Why the Murders of Ohio Dentist and His Wife Are Not Being Investigated as Murder-Suicide — as Killer Remains at Large

Spencer Tepe and Monique Tepe were found with gunshot wounds in their Ohio home in December

Monique Tepe and Spencer Tepe. Credit :

The investigation into the double homicide of an Ohio dentist and his wife continues nearly a week since their deaths, as the killer remains at large.

Spencer Tepe, 37, and his wife Monique Tepe, 39, were found slain in their home in Columbus, Ohio on Tuesday, Dec. 30, Columbus police said in an incident report. Their two young children were in the home and were physically unharmed.

The couple were found deceased by police responding to multiple calls and at least one request for a welfare check after Spencer did not show up for work on Tuesday, WSYX reported.

Columbus Division of Police, the department investigating the case, says it is investigating the matter as a double homicide and not murder-suicide, WSYX and CNN reported.

Authorities found no firearms at the scene, thus rendering the possibility of a murder-suicide nearly impossible, the outlets reported, citing police. Police also found no obvious signs of forced entry, they told the outlets.

“I can hear kids inside, and I think I heard one yell,” one caller told a dispatcher, according to an audio recording cited by CNN. “But, we can’t get in.”

The caller was among several people, including Spencer’s co-workers, who had arrived at the scene after he missed work and Monique did not answer her phone, per WSYX.

Spencer had been shot multiple times and Monique was shot at least once in the chest, WSYX reported, citing unspecified documents released on Wednesday.

Columbus police have not publicly announced a person of interest or suspect in the case.

Why Ohio Police Aren’t Sharing Many Details About Dentist and Wife’s Homicide Investigation

Authorities say they have received several tips and are reviewing a large volume of evidence in the investigation into Spencer and Monique Tepe’s killings

Spencer Tepe (left); and Monique Tepe. Credit :

Information has been scarce surrounding the homicide investigation into Spencer and Monique Tepe’s killings — more than a week after the couple was found dead in their Columbus, Ohio home.

Authorities discovered the bodies after responding to several requests for a welfare check on the morning of Dec. 30, the Columbus Division of Police announced at the time.

Police said earlier on in the investigation that this was a case of double homicide and not a murder-suicide. They said no weapons were found at the scene.

Columbus police are now revealing why they have been tight-lipped about an investigation that has piqued the interest of people across the country.

“We want to make sure that we don’t compromise the integrity of this investigation,” Chief of Police Elaine Bryant said at a press briefing on Thursday, Jan. 8.

“So when we finally identify a suspect and it goes to trial, we want to make sure that there’s nothing that could cause this case to be dismissed, or cause this case to be kicked,” she said. “We’re looking at every single tip, every single information that comes in — we leave no stone unturned.”

“We’re investigating it. But there’s only so much that we can share at this point,” Bryant added.

Crime scene tape at Monique and Spencer Tepe’s home in Columbus, Ohio.Doral Chenoweth/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Monique, 39, and Spencer, 37, were found with gunshot wounds.

WSYX previously reported, citing a police report, that Spencer had been shot several times, and Monique had been shot in the chest.

Days following the killings, police released eerie surveillance footage of a person they say is of interest to the investigation. The hooded figure, whose face is not clear in the grainy video, is seen walking in a snowy alleyway near the Tepe’s home around the time police believe they were killed.

This week, Columbus police said they received numerous tips about the person seen in the footage, ABC reported.

“We’re asking the community, we’re asking the public … if you have any information, if you think you know anything about this person, please contact us,” Bryant said at Thursday’s briefing.

“Even if you don’t think it’s something that’s relevant in that moment, it may have been something you saw last week. It may have been something that you saw the day before. It could be relevant to this case,” she said.

What We Know — and Don’t — About Slayings of Ohio Dentist and Wife, Found Dead with Sobbing Children Nearby

Spencer and Monique Tepe were killed on the morning of Dec. 30, while their young children were in the home

Spencer and Monique Tepe. Credit :

The suspected murders of an Ohio dentist and his wife remain unsolved and police are still searching for who could have killed the parents of two.

Spencer and Monique Tepe were found fatally shot inside their Columbus home on Dec. 30, while their children were in the house crying.

Since then, no suspect has been caught and police have asked for the public’s help in identifying a potential person of interest.

Here is everything we know so far about the shocking slayings:

How Were the Bodies Found?

Spencer, 37, and Monique, 39, were found in their home on Dec. 30 by police officers responding to a request for a wellness check, PEOPLE previously reported. Both were pronounced dead on scene.

WLWT reported that the wellness check was requested by a co-worker and then by a neighbor.

The couple’s children were inside the home at the time the bodies were discovered, but they were unharmed.

According to CNN, Spencer’s friend told a 911 dispatcher that they could hear children crying in the home but that he wasn’t able to get inside.

“I can hear kids inside, and I think I heard one yell,” a caller told a 911 dispatcher, per CNN. “But, we can’t get in.”

What Were the Causes of Death?

The apparent causes of death for Spencer and Monique were gunshot wounds, the Office of Franklin County Coroner Nathaniel R. Overmire previously told PEOPLE.

The official causes of death are still pending further assessments, including toxicology reports.

Police said Spencer had been shot multiple times and that Monique had been shot at least once in the chest, WSYX previously reported.

Monique and Spencer Tepe.Courtesy of Rob Misleh

Police Don’t Suspect a Murder-Suicide

The Columbus Division of Police, per CNN and WSYX, are investigating the Tepes’ deaths as a double homicide, rather than a murder-suicide.

Because no firearms were found in the home, authorities believe the chances of a murder-suicide are nearly impossible, according to the outlets. However, there were reportedly also no obvious signs of forced entry.

Potential Person of Interest

On Monday, Jan. 5, Columbus police released footage of a person of interest in the killings.

The video shows a person in an alleyway near the couple’s home during the time police believe the murders occurred.

According to the news release containing the video, police said they believe Spencer and Monique were killed in the upstairs of their home between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Dec. 30.

Spencer and Monique Tepe and a person of interest.Courtesy of Rob Misleh; Columbus Division of Police/Facebook

The person of interest is seen wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt with lighter pants and their hands in their pockets, though their face was not seen.

Spencer’s brother-in-law Rob Misleh expressed some skepticism in an interview with NewsNation.

“I do think, you know, suspicious-looking person there,” he said. “It also very well could be … somebody walking home drunk from a bar.”

Where Are the Couple’s Children?

Spencer and Monique’s children, whose ages have not been publicly revealed, are now being cared for by Misleh, according to NewsNation.

Misleh told WLWT that the Tepes “lived for their children.”

“Spencer was an avid golfer,” he told the outlet. “Mo was an avid runner. And, you know, they still did those things. They put those aside when, when the kids are born and their lives became about their children and, you know, sharing their children with, with all of us and, and just loving them.”