Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (2:26)

And a big we like Jib goes out to Amanda and San Jose.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (2:30)

And here's a tall cans in to pumpkin pie haircut from parts unknown.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (2:36)

And another tall cans in the air to Leanne and Windsor, Canada.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (2:39)

And last but certainly not least, we raise our glasses high in memory of Jill's dad. And in his honor, we will be sure to add some cold stone and Sapporo beers to the old garage fridge. Thank you to everyone tuning in. Past and presently accounted for.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (2:57)

And.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (2:57)

And thank you for your kindness, your leadership and your patronage.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (3:02)

All right, BWWAN Beer run. If you need more True Crime Garage for your earballs, make sure you sign up on Patreon or Apple podcast subscriptions for our bonus content called off the record. We love it when you join us in the garage for some extra cozy time. And that's enough of the business.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (3:23)

All right, everybody gather round. Grab a chair, grab a beer. Let's talk some true crime.

Caller/Dispatcher (3:32)

Columbus Police Tech 107, I guess.

Concerned Caller/Co-worker (3:35)

I would like to ask for a wellness check on an individual at their home. This individual, Spencer, works with me and he did not show up to work this morning and we cannot get a hold of him or his family.

Caller/Dispatcher (3:51)

He didn't show up to work?

Concerned Caller/Co-worker (3:54)

Correct.

Caller/Dispatcher (3:57)

Okay. Does he have medical problems or.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (4:02)

No.

Concerned Caller/Co-worker (4:02)

And he's been reliable and we cannot get in touch with him, his wife, his family, anybody that lives in that house.

Advertiser/Announcer (4:10)

Okay.

Concerned Caller/Co-worker (4:15)

I'm in Florida. I own the business. I. I was informed by my employees that he was not at work and he runs the office. Have you guys received anything else, like calls about him or like a car accident or anything like that?

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (4:33)

No.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (4:34)

Some.

Caller/Dispatcher (4:34)

Sometimes people just don't show up to work. I mean, maybe he said, I don't.

Concerned Caller/Co-worker (4:38)

Know, just know that he is the most. Like, he is always on time and he would contact us if there's any issues whatsoever. And he. I just don't know how to say this. Like we're very, very concerned because this is very out of character and we can't get in touch with his wife, which is probably the more concerning thing.

Caller/Dispatcher (4:57)

Okay, what's the emergency there? Police or medical?

Concerned Caller/Co-worker (5:02)

Maybe both, I guess.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (5:03)

I don't know.

Concerned Caller/Co-worker (5:03)

I'm kind of doing the wellness.

Caller/Dispatcher (5:05)

They had a call out there. They knocked on the front door and back door multiple times and there was no answer.

Concerned Caller/Co-worker (5:09)

Yeah, no answer. I can hear kids inside and I swear I think I heard one yell, but we can't get in at this point. I don't know if I need to break the door in or just get in the house or what.

Caller/Dispatcher (5:21)

Were you out there when the police was out there?

Concerned Caller/Co-worker (5:24)

I wasn't. I just got here about five minutes.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (5:25)

Yeah.

Caller/Dispatcher (5:26)

Okay. All right, well, we'll send them back out to you.

Advertiser/Announcer (5:29)

Our.

Caller/Dispatcher (5:30)

Our boss did not report to work. We haven't been able to get a hold of him for three hours. We are on site and we can hear. Okay, I talked to somebody there. Okay, I'm just making sure somebody called. 91 1. What's location of your emergency?

Concerned Caller/Co-worker (5:46)

1411 North 4th.

Caller/Dispatcher (5:48)

Okay, 1411 North 4th. We've calls on that. What's changed since the last person I talked to?

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (5:54)

There's a body.

Concerned Caller/Co-worker (5:54)

There's a body.

Caller/Dispatcher (5:56)

There's a body inside.

Concerned Caller/Co-worker (5:58)

Yeah.

Caller/Dispatcher (5:59)

Okay, hold on one second. Let me get you on the line with the medic. Okay. On the line.

Concerned Caller/Co-worker (6:11)

There'S a body.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (6:11)

Our.

Concerned Caller/Co-worker (6:12)

Our friend wasn't answering his phone. We just took a wellness check. We just came here and he appears dead. Okay. He's laying Next to his bed, off of his bed, in his blood. I can't get closer than see more than that. Okay, so you can tell he's obviously not breathing or anything. Yeah, yeah. Is it like kind of like, like, like, you know, does he look like. Okay, all right, I understand.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (6:41)

Okay.

Concerned Caller/Co-worker (6:42)

And then when was the last time somebody spoke to him like. Yes, yesterday, I suppose yesterday. Okay.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (6:50)

How old?

Concerned Caller/Co-worker (6:52)

37. 37. Do you like the drug user or anything like that? No, no, no, no.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (6:59)

Okay. All right.

