A chilling 911 call, placed months before a Columbus dentist and his wife were found murdered in their home, has surfaced, adding a disturbing new layer to the investigation. The audio, obtained by Fox News Digital, captures a crying woman calling from the residence of Dr. Spencer and Monnique Tepee in the early hours of April 15th, a call authorities are now scrutinizing for any potential connection to the couple’s brutal deaths on December 30th.
In the call, a dispatcher follows up on a hang-up from the Tepee address at 2:45 a.m. A woman, audibly emotional, assures the operator she is okay despite sounding distressed. “Yeah, I’m sorry. I’m okay,” she says, later adding, “I’m just emotional.” When pressed by the dispatcher, who asks if she needs police or medics, she repeatedly declines. The woman explains, “Me and my man got into it,” but denies any physical altercation. Based on her assurances, police were not dispatched to the home.
The emergence of this call, recorded over eight months prior to the murders, introduces a complex new element for detectives. The Tepee family has moved quickly to provide context, stating through a spokesperson that the voice on the recording is not Monnique Tepee. According to family spokesman Rob Mistla, the call stemmed from a gathering at the home where a female guest experienced a psychological episode after possibly mixing alcohol and an edible.
Mistla emphasized the call was unrelated to the couple themselves, but the detail underscores the frequency of social gatherings at the Tepee residence. This revelation forces investigators to widen their scope, needing to account for who had knowledge of and access to the home. The absence of forced entry at the crime scene makes this line of inquiry particularly critical.
Columbus police continue to hunt for the killer or killers who shot the couple inside their townhome in the city’s Olde Towne East neighborhood between 2:00 and 5:00 a.m. on December 30th. Dr. Tepee, 37, was found shot multiple times; his 34-year-old wife, Monnique, sustained at least one gunshot wound to the chest. Their two young children, ages four and one, were unharmed inside the home during the ordeal and are now with family.
A key piece of evidence remains a grainy surveillance video released by police showing a person of interest walking in the alley behind the Tepee townhome within the window of the murders. The individual, clad in dark clothing, exhibits a distinct gait and, in a telling final frame, appears to deliberately shield their face. The temperature was in the 20s at the time.
Retired NYPD detective Tom Smith, analyzing the footage, noted the suspect’s apparent familiarity with the secluded alleyway and the conscious effort to conceal their identity. “If it’s that individual [in the video]…the first people I’m calling are the police,” Smith stated. “That hasn’t happened. So that leads me to believe this might actually be something.”
Investigators are also examining ballistic evidence, having recovered several 9mm shell casings from the scene. This forensic evidence will be vital for matching a potential murder weapon. The couple’s golden doodle was also found unharmed at the scene, another detail that, along with the spared children, suggests a targeted attack rather than a random burglary.
The victims were deeply embedded in their community. Dr. Spencer Tepee operated a dental practice in Athens, commuting roughly 75 miles from Columbus. Described as reliable and passionate about his work, his failure to show up on December 30th immediately alarmed his colleagues, prompting the initial wellness check. Monnique Tepee, known as “Mo” to friends, had a background in early education and was an avid baker.
Friends discovered the horrific scene later that morning after growing concerned when police conducted an initial welfare check but left after receiving no answer at the door. One friend, on a frantic 911 call, reported seeing Spencer’s body near his bed. The sounds of the couple’s children can be heard in the background of that emergency call.
The case has generated significant media attention, fueled by the couple’s poignant wedding video, filmed on the very steps of their future home. The juxtaposition of that joyful memory with the brutal crime has left the community and investigators searching for a motive. With no clear suspect and a growing list of potential social contacts to vet, the investigation is painstaking.
Detectives are now tasked with reconciling the April 911 call with the December homicide, determining if the earlier incident is a tragic coincidence or a fragment of a larger, more ominous pattern. They are urging anyone with information, particularly additional video from the area around the time of the murders, to come forward. As the probe enters its second week, the pressure mounts to find answers for a family shattered and two young children left without their parents.