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

[Mayor Perk]

Is it normal to have bedroom locks in the US?

Yes. Most modern homes in the US have locks on bedroom doors. We're not talking deadbolts here though. Simple locks on the door knobs that can be easily unlocked with a paper clip or hair pin.

 

[keek]

I live in a very old house and don’t have locks on my bedroom doors, but probably most of the people I know have them.

My old house doesn't either, but the cat can't reach the doorknob. Bedroom doors that are modernized from OLD homes do have the little twisty thing in the center of the knob, you know parents yelling through their kids doors, open that door rightttttttttttttt now! It's a normal type of doorknob S and M had, that has a little lock. IMO

 

[Almondine]

Unless S and M were elsewhere in the house, fled to their bedroom and locked the door?

Do you think they would lock themselves in the bedroom and just leave the children vulnerable?

 

[Gators North]

My old house doesn't either, but the cat can't reach the doorknob. Bedroom doors that are not modernized from OLD homes do have the little twisty thing in the center of the knob, you know parents yelling through their kids doors, open that door rightttttttttttttt now! It's a normal type of doorknob S and M had, that has a little lock. IMO

Yeah, I have one of those twisty things on my bathroom door. And my cats can’t reach the doorknob either!

 

[keek]

Do you think they would lock themselves in the bedroom and just leave the children vulnerable?

I do not. All parents of children, young and def babies, have baby monitors in their rooms to hear any calling out at night. I think the killer locked that door, but to take the time and 'foresight' if they did not want the four year old going in there, which they would, they are walkers and all that, must know them all. It's hard to know and just very sad and heartbreaking. IMO

 

[Kemug]

Do we know with absolute certainty that there were only the 2 practising dentists working at this clinic? ST, and the boss on holiday?

 

[Speculaytor]

Also, could it be that all of the neighbors cameras were actually working and LE asked them if they decided to speak to the media, then act like they weren’t working. That way while they’re gathering evidence, then whomever is responsible will think that they got away with it. Maybe the video released is of a random person that they’re not really interested in so that the real POI gets comfortable enough to come out of hiding so LE can watch their movements while gathering the last bit of evidence needed for a conviction? MOO

I might agree with you, as this would be a strategy, but it seems this person was very aware of the camera on his left as he passed. It was 23F outside, 30 minutes max and you are having serious problems. He couldn't have been going far.The Police should know exactly where this person on video did go, and where he didn't go with all of the street and ally cameras, even if most neighbors cameras weren't working.

 

[stmichael]

So if I happened to be a statistician, which I'm not, maybe I could calculate that anyone who moves into this area now has an x% possibility of becoming a crime victim. Sorry realtors!

If you move into a neighborhood that has higher incident level of crime, yes,, of course you have a greater chance of an incident.

This neighborhood was basically gangland 20 years ago--the Short North Posse and cocaine wars of the early 2000s. It was gentrified in the last decade or so but there have been murders in the last few years within walking distance of the Tepe's home, and neighbors interviewed about this case said there is still a lot of drug activity in the area. Residents still don't go into the park at night.

 

[armchairagatha]

If you move into a neighborhood that has higher incident level of crime, yes,, of course you have a greater chance of an incident.

This neighborhood was basically gangland 20 years ago--the Short North Posse and cocaine wars of the early 2000s. It was gentrified in the last decade or so but there have been murders in the last few years within walking distance of the Tepe's home, and neighbors interviewed about this case said there is still a lot of drug activity in the area. Residents still don't go into the park at night.

I didn’t get the impression that a random druggie killed them and is on the loose in the neighborhood from the LE press conference. JMO

 

[Kemug]

If the bedroom door was indeed locked then, assuming it wasn't glass-panelled, how could the workmate see S's body? Wouldn't that mean that a ladder was indeed used to see inside?

 

[ttjo]

Do we know with absolute certainty that there were only the 2 practising dentists working at this clinic? ST, and the boss on holiday?