Concerned Caller/Co-worker (7:00)

Just because that's a really young age. Okay.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (7:03)

All right, we're on our way. It was an unthinkable crime. Two very well liked and well respected people killed inside their home in the quiet dead of the night. Now for today's true crime story, we don't have to look very far outside of the garage. True crime stories can hit hard and as they sometimes say, close to home. Close to home can be said for many reasons. Our story hits us garage guys, close to home because unfortunately, it happened just late last month in our home city of Columbus, Ohio.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (7:53)

Yeah, less than 10 miles away.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (7:56)

Spencer and Monique Tepe were a young Columbus couple whose lives were rooted in family, community and the everyday rhythms of raising two young children. Their backgrounds and personalities come through clearly in the public records and obituaries released after their untimely deaths. 37 year old Spencer Tepe was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He completed both his undergraduate degree and doctor of Dental surgery at the Ohio State University. 39 year old Monique Tepe was born in Chicago and raised in Worthington, Ohio, which is just a short drive north from Columbus, Ohio. The two met online and quickly built a relationship described as loving, respectful and playfully goofy. They got married in a beautiful ceremony on December 13, 2020 and they built an idyllic life together. They had two kids and the Tepe couple was known for hosting gatherings and creating a warm, lovely home environment. Spencer built his career as a practicing dentist, most recently at Athens Dental Depot, where his colleagues describe him as deeply dedicated to his patients and craft. Monique earned a master's degree in early childhood education from the Ohio State University. She worked in child care and early education. After having children, she became a stay at home mother. The couple lived in a large, very modern and upscale home in a portion of northern downtownish Columbus known as Wineland Park. Wineland park sits in that uneasy space between renewal and history. A Columbus neighborhood where new families settle into some of them century old homes and where the glow of the street lights mixes with the hum of nearby campus life. It's the kind of place where people know each other's routines. They live in close quarters. You notice when someone's porch light stays on too long and you notice when a car hasn't moved in days. So when Spencer and Monique Tepe didn't emerge from their home and join in on the normal hustle and bustle of everyday modern living on the morning of December 30, 2025, the first sign of trouble wasn't a scream or a crash. It was mostly silence. On the morning of December 30, 2025, Columbus Police were called to a home on the 1400 block of North 4th street in the Wyland park neighborhood after colleagues and friends of Spencer Tepe became alarmed when he failed to show up for work, something they described as completely out of character. One co worker told dispatchers that Spencer was, quote, always on time and he would have contacted them if anything was wrong.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (11:09)

Spencer had a 90 minute commute, so pretty long commute is interesting to learn that he was always punctual.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (11:16)

The worry escalated quickly when repeated calls to both Spencer and his wife Monique went unanswered. So the tepes lived at 1411 N. 4th St. This is a tall, thin, very modern, three bedroom, 2500 square foot home. Officers first checked the home around 9:22am, found no answer at the door, and then left. Now, we would later learn, and Columbus PD has been upfront about this, that when responding to the first request for a wellness check at the home, they would later say that they went to the wrong house and left. Nobody answered. They assumed that everything was fine because nobody answered the door. Yet they found the house that they went to secured.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (12:10)

Yes. And Columbus PD did release this body cam footage of checking the wrong house.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (12:16)

My thought here on this one is the houses on the street in this exact location are rather close together and I have nothing to base this off of, Captain, but my guess is they may have simply just gone to the neighbor's home. I do know that one of the neighbors was out of town on this day and had been prior to. And so if they knocked on that door, they would have found the out of town neighbor's home to be secure and empty.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (12:43)

Yeah, and again, this is just speculation too, but is there, is there a north side and a south side of this road? And did they just go to the wrong same address but the wrong area?

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (12:54)

Within the next 40 minutes, multiple friends arrived at the house reporting that they could hear the couple's young children inside. And then one friend told police via a call to 911 dispatch that he could see Spencer's body lying on the floor of a room in the house through a window.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (13:16)

On the children are ages 1 and 4, correct?

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (13:21)

That is correct.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (13:22)

So you might not get much information from the one year old, but it's possible that would get some information from the four year old.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (13:28)

So let's parse out this timeline a bit, shall we? So at 9.03am, as the captain said, we have Spencer Tepe, who's very punctual. He is the boss man at the dentist office in Athens there and it's a colleague calling police requesting a well being check at the tepe home. At 9:22am we have officers that report that no answer was at the door. They responded to the house and they leave again later learning this is likely what they described later as the wrong home. At 9:57am we have a man at the home who calls police. He's saying he can hear children inside of the tepe home. At 10am another co worker calls saying that she is heading to the home out of concern. She's on her way there. At 10:05, a friend calls police after seeing Spencer's body inside. So officers returned. They entered the home discovering both Spencer and Monique dead inside. Their two children, both very young, were found physically unharmed along with the family dog. What did the investigators find inside the house? Inside the residence, police determined that both Spencer and Monique had been shot to death. A radio run log obtained through public records confirmed that Spencer had been shot multiple times. Authorities quickly stated that there were no indications of a murder suicide, though they did not release further details about the nature of the attack. The couple's two very young children and their dog were also found in the home alive and unharmed, adding to the confusion and the mystery of this case. To quickly address the no murder suicide determination, the gun that was used was not found inside the home.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (15:32)

Yeah, when you have children that are left in the house and you have a dog left in the house, you wonder if it's possible that it was a murder suicide and that the gun was just moved. But it's a modern house, probably pretty easy to search. They didn't, didn't seem like they had a ton of clutter. So once there's no weapon anywhere to be found, you can kind of rule that out.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (15:57)

A dispatcher's report also included a reference to a 41A robbery code, though police did not clarify whether this was connected to the case in any manner. The TEPE residence, as said, is 1411 N. Fourth St. The second house from the corner of East Eighth Avenue, it sits in a dense mixed residential area monitored by city crime cameras. In fact, police cameras were positioned roughly 150ft from the home, underscoring how shocking it was that such a violent crime occurred without immediate detection.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (16:36)

Well, nowadays with technology, with home security and ring cameras, I think one of the smartest things that the cops did was they actually drew a grid and they released that to the public in, in Columbus to say, hey, if you live with inside this grid, can you check your surveillance footage if you have that capability?

