00:00:10
[music] [music] Welcome to True Crime Garage. Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, thanks
00:00:44
for listening. I'm your host, Nick, and with me as always is a man who has papered the walls of the garage with
00:00:50
Kurt Signetti memes. Here is the captain. >> Yeah, Google [music] me. It's good to be
00:00:56
seen and good to see you. Thanks for listening. Thanks for telling a friend. [music]
00:01:02
This week we are happy to be featuring Hermano wheat beer by the good folks at [music] Arts District Brewing. Hermano
00:01:12
is a spicy, wheaty, and fullbodied beer with signature banana and bubble gum yeast. This one is a crowdleaser and
00:01:21
best enjoyed on a lazy afternoon. Garage grade three and 3/4 bottle caps out of five. And let's give some thanks and
00:01:31
praise to our good garage friends for helping us out with this week's show. First up, a shout out to Robin Jennings
00:01:38
from Morrisville, Pennsylvania. >> And a big we like jib goes out to Amanda in San Jose. And here's a tall cans in
00:01:46
the air to pumpkin pie haircut from parts unknown. >> And another tall hand can hands in the
00:01:52
air to Leanne in Windsor, Canada. >> And last, but certainly not least, we raise our [music] glasses high in memory
00:01:59
of Jill's dad. And in his honor, we will be sure to add some Cold Stone and Saporro [music] beers to the old garage
00:02:07
fridge. Thank you to everyone tuning in, past and presently accounted for. [music] And thank you for your kindness,
00:02:15
your leadership, and your patronage. All right, BW beer run. [music] If you need
00:02:21
more True Crime Garage for your earballs, make sure you sign up on Patreon [music] or Apple Podcast
00:02:27
subscriptions for our bonus content called Off the Record. We love it when you join us in the garage for some extra
00:02:34
cozy time. And that's enough of the business. >> All right, everybody, gather around,
00:02:39
grab a chair, grab a beer. Let's talk some true crime. >> Columbus Police Tech 107.
00:02:50
>> Yes, I would like to um uh ask for a wellness check um on an individual at their home. This individual, Spencer,
00:02:59
worked with me and he did not show up to work this morning and we cannot get a hold of him or his family.
00:03:06
He didn't show up the worst. >> Correct. >> Okay. Does he have medical problems or
00:03:16
>> uh No. And he's been reliable and we cannot get in touch with him, his wife, his family, anybody that lives in that
00:03:23
house. >> Okay. Um >> two kids in home. I'm in Florida. I own the business. I I was informed by my
00:03:35
employees that he was not at work, that he runs the office. Have you guys received anything else like
00:03:43
calls about him or like a car accident or anything like that? >> No, some sometimes people just don't
00:03:50
show up to work. I mean, maybe he's dead. I don't know. >> Just know that he is the most like he is
00:03:56
always on time and he would contact us if there is any issues whatsoever. And um he uh I had a house to say this like
00:04:05
we're very very concerned because this is very out of character and we can't get in touch with his wife which is
00:04:10
probably the more concerning thing. >> Okay. What's the emergency there? Please for medical.
00:04:16
>> Uh maybe both, I guess. I don't know. I'm doing a call out there. They knocked
00:04:21
on the front door and back door multiple times and there was no answer. >> Yeah, no answer. I can hear kids inside
00:04:27
and I swear I think I heard one yell, but we can't get in. I at this point I don't know if I need to break the door
00:04:33
in or just get in the house or what. >> Okay. Were Were you out there when the police was out there?
00:04:39
>> I wasn't. I just got here about 5 minutes ago. >> Okay. All right. Well, we'll send them
00:04:43
back out to you. >> Our our boss did not report to work. We haven't been able to get a hold of him
00:04:48
for 3 hours. We are on site and we can hear somebody there. >> Okay. Okay. I'm just making sure
00:04:54
somebody called >> 911. What's location of your emergency? >> Uh 1411 North. >> Okay. 1411 North. We've got several
00:05:05
calls on that. What's changed since the last person I talked to? >> Uh there's a body. There's a body.
00:05:11
>> There's a body inside. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Hold on one second. >> Let me get you on the line with the
00:05:21
medic. Okay. Stay on the line. [screaming] >> There's a body. Our our friend wasn't uh
00:05:28
in trans. We just did a wellness check. We just came here and um he appears dead.
00:05:35
>> Okay. >> There's blood. He's laying next to his bed, off of his bed, and there's blood.