The website lists 3 dentists. No telling if the owner hired a replacement for when he was away

Homepage

athensdentaldepot.com

 

[stmichael]

My old house doesn't either, but the cat can't reach the doorknob. Bedroom doors that are not modernized from OLD homes do have the little twisty thing in the center of the knob, you know parents yelling through their kids doors, open that door rightttttttttttttt now! It's a normal type of doorknob S and M had, that has a little lock. IMO

Is it normal to have bedroom locks in the US?

Most newer residential BR doors in the US are hollow, with a thin veneer of wood, sometimes cardboard honeycomb inside. The lock is a privacy lock that can be opened by pressing something (usually a bent paper clip) into a hole. These doors can be kicked open with one or two kicks. When remodeling homes we can kick through these doors with steel toe boots and shatter them or swing a hole into them. Here's Johnnny!!!. They're only for privacy and not for security at all. In a lot of domestics you'll find punched and kicked-in interior doors among the damage.

 

[BryanHall]

The website lists 3 dentists. No telling if the owner hired a replacement for when he was away

The one dentist died in 2018.

 

[ttjo]

The one dentist died in 2018.

Yes but there are 3 listed above his name.

 

[Speculaytor]

I hesitate to write this, as I was really thinking a targeted break in for jewelry, cash, and possible medicine, but I do find one thing keeps popping back into my head about the 911 call. I understand the alarm completely, he was a professional dentist, they show up, but why did the out of town owner call 911 and not one of the colleagues in town, that was very concerned? I even understand why the employees called the owner when Spencer didn't show up on time, but would expect the owner to tell them to call 911, and then call him back and let him know what is happening? IDK, maybe as the owner he felt responsible for the office and chose to make the call. I don't know why that nags at me a bit? I absolutely agree with calling 911, and going over to their house to check, I don't find that odd or weird at all.

 

[stmichael]

I didn’t get the impression that a random druggie killed them and is on the loose in the neighborhood from the LE press conference. JMO

Why are you assuming random? Maybe it was someone they helped out and had a distant connection (seemed like very trusting nice people), someone they hired, a handyman, a delivery guy, another local doing odd jobs, helping out. All of these people could have a troubled past given the neighborhood. They would also potentially have access and familiarity. Maybe didn't want it to go down like this but needed a fix, strung out or high and not thinking straight. Lots of possibilities obviously. A simple double tap to the M and a single tap to the FM seems like a surprised reactionary shot response to me.

 

[Knitpicker]

Is it normal to have bedroom locks in the US?

Yes and also surprising the house didn’t have an alarm system. Or if so, it wasn’t on. Especially given the neighborhood (some bad areas and break ins close by) and 2 small children.

 

[BryanHall]

Yes but there are 3 listed above his name.

Sorry--I missed that.

 

[Knitpicker]

Why are you assuming random? Maybe it was someone they helped out and had a distant connection (seemed like very trusting nice people), someone they hired, a handyman, a delivery guy, another local doing odd jobs, helping out. All of these people could have a troubled past given the neighborhood. They would also potentially have access and familiarity. Maybe didn't want it to go down like this but needed a fix, strung out or high and not thinking straight. Lots of possibilities obviously. A simple double tap to the M and a single tap to the FM seems like a surprised reactionary shot response to me.

Theres been some cases of dentists writing scripts for opiates.

 

[SophieRose]

Doesn’t matter much to me what you do for a living, how responsible you are or what you are responsible for-I still find it very odd that you call 911 before an employee goes to the home 1st.

I had a boss when I was young and he called us into a meeting and told us we needed to call in if we were to be late for any reason. Then when on to say that he oncehad an employee that had not called in and was over an hour late. He went to her house, her car and husband's car were there, peeked in and saw two bodies in the kitchen. He called police. Turned out later son had killed them. I guess he had some PTSD from the incident because he said he was always worried when someone was late, worse came to mind.