The woman who placed a tearful 911 call to report a “domestic dispute” at the home of an Ohio dentist and his wife months before the two were shot dead was a party guest who fought with her own partner, a family member has revealed. Spencer Tepe, 37, and his wife, Monique, 39, were murdered sometime between 2 am and 5 am on December 30 in the upstairs of their residence. Their two children and a dog, who were inside, remained unharmed.
The 911 call, made around 2:45 am on April 15 at the same Weinland Park address where the Tepe family lived, was not placed by Monique, but a random party guest, said Rob Misleh, Spencer’s brother-in-law. The dispatch logs did not disclose the identity of the caller, even though some speculated it may have been Monique.
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Misleh said on the Surviving the Survivor podcast that the couple “had people over a lot.” He also admitted that some of the parties could get out of hand, especially when “people get a little too drunk.”
“Somebody, the woman [who made the call] had just a little bit of a freak-out, for lack of a better term. Maybe, you know, was having some mental health issues at the time. But she called the cops from her cellphone,” Misleh explained.
{{/usCountry}}“Somebody, the woman [who made the call] had just a little bit of a freak-out, for lack of a better term. Maybe, you know, was having some mental health issues at the time. But she called the cops from her cellphone,” Misleh explained.
{{/usCountry}}Misleh added that the caller “was at this party and she just had kind of a lapse psychologically.”
The 911 call
A tearful woman called 911, but hung up during the call, prompting an operator to call her back to ensure everything was fine.
“Hi, this is 911. We just got a hang-up call. Is everything OK?” the operator asked the woman.
The woman wept throughout the call, telling the dispatcher she was “OK” and “just emotional.”
“Well, can I ask what had you called 911 in the first place?” the operator questioned.
“Because me and my man got into it, but I’m OK, I promise,” the woman replied.
“Did anything ever get physical?” the operator asked.
“No,” the woman replied, saying no one hit each other.
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A dispatcher at the Columbus Emergency Communications Center coded the call as a “domestic dispute,” and added that assistance was “no longer needed.” The dispatcher logs did not reveal the identity of the caller.
Spencer and Monique Tepe’s murders
Spencer was found with multiple gunshot wounds, while his wife suffered at least one shot to the chest, police records showed, according to the New York Post. The couple were found murdered after Spencer failed to show up for work on December 30, leaving coworkers worried. There were no obvious signs of forced entry, and no gun was found at the scene.
The couple’s kids, a 4-year-old girl and a 1-year-old boy, and their goldendoodle dog, were taken into the care of family members.
The Columbus Police Department later released a video of a “person of interest” in the murders. The footage shows an eerie figure wandering around an alley near the home in light pants and a dark, hooded coat.