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (16:58)

Yes. As said, it's a densely populated area. And from our time near the crime scene here, go through a few of the observations that were made. As said, the homes are tall. They're relatively close to one another. These are very modern homes. My guess is they're either fully restored or complete rebuilds. Behind the homes on this street, you have detached garages. Okay. And these garages are sitting directly side by side by side by side. So there's an alleyway that runs behind the Tepes home. In front of the Tepes home, you have a sidewalk, street parking, rather busy street, especially during the daytime hours, and street parking as well. And in fact, if you park in one of the parking spots right off of the street there, it's not far from their front door, up the steps to their front porch, to their front door from street parking or the front of the front yard. They do have a keypad lock on that front door. They have large glass windows, so it gets difficult to say which window. The gentleman calling 911 describing what he's seeing when he says he sees Spencer inside which window he is referring to. If you take a look at the backyard. So the again, the garage is detached from the back of the house, and there is a nice backyard setting between the garage and the back of the home. There is a rear entrance to the home as well. This too contains a keypad lock on the door. The backyard is set up for hanging out, for entertaining. There's a nice patio in the back that seemed like it was well used, A very inviting space. You would enter the garage with your vehicle via that alleyway. So you'd park, close the garage door, go out the man door, which would lead you into your backyard. My guess is because of that setup, they probably regularly use the back door to the home to enter and exit the home. That alleyway is extremely well lit, Extremely well lit. And some of the persons that have garages in that alleyway have security cameras on their garages. Now, as of the early reporting in the double homicide case, investigators were not releasing much information at all, and not much information specifically about the following. A possible motive, whether there were signs of forced entry, whether the couple knew their killer, how the children remained untouched during the attack. Now, we would get an update on some of this fairly quickly to tell us that there were, in fact, no signs of forced entry to the home. Police also did not announce any suspects or arrest. And of course, the family and the community were both heartbroken and in shock.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (20:27)

Well, like you said, this becomes a mysterious murder because you have the children that weren't harmed and the dog that wasn't harmed. So I think when you. You're making announcements that there's no forced entry, you go, well, did somebody have the code? Did somebody have a key? Is this a family member who would kill them so viciously and not harm the children? So I think that's what made it. People speculate that maybe it was somebody in the family or maybe one of these. You got two young, attractive mom and dad, right? And, and. And so you go, well, was one of them having an affair or something? Because that would make sense. Oh, I'm having an affair with this dentist, and it goes south, and I kill him and I kill the wife. But I'm not. I don't. Don't want to harm the children.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (21:17)

I want to talk quickly about this area, this neighborhood, a bit to try to give everyone a little richer understanding. The Columbus Dispatch had a great article titled something along the lines of long troubled Weiland park neighborhood thriving despite tragedy. So it's talking both specifically about the neighborhood and the recent murders, and I'll give you my summarized version of the information and also our understanding of this area having grown up not far from Wineland Park. So Wetland park has long been a neighborhood defined by contrast, a place where decades of hardship have slowly given way to renewal, investment, and a growing sense of stability. The recent murders of Spencer and Monique Tepe, however, shook residents and revived old fears. And even as community leaders insist, the tragedy does not reflect the neighborhood's present reality. So this is a neighborhood with a complicated past, let's say. Okay, so for much of the 1990s and early 2000s, Weiland park was synonymous with gang activity, drug trafficking, and urban decay. The area around north fourth street and Summit street was once considered dangerous enough that many Columbus residents avoided this area entirely. During the height of the Short North Posse's influence and the cocaine wars that were going on, large groups of young men openly gathered in streets and shootings were rather Common, a longtime resident, Tanya Long, who has lived in the neighborhood for more than 25 years. She says, Captain, that she recalls moments when she would drive up a street only to be stopped by gang members who would then decide if she was allowed to pass or if she had to stop and turn around. She describes those years as a worn out chapter one, marked by abandoned homes, poverty, and the collapse of nearby manufacturing jobs. Now, by 2010, a good amount of the properties in this Weinland park area were abandoned or vacant, creating pockets where crime could flourish. But transformation began in earnest. This would be shortly after the housing market collapse. This is when a multi pronged revitalization effort took hold in the area. So public and private organizations, including the now disbanded Weiland Park Collaborative, invested heavily in housing infrastructure and community programs. Between 2008 and 2016, more than 500 new housing units were built, including low income housing, Habitat for Humanity projects and mixed income developments. And as new residents moved in and abandoned properties were restored, the neighborhood's population, well, it rebounded from about 4,000 people in the 90s to 6,300 people by 2022. And community leaders credit the growth with reducing crime in the area. It's simple. More eyes on the streets, more families, you get more stability. The neighborhood got safer because there were more people. Today, Weiland park is home to restaurants and small businesses. This symbol of a neighborhood that has worked hard to redefine itself.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (24:57)

