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

[waldojabba]

The BIL said that he stayed over with them often - does he live out of town?

Yes

 

[Sevenwilliams]

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?

Good Question.

 

[moonglow123]

Totally agree with you here, however… didn’t they zero in Kohberger pretty early on, tracked him cross country, staked outside his house to make sure they had a rock solid case?

I thought you had to have all your ducks in a row before arresting someone so that you don’t fumble with their right to a speedy trial.

Also, not trying to place blame with this comment, just referencing a prior case and they may very well know who it is but are waiting for DNA confirmation, etc. (whether it’s him or not)

Nah, you're right. Not saying they would've arrested him or anything yet, just saying that if he was a suspect they'd be able to pin it down fairly quickly. And jmo that it doesn't seem likely since he doesn't even live in the same city as them, and to give him a bit of grace (not you, just people on social media in general are being very harsh about him.) I’m sure his wife + the Tepe family would’ve told him if they were uncomfortable with his interviews.

I do hope LE looks into the party thing and whether the boyfriend of this woman could’ve been upset by Spencer and Monique helping her. That’s the more intriguing possibility to me.

Even if not the boyfriend, someone else that attended their gatherings and would have familiarity with their home. Acquaintance or friend known to attend these parties seems so much more likely to me than random person, at least from the details we know.

 

[Justice101]

We don't know that it isn't. Silence doesn't always necessarily speak volumes but in this case I truly see it going that way. I would not at all be surprised to see interest in this one drop drastically by the weekend. Why? Because a great majority are following it for nothing more than the mystery of it and once any sort of announcement of an arrest is made, even without all the questions necessarily answered, interest will naturally drop.

Someone above mentioned the alley footage as being a "bone" of sorts thrown by police to just get something out there. I'd have to agree. This wasn't an elderly couple with no real known associates nor was it a child with no real possible way to have someone come after them. It was a couple, arguably in their primes, with a huge social network and, no matter who wants to stick their nose in the air and proclaim that a house costing $500k is nothing, good financials. With all of that there is a TON to go on.

This isn't the Briccas down the road in '66 who kept to themselves. 60 years later people won't still be asking who killed the Tepes. We're going to know the story.

Good points!

Here is where I am leaning.. but these are JUST GUESSES!

1) Some sort of a love triangle.
2) A family member with the big brothers family he was helping who was avenging something they thought or were told alleged to have occurred.
3) Break in from a family member or friend for unknown reason/avenging.
4) Random stranger who broke in to get money or drugs and just kill (sort of like Bryan Kohberger).

Any others???

 

[Inthedetails]

Good points!

Here is where I am leaning.. but these are JUST GUESSES!

1) Some sort of a love triangle.
2) A family member with the big brothers family he was helping who was avenging something they thought or were told alleged to have occurred.
3) Break in from a family member or friend for unknown reason/avenging.
4) Random stranger who broke in to get money or drugs and just kill (sort of like Bryan Kohberger).

Any others???

I'm keeping in mind there was no forced entry. That does make me ponder.

jmopnion

 

[steeltowngirl]

"We’ve all been grappling with how to tell a 4-year-old that they’re never gonna see their parents again," he tells PEOPLE. "We just don't know how to do that."

"I'm sure she’s wondering when is she gonna see her mommy and daddy again," he says. "It’s just really hard to get into her mind."

The child hasn't said much in the last few days as she stays with different family members, who are trying to keep her distracted and are playing with her as much as possible, says Misleh.

Family of Slain Ohio Dentist 'Grappling' with How to Tell Girl, 4, She'll Never 'See Mommy and Daddy Again'

Monique and Spencer Tepe's children, ages 4 and 1, were at the home when the couple was killed in the middle of the night.

people.com

 

[academyrd]

Good points!

Here is where I am leaning.. but these are JUST GUESSES!

1) Some sort of a love triangle.
2) A family member with the big brothers family he was helping who was avenging something they thought or were told alleged to have occurred.
3) Break in from a family member or friend for unknown reason/avenging.
4) Random stranger who broke in to get money or drugs and just kill (sort of like Bryan Kohberger).

Any others???

There are about a million miles between Kohberger (fantasy based psycho sexual killer) and a random skell/druggy who is just operating on autopilot looking for money and not thinking at a high level.

