actual owner (with the previous owner of the property being a real estate/developer entity).

 

[MSU24]

Hi all. I'm from the UK, so please excuse any ignorance on my part when it comes to how US 'systems' work, legal and otherwise.
Does anyone know if this was a new build that the Tepe's moved into, or was there a previous owner(s) of this house? How long had the Tepe's lived there?

You can find property sales on sites like Zillow or Redfin. Zillow completely removed the home and it's history, not sure I've seen that before. It's still up on Redfin and they were the first owners, as it was built in 2020.

 

[Cassie P]

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....

What do you think they might have been silenced for?

 

[Voidz]

I’ve read in several publications that Spencer was a “Big Brother” and involved with Big Brothers, Big Sisters.

“While national guidelines often cite 7-14 at enrollment, specific Ohio branches like West Central Ohio start at age 6, and others serve youth up to age 18, focusing on kids facing adversity.”

Maybe it was a robbery gone wrong or something personal through someone in this group, maybe even through a third party who has been made aware of this dentist. When I think of dentist, I think “rich” (even though I am aware of them having student loans etc).

Would a brother or sister from this organisation have access to his home? Would he have helped one that turned up randomly to his house needing help? Has he been threatened by one or was one having issues with one that his colleagues were aware of? Has one that was close to him gone off the rails as he has become older and targeted him for drugs or money? Is one of them he once knew a gang prospect or a drug addict now?

Please keep in mind, in my country, a lot of murders and assaults and crimes are carried out by 11 - 15 year olds (it’s a nationwide pandemic of serious youth crime). I cannot even imagine the carnage and issues if my country wasn’t so strict with gun laws.

 

[ttjo]

Police, having seen nothing unusual from the outside of the house, could have then called back the person who requested the welfare check to assess whether to break-in.

They needed more information at that point, especially whether there were vulnerable occupants (disabled or any children).

I agree with those saying they shouldn't just walk away from a welfare check without directly discussing with the caller why the request was made. IMO

I agree with doing follow up, when I said there was nothing more he could do, I meant going inside or breaking in.

 

[Ms Scarlett]

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.

This is based on the link I posted yesterday that contained the police radio traffic. A cop on the scene said on the radio, “ There was a 7A on the back door. I have 3 males inside. They were doing a check…”
The police code 7A is an open door/window, so that means the back door was open.
So, three friends or coworkers went inside the home to check on them. I believe they likely found Spencer near the bed in his upstairs owners’ suite.
I think there were a lot of assumptions that friends were looking through a window when they saw his body, but given the cop’s statement on the radio, we now have proof that 3 males were inside the home.

 

[Sadi]

This is based on the link I posted yesterday that contained the police radio traffic. A cop on the scene said on the radio, “ There was a 7A on the back door. I have 3 males inside. They were doing a check…”
The police code 7A is an open door/window, so that means the back door was open.
So, three friends or coworkers went inside the home to check on them. I believe they likely found Spencer near the bed in his upstairs owners’ suite.
I think there were a lot of assumptions that friends were looking through a window when they saw his body, but given the cop’s statement on the radio, we now have proof that 3 males were inside the home.

I wasn’t sure if the 3 males inside were LE or coworkers/friends? Has it been confirmed?

 

[Justice101]

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?

I think all we know about is the ring camera on their front door and the police street camera outside the front of their house on the other side of the street at the corner.

 

[Justice101]

I wasn’t sure if the 3 males inside were LE or coworkers/friends? Has it been confirmed?

That would presumably yes be friends/coworkers or someone would have been arrested.

 

[Justice101]

Again, speculation on my part but I believe they MIGHT find someone crept behind his car and into his garage from the alley as he was pulling in before the garage door shut and then held him at gunpoint there to eventually go inside the house and give them his money/jewelry/valuables. It gets dark by 6:00 PM. That travel route from the garage to his house would have been very concealed.

Then maybe things went sideways. I read that Spencer was a black belt and maybe he tried to overtake the perpetrator and in the ensuing struggle she came in the room and was collateral damage.

I will be the first to say I was wrong if it comes out differently and maybe it is an acquaintance/friend/relative.

This is a real mystery to those of us on the outside of the real investigation. I am very confident police will find the killer.

 

[ttjo]

I wasn’t sure if the 3 males inside were LE or coworkers/friends? Has it been confirmed?

I dont think so, it’s very confusing b/c on the plunder video that was posted yesterday at 10:06 into the video, they also talk about a wrong address, Seems like the audio comes from the dispatch so unsure if that call pertains to the correct address, ( but he does also say he has a dbl so IDK) and at 12:35 it says police got a warrant and found the children . it also says the friend saw them through a window.
It’s not clear how anyone got in.
you can listen for yourself,

 

[ivegotcha]

I wasn’t sure if the 3 males inside were LE or coworkers/friends? Has it been confirmed?

not that I have read

 

[Sadi]

That would presumably yes be friends/coworkers or someone would have been arrested.

When it was said, I have 3 men inside, it makes me think it’s 3 LE officers, but I could be wrong.