Well, maybe the area has got gotten better, but the surrounding areas maybe not so much. So we have no evidence that this crime is sexually motivated. So it's possible that when you have a nice area, crime comes to you. So did somebody want to rob this couple? So I think that's an interesting viewpoint and, and something that law enforcement had to look at initially in this crime.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (25:24)

And why do some of these cases become so talked about? Well, just like we have seen in so many other cases, most of that starts with the story of the victims. And in this case, we have Spencer, Monique Tepe. They were well known, they were well liked. Spencer practiced dentistry at Athens Dental Depot, colleagues describing him as reliable and dedicated, but well above and beyond anything else. Spencer was a father and husband. Monique was a mother and former early childhood educator who is remembered for her warmth and bright personality. Their deaths left friends, co workers and neighbors devastated, especially given the presence of their two young children still in the home. This case resonated here and beyond Columbus because of a combination of the residential neighborhood, respected young couple, the two children no immediate suspect, and the absence of a clear motive. And an absence of a clear motive creates a sense of deep unease in the community, in the neighborhood and then across Columbus. The case raised urgent questions about safety, motive and the possibility that the killer may have known the family and their routines.

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Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (27:25)

This guy's a ghost. There's no DNA.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (27:27)

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Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (27:38)

Yeah.

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Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (28:56)

All right, we are back. Tall cans in the air. Cheers to the people in the back. Cheers to you, colonel.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (29:01)

Hey, don't forget about them. People in the front. Cheers. Inside the tepe house, police would find the couple shot to death upstairs. The two young children, just four and one at the time, as the captain had said, were discovered unharmed. The family dog was also safe. I. I believe that I saw it somewhere in the reporting of what kind of dog they had, but I. It. It Seemed to fail to make its way to my notes here, Captain. But the adults, mom and dad, husband and wife at the center of that home were gone. And then as the early investigation days passed, we did get some new and updated information regarding the crime scene. So first we get what let's call the window of violence here. Okay. So investigators come out, CBT comes out and says, we have narrowed the killings to a three hour window between 2am and 5am on December 30, 2025. They also say there were no signs of forced entry, no weapon recovered, and no evidence of robbery. The scene was intimate, deliberate, and deeply unsettling. Three 9 millimeter shell casings were found inside the home. And then we get the unidentified man in the alley. So the most significant public clue at this point in our timeline was a short piece of surveillance footage released by Columbus police. This video shows a lone figure walking through the alley. Right. They don't give us the exact location of where this was filmed, but the statements are walking through the alley beside or behind the Tepe home during that exact window. Right. We've already said 2am to 5am when investigators believe that the murders occurred. The individual is described only as, quote, a person of interest, not a suspect, not a witness. We had to wonder, right? We had to. Was this person the suspect or just a witness? Regardless, titled person of interest.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (31:32)

Well, because it was such early hours of the morning, you go, well, he might have been the only individual that was walking in that neighborhood. But when I first saw the video footage, my thought was, I don't even know if this is a man or a woman. A couple things I noticed, I thought the pants were pretty tight. Like I say, tight in the pants. And then his gait was a little weird. But again, I say he. But that's because we know it's a he now. But at the time, if somebody would have presented the idea that this might have been a female, I might have said, well, I could see that, but I thought the gait was a little weird. And obviously there's with the Missy Beavers case and the Delphi case, the true crime world has talked about and looked into people's gates when they're seeing these surveillance footage. So there was definitely. And I would might be one of the only people that noticed this because I have this. But I'm pigeon toed. So the individual looked a little pigeon toed to me. If I had to lean one way or another when I first saw the footage, I would have leaned towards a man. But I, I didn't think it was definitive.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (32:38)

Yeah, we had this conversation offline when we were waiting and hoping for information and, and really a break in the case. And I believe my statement to you was I felt very strongly it was a male individual based off of the, the broad shoulders that I believed that I was seeing in the footage. Again, described as a, only as a person of interest, as you said. Police said this too. And I think a lot of people were wondering this as well, could just be somebody that happened to be there at the time walking by. It wouldn't be. This is not a part of town or, I mean it's a, it's a. Columbus is a major city. It's not a ghost town. It would be absurd to think that it would be out of question that somebody could just be walking in the area even at that strange hour of the early morning. Now, according to police, one thing that they're pointing out and that they wanted to make everybody aware of, you gotta, you gotta draw the eyes in on the potential details here, right Captain? So they're saying the footage here shows a individual wearing light colored pants, a dark hooded jacket, a steady unhurried gait, and again a route that takes this individual directly behind or beside the Tepe residence. And that's exactly what I saw too. When they talk about a steady, unhurried gate, the person didn't seem to be in a rush to get anywhere. Didn't seem overly trying to conceal their presence from maybe onlookers from somebody in a home or somebody driving by. But it looked clear to me and I, I've heard other people say this, so it wasn't just, wasn't just my eyes, but it looked like with the hood being up on this individual and the way they were looked like they were purposely positioning their face like looking down that they may have had prior understanding that, that that area is both well lit and that there are security cameras placed in that area.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (35:02)

Yeah, but when are we going to get better cameras? Because maybe this individual just knows a little bit about true crime and says, hey, I put my hoodie up, it's in the dark. They'll have no clue who it is. As long as I don't just, you know, go up and, and stare directly into the camera. It's just going to be a black and white blob.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (35:23)

I didn't see a black and white blob. But one thing that was, was curious about to your point with the cameras is the inability to zoom in because what I couldn't see on the clothing of the individual was any type of indicator. Right. Like any brand recognition or anything like that, Just simply as described by police, of a dark hooded jacket. It looked like a winter coat to me. Dark hooded jacket with light colored pants.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (35:57)

Right. But did you see the tightness in the pants?