 

[BlaiseFinlay]

I agree with this. He is trying to protect their reputation which means that there could have been potential domestic discord between the couple that the family is trying their best to hide. There is no way this guy can realistically say there was no 911 call last April even if he is aware of a separate one from years ago. I think LE has a lot of information they are still following up on and until they release the autopsy report, gun forensics report, audio forensics report on the 911 call etc, we can only speculate.

All too often, people think they’re helping by talking, and just make things worse. There were multiple possibilities that people were theorizing that didn’t connect the 911 call to the Tepes at all. But the BIL goes ahead and publicly connects it, confirming they knew about the call and that it happened in their home, and also disclosing that the Tepes had late night weeknight parties (on the same night of the week as the murders, opening up the possibility of a weekly event that could be relevant). He is also dismissive of the circumstances, suggesting that at least one of the Tepes was close enough to the situation to have knowledge of the circumstances.

Then if you factor in other public comments that have been attributed to the BIL that he has not denied, you now have the existence of potentially two 911 calls in a 5-year period at that house for domestic violence reasons. The April 911 call was also reported by People, so now we have to believe 3 news publications got the year wrong, which is unlikely.

So, it’s hard for me to dismiss this call as obviously irrelevant. At a minimum, we’ve learned details about their lifestyle that could very well be relevant (especially with the day of the week lining up). That said, I have no reason to believe the BIL’s missteps are anything more than just very common missteps when dealing with public relations.

 

[Cassie P]

"We’ve all been grappling with how to tell a 4-year-old that they’re never gonna see their parents again," he tells PEOPLE. "We just don't know how to do that."

"I'm sure she’s wondering when is she gonna see her mommy and daddy again," he says. "It’s just really hard to get into her mind."

The child hasn't said much in the last few days as she stays with different family members, who are trying to keep her distracted and are playing with her as much as possible, says Misleh.

Family of Slain Ohio Dentist 'Grappling' with How to Tell Girl, 4, She'll Never 'See Mommy and Daddy Again'

Monique and Spencer Tepe's children, ages 4 and 1, were at the home when the couple was killed in the middle of the night.

people.com

I would suggest the family consider professional help so they do not further traumatize the child. Right now the 4 year old is going to cue off the adults around her. She does not understand the concept of death. She just knows all the adults are upset and acting oddly.

 

[academyrd]

All too often, people think they’re helping by talking, and just make things worse. There were multiple possibilities that people were theorizing that didn’t connect the 911 call to the Tepes at all. But the BIL goes ahead and publicly connects it, confirming they knew about the call and that it happened in their home, and also disclosing that the Tepes had late night weeknight parties (on the same night of the week as the murders, opening up the possibility of a weekly event that could be relevant). He is also dismissive of the circumstances, suggesting that at least one of the Tepes was close enough to the situation to have knowledge of the circumstances.

Then if you factor in other public comments that have been attributed to the BIL that he has not denied, you now have the existence of potentially two 911 calls in a 5-year period at that house for domestic violence reasons. The April 911 call was also reported by People, so now we have to believe 3 news publications got the year wrong, which is unlikely.

So, it’s hard for me to dismiss this call as obviously irrelevant. At a minimum, we’ve learned details about their lifestyle that could very well be relevant (especially with the day of the week lining up). That said, I have no reason to believe the BIL’s missteps are anything more than just very common missteps when dealing with public relations.

The most generous interpretation of him is he's clumsy with what he says, but that he's overwhelmed and not thinking strategically about what info he lets out.

Prosecutors will hate the fact that he just linked the April 911 call to the Tepes. Gives the defense a whole can of worms to open in terms of trying to find reasonable doubt.

 

[acutename]

I would guess that a coworker knew one of his friends and got in touch. I think if you become or are friends with any of your coworkers, it’s not uncommon for them to meet your other friends. And small offices can also lead to more social interactions.

this- sometimes people nearby give each other rides if a car is being repaired or they are going to an airport so there might be a connection. also some of the neighborhood kids went to daycare so maybe they picked each others' kids up sometimes and the kids not going to daycare seemed weird.

 

[Justice101]

There are about a million miles between Kohberger (fantasy based psycho sexual killer) and a random skell/druggy who is just operating on autopilot looking for money and not thinking at a high level.

