COLUMBUS, Ohio — Police in Columbus are reviewing surveillance footage and searching for a person of interest in the murders of Spencer and Monique Tepe, a married couple found shot inside their home last week while their two young children slept nearby.
Spencer, who grew up in Mason, did not come into the dental clinic where he works, leading his coworkers to call 911 and request a welfare check at his home the morning of Dec. 30. There, police found both Spencer, 37, and Monique, 39, dead.
No arrests have been made in the case that has devastated a close-knit community of friends and family.
Rob Misleh, Spencer and Monique's brother-in-law, spoke with me about the moment he and his wife learned of the tragedy.
"It was her dad on the phone saying that Spencer is dead," Misleh said. "And there was no context yet, you know, ... I think we both just assumed car crash. And then finally, I said, 'Well, where's Monique? Where are the kids?' And he said, 'Well, Monique is dead too.'"
Watch my interview with Spencer and Monique's brother-in-law below:
Misleh said the couple had a magnetic pull and included everyone.
"They were always having people over," he said. "They were just the center of a huge community of friends and family ... they were the glue."
A filmmaker, Misleh captured their 2021 wedding at their Columbus home — the same location where they were murdered. Their two children, ages 4 and 1, were asleep down the hall during the shooting. Misleh said the children are being well taken care of, but their lives are forever changed.
"We don't know how to tell a 4-year-old that they're never going to see their mom and your daddy again, and it's, how do you and how do they? How does the 4-year-old understand?" Misleh said.
Misleh said he hopes police will catch Spencer and Monique's killer soon, believing the murders were not random.
"It was not a random act where somebody broke in and (was), you know, trying to steal stuff, like, it seems a lot more intentional than that," he said.
I asked him if he thought the murders were personal. Misleh said, "Yes."
Misleh shared his message with the perpetrator.
"Just unbelievably disgusting that somebody could do something so evil," he said. "You think that you just took two lives, but you took so much more than that. You took, you took a daughter and a son, a brother and a sister, cousin, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, friends and obviously, two amazing parents, two just innocent, innocent children who will never know them again."
Police say the investigation into Spencer and Monique Tepe's deaths remains active.
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