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (36:00)

Tight pants. I wouldn't describe them as baggy. I would not describe them as baggy.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (36:06)

There you go.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (36:07)

The other curious part of this statement from police was that they, they wouldn't say whether or not the man appeared any additional cameras.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (36:15)

Right.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (36:16)

Nor whether he entered or exited the home. But of course, the timing of when a camera or two cameras spotted this individual is impossible and cannot be ignored for this case. And very quickly this became a case with more questions than answers. Because despite the heavy presence of surveillance cameras in the area, including some city crime cameras positioned almost directly across from the victim's home, investigators are releasing very few details. And I know we've kind of re, we're rehashing some of this, but again, the key unknowns, and this was, I'm a guy that will frequent the restaurants and the bars. And this is a case that no matter what location, what part of Columbus I was in, people in establishments were talking. They all had the same questions, very much speculating on the same aspects of this crime. How did the killer enter the home? Did the couple know their attacker? Why would the children be left unharmed? Thank God. Whether the person in the video is connected or merely a coincidence. But there was a call for action. The old seeking information Police were urging anyone with video photos or digital evidence from the area, particularly between 2am and 5am on Dec. 30, to come forward. And as the captain pointed out earlier, a grid of the area, that focus area included Summit Street, North Grant Avenue, East 7th Avenue and East 11th Avenue. And they were quick to tell the public, do not worry because here's the threat. We don't know who this person is. We don't know what the motive is. People are afraid. They said submissions can be anonymous. And detectives did say that they are following up on numerous leads. There were a lot of tips coming in across the city. We're following up on numerous tips, but no arrests have been made at this time.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (38:40)

Well, I also think one of the interesting things and, and maybe why we talk more about some of these cases is the information because of social media. So we have these two attractive individuals, they were murdered. We have pictures of them on their wedding. We have pictures, family pictures that they, that they have had taken, you know, professional pictures taken of the family so you have good source material to get out there. I think it's human nature to go, well, they look like a success. They look like successful people, young and attractive, building their lives together. You go, which one of them caused this? I think that's human nature to be like, well, was. Was the wife cheating on the husband? Was the husband cheating on the wife? What was going on here?

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (39:28)

What.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (39:29)

What was the cause for this?

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (39:30)

Who's responsible? Yeah, we want. We want to know. And.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (39:34)

And, well, no, but I think even gets. Goes deeper than that.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (39:37)

We.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (39:38)

We want to know who killed them, but we. We also want to know the why, you know, and so some of the initial speculation was when the. His work was calling so quickly and really putting pressure for people to check to see what was going on. Some of the speculation was, well, they must have known that he was in some kind of entanglement that would cause him to be in harm.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (40:03)

Yeah, I think rather than who caused this, it's more of what is the tie between one victim or both victims and the offender.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (40:11)

Right.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (40:12)

What are those. What are those ties? Now, we've already talked about how they were remembered, but I look, I've seen so many photos of their wedding day, their wedding celebration in the past three weeks. It looked like one hell of a great party that I missed. I wish I would have been friends with them or friends with their friends. How were they remembered? Friends, co workers and family describe Monique and Spencer as generous, joyful, and deeply committed to each other and their children. And they were just. Captain. They were just a few weeks after their fifth wedding anniversary.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (40:53)

No, and I understand that. And maybe I'm a. Just a bitter, cynical son of a. But when I see. Because everybody has a different way that they want to present themselves to the world or social media, and we all have friends that present. I mean, it's human nature to present a certain story through social media. So I think some of the people that were speculating on what might have happened sees this narrative that is being presented. And then you wonder, is that a true narrative or was that a facade?

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (41:31)

Neighbors echoed the same sentiment when it came to the Tepes, saying they were kind, polite, and never caused trouble. For most of their neighbors, it didn't seem like they were overly close to them. There was one neighbor that I thought was interesting. He had said, look, I. Due to my occupation, I'm out of town frequently. And he said they would come over to my front porch and collect packages for me and keep them in their home until I came back. Came back into Town Spencer's practice, his dental practice out in Athens, Ohio, closed temporarily and mourning, and both families held joint visitation and celebrations of life services in early January 2026. It goes without saying, but I'm going to say it anyway. There is something uniquely haunting about a crime that unfolds quietly in the dead of night, leaving no witnesses, no clear motive, and no forced entry. It suggests familiarity or confidence. It suggests planning. It suggests someone who knew exactly when to move and how to disappear. And there's that man in the alley, a fleeting figure caught on camera only for a moment. And until he's identified, there's going to be a whole lot of questions and a big puzzle piece missing.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (43:10)