Yep, but both will have been caught

 

[Justice101]

I'm keeping in mind there was no forced entry. That does make me ponder.

jmopnion

Since it was a keypad, you could also sit across the street and down the block with a pair of binoculars and pick up the code.

 

[microsleuth88]

Good questions.
Also people wondered why he worked so far from home. He may have had a non compete with a radius restriction at his prior job.
JMO

Yeah, I think he had a non-compete based on the lawsuit over non-compete from the dentist at office where S.T. previously worked.

I also wonder how long has he been at the new dentistry practice, because some articles say he recently started working there?

 

[moonglow123]

All too often, people think they’re helping by talking, and just make things worse. There were multiple possibilities that people were theorizing that didn’t connect the 911 call to the Tepes at all. But the BIL goes ahead and publicly connects it, confirming they knew about the call and that it happened in their home, and also disclosing that the Tepes had late night weeknight parties (on the same night of the week as the murders, opening up the possibility of a weekly event that could be relevant). He is also dismissive of the circumstances, suggesting that at least one of the Tepes was close enough to the situation to have knowledge of the circumstances.

Then if you factor in other public comments that have been attributed to the BIL that he has not denied, you now have the existence of potentially two 911 calls in a 5-year period at that house for domestic violence reasons. The April 911 call was also reported by People, so now we have to believe 3 news publications got the year wrong, which is unlikely.

So, it’s hard for me to dismiss this call as obviously irrelevant. At a minimum, we’ve learned details about their lifestyle that could very well be relevant (especially with the day of the week lining up). That said, I have no reason to believe the BIL’s missteps are anything more than just very common missteps when dealing with public relations.

I did notice that the initial news sources were very careful to not state the year. They stated "April 15" and "months ago." NO mention of the year. Simply "months ago." Yes, that would imply 2025 but a publication skirting around clarifying the year is suspicious to me.

I truly think there's a chance the call was from a few years ago and they carefully omitted details for the sake of sensationalism.

Newer articles have said "2025" BUT they all source from the original news articles, which do not mention the year. AFAIK the newer articles have not sought out the call themselves - they all link back to the original news articles as their source.

That being said, I obviously still think it's worth looking into and I hope LE can get ahold of the woman and her boyfriend.

 

[Cassie P]

The most generous interpretation of him is he's clumsy with what he says, but that he's overwhelmed and not thinking strategically about what info he lets out.

Prosecutors will hate the fact that he just linked the April 911 call to the Tepes. Gives the defense a whole can of worms to open in terms of trying to find reasonable doubt.

I had the same thoughts. Prosecutors probably unhappy with this situation.

 

[moonglow123]

BIL just responded to the speculation on his social media. If not anything, he’s very vocal!

What did he say? I know links aren't allowed but hopefully it's okay to just discuss his words since he's been interviewing and such.

 

[MassGuy]

Yeah, I think he had a non-compete based on the lawsuit over non-compete from the dentist at office where S.T. previously worked.

I also wonder how long has he been at the new dentistry practice, because some articles say he recently started working there?

I just used Wayback Machine. In 2024, he does not appear on the Dental Depot website in March. The next update is June, and he does appear.

So he's apparently worked there for about a year and a half.

 

[BlaiseFinlay]

Aside from family and friends of the victims and maybe neighbors in close proximity who have fear, murders shouldn't be the public's business at all. Yet here we are. So if there's a 9/11 call from a home where a murder took place some time after it very much becomes part of it, even if it ends up being unrelated.

It's a lesson in keeping your business to yourself. That way, no matter what happens in the future, you can't be dragged into it. Fight with your "man?" Settle it in your own space. It sadly isn't the mindset anymore.

If I’m understanding you correctly, I very much disagree that you should be settling a problem with your “man” in your own space vs calling 911, when a call to 911 is warranted. It is notable that when the 911 operator asked her if the fight had gotten physical, she said she hadn’t been “hit.” Physical violence often starts with shoving.

 

[arielilane]

Mysterious 911 Call Complicates Ohio Dentist Killing Case

Newly released 911 audio from the Tepe home is fueling questions as police continue searching for the killer of Spencer and Monique Tepe.

lamag.com