Eleven days before an Ohio dentist and his wife were killed, a woman living down the street called 911 around 2:30 a.m. to report someone banging on her door who wouldn’t leave.
Police in Columbus, Ohio, said officers responded to the Weinland Park home around 10 a.m. on Dec. 30 when they found Spencer Tepe, 37, and Monique Tepe, 39, both dead with apparent gunshot wounds. Police don’t consider their deaths to be a murder-suicide, adding there were no signs of forced entry and no weapon was found, according to WSYX.
Detectives believe the murders took place between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Dec. 30. Both of the couple’s children were found safe inside the home.
Fox News Digital obtained a 911 call placed on Dec. 19 at a residence located just down their street. A woman reported that someone was “banging and knocking” on her door at 2:31 a.m.
FRANTIC 911 CALLS DETAIL MOMENTS BEFORE COLUMBUS DENTIST AND WIFE FOUND DEAD: ‘THERE’S A BODY’
911 operator: What’s the emergency?
Female voice: So now they’re smashing on my door. I think they’re trying to get in. They’re banging on my doors.
911 operator: OK, someone’s banging and knocking. Do you know who this is?
Female voice: No.
911 operator: Do you have a description of them?
Female voice: No, I can’t see [inaudible]
911 operator: Have you told them, have you asked them what they want or if they need something?
Female voice: No.
[Redacted, personal information]
SLAIN OHIO DENTIST’S BROTHER-IN-LAW SAYS ‘DOMESTIC DISPUTE’ 911 CALL CAME FROM PARTY GUEST, NOT WIFE
Dispatch logs indicated that “the problem left” at 2:44 a.m., according to records.
The incident took place a three-minute walk up the street from where Spencer and Monique lived.
Police on Monday released surveillance video showing a “person of interest” walking in the alley near the Tepes’ residence in the early morning hours of Dec. 30. Detectives believe the murders took place between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Dec. 30.
The video, released by the Columbus Division of Police, shows the man walking slowly in an alley near the Weinland Park home where Spencer and Monique lived. He’s seen in what appears to be a dark coat and light-colored pants.
At 10:03 a.m. on Dec. 30, one of Spencer’s friends went to the Tepes’ house and told a 911 operator that he could see a body inside.
“There’s a body,” the person can be heard saying. “Our friend wasn’t answering his phone. We just did a wellness check. We just came here and he appears dead. He’s laying next to his bed, off of his bed in this blood. I can’t get closer to see more than that.”
SIGN UP TO GET TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER
FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X
In a statement released Friday, the couple’s family said they are “heartbroken beyond words,” and called the deaths “tragic and senseless.”
“They were extraordinary people whose lives were filled with love, joy, and deep connection to others,” read the statement. “Spencer, a graduate of The Ohio State University, was known as a devoted and proud father, a loving partner, and a friend to everyone he met,” the family statement said, adding that he was “intelligent, warm, and endlessly welcoming.”
Family members described Monique as “loving, patient and joyful mother whose warmth defined her.”
Rob Misleh, Spencer’s brother-in-law, told WSYX that the couple was going to celebrate their five-year anniversary next month after getting married in 2021.