Yeah. And then when Columbus PD released a 911 call that happened earlier in the year that came from their house, that led to even more speculation. And at first they just released the transcripts of it. You saw that all over News Nation and other places. But then I believe it was the following day that they're like, well, we'll just release the audio. And it was a female caller, I want to say, around 2:40, some in the morning, calling. And so they released that. So again, a bunch of speculation. Who is this woman? Is this the wife calling? But every indication from police and from Monique's family was it was not her. So then that made you even question more. Well, do they have a nanny? And this person on the 911 call is saying, well, I had an argument with my partner. Was, is she talking about Spencer? Is she talking about somebody else? But like you said, this. This young couple was also known to have some parties. So is it possible that somebody at one of these parties got into an argument and for whatever reason decided to call 91 1? And I should report, she calls 911 and hangs up. And then they call back. She does sound somewhat upset, but then tells them that she's fine and that they don't need to have please come out that way.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (44:30)

Yeah. And again, that was a call that took place months prior, but certainly something of interest. And I have to preface this by saying this is just rumor, but the rumor I heard on regarding that 911 call from a female inside their home, that it was a friend of the family and that it. That it likely happened either after or during a gathering. We had mentioned that they regularly would host parties at their house or small gatherings at their home. And I don't know exactly what happened, but sometimes, yours truly included. You're overserved, not thinking clearly. Take something to an extreme. That might be what took place there. We'll probably get more information on that front as well. And as the investigation was in its second week, I just mentioned rumors. Rumors were rampant here in Columbus. But Columbus police themselves remained fairly tight lipped about the double homicide despite the high profile nature of the case. And they stated only that detectives were working diligently and the updates will come as the investigation progresses.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (45:48)

Yeah, but I think this was smart by Columbus PD. They, as they're investigating this crime, they find this 911 call. They get out in front of it by releasing it. Me and you both speculate that they had more information on a credible suspect in this case before they even probably found this 911 call.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (46:08)

Right.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (46:09)

And even though that this call is going to lead to speculation by the public, can't worry about that as investigators. Let's just get this out there. Let's get it in front of it. They did make the statement this woman was not the wife, the mother, Monique. And so then, and then the family members made that same statement. So. But that call did ramp up a lot of speculation locally and online. Yeah.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (46:36)

And as an investigator, what you're hoping to do with that is, look, you, you can't deny that that 911 call happened. So like you said, get out in front of us. It very smart. But at the same time, when you're sitting there looking at it as an investigator, you have to stay water, you can't close any doors. You have to go where the information and the evidence leads you. Now as far as evidence goes, I wonder how much physical evidence they actually have. So you're, you're building a lot of your case if you don't have physical evidence off of information that's coming to you or information that you are digging up. And by putting that out there, you can have the mindset of we have everything telling us that this has nothing to do with our crimes that we're investigating. However, by putting it out there, you might be proven otherwise. You might, somebody may come forward with information that you've not uncovered yet or a new person to talk to that has something, some insight to share with you that could tell you otherwise. And so I think it was very smart to do this. But then not too long after we cut through the fog of mystery and unanswered questions with a news break, or as it truly felt like here in Columbus, a news bomb, the investigation into the December 30 killings of Spencer, Monique, Monique Tepe took a decisive turn when authorities identified and arrested Michael David McKee. This is Monique's ex husband in connection with the double homicide. McKee is 39 years old. He was taken into custody in Illinois, where he lives in the state of Illinois and was being held at the Winnebago County Jail waiting extradition to Ohio. Right. So how did Columbus PD identify this suspect? Homicide detectives were able to identify McKee through neighborhood surveillance footage. According to court documents, investigators tracked a vehicle that appeared near the victim's home just before the killings and then left shortly afterwards.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (49:03)

Am I correct in saying that it's not only that they could identify the vehicle, but they were able to have the license plate as well?

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (49:12)

Yeah. So we've talked about this in a bunch of cases and what you're seeing in the more recent cases that lead to an arrest. We talked about this at length in our coverage last year. Episodes. Two episodes titled Killing for Chaos, where police use cameras. They, they're identifying license plates and vehicles. And in some cases they, the. The cameras are even clear enough that you can get a good look at the driver or even maybe the clothing of the driver. And in this situation, very much like the Killing for Chaos and some other stories that we've covered recently, they're creating a trail of the known movements of this vehicle. Okay, so they spot this particular vehicle of interest near the victim's home. It arrives shortly before the killings, leaves shortly afterward. Okay, that, that rises to the top of our list of vehicles that we're interested in. That vehicle was later located in Rockford, Illinois, where police then say they found evidence linking this Michael David McKee, ex husband of Monique, to the murders. So they're basically going to use these cameras between Rockford, Illinois and Columbus, Ohio to create a trail of this vehicle traveling from point A. What is that, a six and a half hour drive?

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (50:45)

Some people say it's about 400 miles. So basically what you're able to do is to take this ex husband, so he's obviously connected to Monique, and go, we can place him in the neighborhood, this vehicle. Now where it's unclear to me is they're not stating it. It. They're not stating that it's his vehicle, but they're stating it's a vehicle that they know is connected to him. So I, maybe you know more information about that than I do. But then we have the surveillance footage of this unknown individual. I think they're able to connect that unknown individual to that car. And guess what? Similar build, exact same weird gate. Right. So now we're putting two and two together and he's not looking too innocent. Here.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (51:35)

Yeah, I, I really feel like the information that has come out that, that Columbus police have announced and released to the public is really just surface material. I think that there's probably a lot more, we do have some more here that we can, can discuss today in the garage. And I'm with you. I believe it is his vehicle. But they are not outwardly stating that as such. They're, they're simply saying, look, we know that the vehicle of interest traveled from the general area where he lives to very nearby the victims homes, arriving shortly before we believe they were killed, leaving shortly after we believe they were killed, and returning to very near where the suspect lives. That's if he's not the killer. It's one hell of a coincidence. And then on top of that, it makes you wonder. He's walking. The man seen walking on surveillance footage, like he's aware that the cameras may be there. Now maybe, maybe he simply caught a glimpse of them as he's turning the corner before they pick up his face or, or what have you, and he quickly looks down. But if he was aware those cameras were there, which, that's what I thought I was seeing the first time seeing the, the, the footage, I could be absolutely wrong. But it, but if he were aware that they are there, then he may have traveled to their home prior to the night of their murders.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (53:16)

Yeah, very possibility, I agree with you there. But also what I see is somebody walking like I walk when it's cold out. I put my hood up, put my hands in my pocket. That's what I'm seeing. But I don't, I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility because his movements before this crime, before this double homicide are kind of loosey goosey at best. And I'm talking about the weeks leading up to it. So is it, the evidence is pointing that he's crazy enough to drive 400 and some miles and within those 400 and some miles, nothing inside him told him to stop?

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (53:54)

Oh yeah, he's, he's driven by something that we can't understand. So a little background on this Michael David McKee. He's a vascular surgeon. So a smart guy as far as book learning goes, right, Captain? And he's lived in multiple states. He was married to Monique from 2015 to 2017, which was also very shocking considering that they've been separated for a considerable amount of time. A warrant for McKee's arrest was issued on January 10th. He was booked into that Winnebago County Jail shortly before noon. That very same day. And the way that I understand this was he was. He works at a hospital there. This is the. The greater Chicago area, works in a hospital there. And he was on his lunch break and he's arrested at a Chick Fil, a restaurant near the hospital.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (54:54)

And I believe they were able to do a search of his, of his property. And they retrieved a gun that they believe has matched ballistically to the crimes as well.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (55:05)

Exactly. So what we have here is he had to appear in an Illinois courtroom on January 12th where he waived extradition. So he. Extradition is. He's going to be charged. It's a state crime. Okay. Homicide is. So the state of Ohio is going to be the one that the charging entity. And so he needs to be here for us to charge him and hopefully convict him in these cases. So they have to extradite him. But there can be a hearing, an extradition hearing. Usually they're fairly short. Rarely does the defendant win. Most every time the person is extradited and then has to fight their battle in the charging state. He, however, waves extradition. As I understand it, he had a impromptu public defender. They gave some statement which was weird, saying, you know, he. So he denies the murders being committing the murders.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (56:07)

Yeah. He basically says, take me back to Columbus and. Because it doesn't matter. I'm not guilty of these crimes.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (56:13)

Right. He's saying, get. Get me to Columbus as soon as you can. Because he's ready to get on with the trial to prove his innocence. He faces multiple serious charges. And these could can morph into different charges depending on what they have as far as evidence goes and, and hardcore timeline and what they find going forward as they prepare for the trial. But, but most recently, what I was seeing is that he's charged with four counts of aggravated murder, one count of aggravated burglary. These charges include firearm specifications, including allegations that McKee used an automatic firearm or a firearm equipped with a silencer during the killings. And he faces a minimum of life in prison with parole eligibility after 32 years and a maximum of life without parole. Going back to. Circling back to some of the evidence linking McKee that you were talking about here, Captain. Investigators recovered multiple weapons from his property. One of those firearms is preliminary is later stated by Columbus Police Department to be linked to the homicides through the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network. And that is from a statement from WKYC. Police records also show that three spent 9 millimeter shell casings were recovered from the crime scene. However, we can speculate and others have as well And I think giving the. Given the relationship from one of the victims, well, both of the victims, to the person believed to be responsible for their murders. While motive is still unknown, you can. You can circle around that idea with the ties to the victims and.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (58:24)

Well, yeah, a lot of his co workers come out and say, hey, I never would have suspected of this guy. He was very quiet, he was very respectful. I mean, he's a surgeon. So sometimes these surgeons go in and they treat their other co workers as peons. And he didn't do that. But he had a lot going on with his life, I think financially, and I think there was some malpractice lawsuits and stuff. And I believe his. One of his license, medical practicing license was revoked in a certain state. So you have this guy's world crumbling down and multiple people in his life. I believe it's some of his family members. And then obviously some of her family members believe that he was basically obsessed and just kind of stalked this family online and just kept these mental notes of like how well, you know, after this marriage ended, look how great her life became. And my life isn't that. You know, it's not. He didn't become this like, ultimate loser. I mean, he was still working and had some success there, but he. I guess that's what his family is saying is that he kind of viewed himself as a failure. And I think he was putting the blame on her.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (59:47)

Yeah, I could absolutely see that. And there. This is not unlike personalities that we've discussed on this show before. It's an individual that has jealousy, a lot of it and holds a grudge, and that those seeds grow into deep, deep hatred for an individual. And a. They feel that because this person left them, turned on them, what have you. And everything good has gone their way since, and everything bad has gone my way since then. They're to blame. I'm writing a wrong. They wronged me. I'm going to correct this or I'm going to seek my revenge. Now, a couple of other things I want to make sure that we hit here, Captain, because I found this to be interesting. We did talk about the gun. You know, they found a gun that they're saying is linked.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (60:52)

Yeah. And I'm sure at some point we're going to circle back to this case when the trial happens. And maybe that will be on the main feed or maybe they'll be on off the record, but there'll be more that comes out with this.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (61:06)

Yes. And I think we might have to wait till just before the trial or during the trial to get more to come out. Because the reason why I wanted to touch on some of these things is because in the. In her relatively short time here, my observation has been that Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant has been rather quiet on a lot of different cases and evidence and aspects and details of particular cases. So she gave a press conference during which it looked like reporters kind of had to pull it out of her, but then she seemed happy to deliver the information of. Yeah, we think the gun we found is. We scientifically. It's telling us it's. It's the murder weapon.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (62:01)

Right.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (62:02)

And she described the killings as a targeted domestic violence related attack and also stating that. That McKee is the individual or that she and Columbus PD believe 100% that McKee is the individual seen in the. What was released in January 5, the surveillance video. The person of interest walking through an alley near the victim's home during the estimated time of the murders.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (62:33)

Right. And like you said, so you link him because of the video, then you link the car, then you link this gun. And like you said, it wasn't just linking this car to this crime scene. They. They link that car to.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (62:49)

To the pathway of murder. Yeah, the pathway of murder.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (62:52)

And I think we're also.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (62:54)

And the retreat back home.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (62:55)

Right. And I think what we're also going to see in this is a lot of digital forensics, whether that's his Google searches or what he was looking at online. What if there was any contact between these individuals? Was there any harassing statements? I think that's going to eventually come out.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (63:16)

I think something you said is incredibly intriguing. Something you said earlier here, Captain, with the going beyond just your recent statement, digital forensics, getting a hold of his phone, his computer, his devices. I think you're right. I think there's had to have been some stalking online going on.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (63:37)

Yeah. And again, he might not have had contact with her, but what I've heard is from his family when this happened, it wasn't like his family was like. Well, it definitely wasn't. Wasn't our son, you know, I think his family had some awareness of some obsession.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (63:56)

In a public statement following Michael David McKee's arrest, the Tepe family expressed gratitude to law enforcement for their tireless efforts and emphasized their commitment to seeking justice for Spencer and Monique. They also highlighted their focus on protecting and supporting the couple's two young children. They have successfully moved McKee from Illinois to Ohio. He is sitting in a Franklin county jail awaiting arraignment. Now, there will be a couple days between the time we hit stop and when this hits your earballs. So he has not yet been arraigned. And typically here in Franklin county, we see arraignments take place on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I put the emphasis on Monday. Typically I see a lot of these arraignments taking place on a Monday. So that might be when we get some more information and anticipation expectation would be he's going to plea not guilty based off of the statements released through his public defender in the state of Illinois. Right. So charges are filed. We do know that a grand jury here in Franklin county did formally indict McKee on January 16th. What remains the date yet to be known for us, but scheduled for this arraignment hearing in Franklin County Common Police Court.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (65:39)

But this is a case that we had to jump on because it was getting some national attention and people knowing that we're from Columbus, Ohio, people were reaching out. So we wanted to give you as much information on this as we could. And this is definitely a case that we, we will revisit as we know more information.

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (65:59)

And it's, I mean, all the cases that we cover are very sad, tragic stories, some of them to different degrees. Seeing all their photos for the past several weeks, I mean, and hearing about their personalities and not just their personalities, their actions. Columbus, Ohio lost two very, very good people. And it looks like the State Institute, the state penitentiary here, is going to gain one very, very bad one.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (66:46)

I want to thank everybody for joining us here in the garage each and every week. Thanks for telling your mother, thanks for telling your brother. Make sure you share these cases on social media. It really helps out the show. Colonel, do we have any recommended reading for the beautiful listeners?

Nick (Host of True Crime Garage) (66:59)

Why of course. Here, Captain, we will be recommending recommended listening. We are recommending the incredibly great True Crime Garage podcast. We're recommending their podcast, our podcast and our socials for a very good reason. February is approaching and as it sits right now, we have two very big announcements coming in February. We are working on putting together some events. So tune back in throughout the month of February. Be in the know for some big announcements. Also, it is fast approaching CrimeCon 2026, the biggest event of the year and we have been at all of them. That's right. It would not be a true crime con without true crime. Garage Crime Con is an immersive weekend long event dedicated to all things true crime and mystery. This year's crime con is at Caesar's palace in Sin City, Las Vegas, the last weekend of May. And tickets are going fast. You will want to use our promo code TCG at checkout to save some cash. For tickets go to crimecon.com and use our code TCG. That's your not so secret garage code TCG.

Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (68:20)

And until next week, be good, be kind and don't litter. Sa. Mic check 12 Are we recording? Hi, I'm Michelle Bernstein, an award winning chef, restaurateur and mom. I have a lot on my plate, including my psoriatic arthritis symptoms. That's why I was prescribed Cosentyx. It helps me move better.

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Captain (Co-host of True Crime Garage) (69:55)

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