00:05:41
He can't get closer to see more than that. >> Okay. You can tell he's obviously not
00:05:45
breathing or anything. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Is it like kind of like like how like you know does he look like
00:05:53
I can't I can't >> Okay. All right. I understand. Okay. So then when was the last time somebody
00:05:59
spoke to him? >> Uh like yes yesterday I suppose. >> Yesterday. Okay. How old is he?
00:06:06
>> Uh 37. >> 37. Okay. >> He like a drug user or anything like that? >> No. No. No. No.
00:06:14
>> Okay. All right. Just that's a really young age. >> Yeah. I understand. Okay. All right.
00:06:18
We're on our way. [music] >> [music] [music] >> It was an unthinkable crime. Two very
00:06:37
well-liked [music] and wellrespected people killed inside their home in the quiet dead of [music] the night. Now,
00:06:44
for today's true crime story, we don't have to look very far outside of the garage. True crime stories can hit hard.
00:06:52
And as they sometimes say, close to home. Close to home can be said for many reasons. Our story hits us garage guys
00:07:00
close to home because unfortunately, it happened just late last month in our home city of Columbus, Ohio.
00:07:08
>> Yeah. Less than 10 miles away. Spencer and Monnique Teepe were a young Columbus
00:07:16
couple whose lives were rooted in family, community, and the everyday rhythms of raising two young children.
00:07:24
Their backgrounds and personalities come through clearly in the public records and obituaries released after their
00:07:31
untimely deaths. 37year-old Spencer Teepe was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He completed both his undergraduate degree
00:07:41
and doctor of dental surgery at the Ohio State University. 39-year-old Monnique Teepe was born in Chicago and raised in
00:07:51
Worthington, Ohio, which is just a short drive north from Columbus, Ohio. The two
00:07:56
met online and quickly built a relationship described as loving, respectful, and playfully goofy. They
00:08:03
got married in a beautiful ceremony on December 13th, 2020 and they built an idyllic life together. They had two kids
00:08:13
and the Teepe couple was known for hosting gatherings and creating a warm, lovely home environment. Spencer built
00:08:21
his career as a practicing dentist, most recently at Athens Dental Depot, where his colleagues describe him as deeply
00:08:31
dedicated to his patients and craft. Mo'Nique earned a master's degree in early childhood education from the Ohio
00:08:39
State University. She worked in child care and early education. After having children, she became a stayathome
00:08:48
mother. The couple lived in a large, very modern and upscale home in a portion of northern downtownish Columbus
00:08:57
known as Weinland Park. Wland Park sits in that uneasy space between renewal and
00:09:06
history. A Columbus neighborhood where new families settle into some of them century old homes and where the glow of
00:09:14
the street lights mixes with the hum of nearby campus life. It's the kind of place where people know each other's
00:09:22
routines. They live in close quarters. You notice when someone's porch light stays on too long and you notice when a
00:09:29
car hasn't moved in days. So when Spencer and Monique Tepe didn't emerge from their home and join in on the
00:09:38
normal hustle and bustle of everyday modern living on the morning of December 30th, 2025,
00:09:45
the first sign of trouble wasn't a scream or a crash. It was mostly silence. On the morning of December
00:09:53
30th, 2025, Columbus police were called to a home on the 1400 block of North Fourth Street in the Wland Park
00:10:02
neighborhood after colleagues and friends of Spencer Tepe became alarmed when he failed to show up for work.
00:10:10
Something they described as completely out of character. One co-orker told dispatchers that Spencer was quote
00:10:18
always on time and he would have contacted them if anything was wrong. Spencer had a 90minute commute, so
00:10:27
pretty long commute. Is interesting to learn that he was always punctual. >> The worry escalated quickly when
00:10:34
repeated calls to both Spencer and his wife Monnique went unanswered. So, the Teepes lived at 1411 North
00:10:42
Fourth Street. This is a tall, thin, very modern 3-bedroom, 2500 square ft home. Officers first
00:10:51
checked the home around 9:22 a.m. Found no answer at the door and then left. Now, we would later learn, and Columbus
00:11:02
PD has been upfront about this, that when responding to the first request for a wellness check at the home, they would
00:11:11
later say that they went to the wrong house and left. Nobody answered. They assumed that everything was fine because
00:11:19
nobody answered the door, yet they found the house that they went to secured. >> Yes. And uh Columbus PD did release this
00:11:28
body cam footage of checking the wrong house. >> My thought here on this one is the
00:11:33
houses on the street in this exact location are rather close together. And I have nothing to base this off of,
00:11:39
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
00:11:46
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
00:11:55
town neighbor's home to be secure and empty. >> Yeah. Again, this is just speculation,
00:12:00
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,
00:12:07
but the wrong area? Within the next 40 minutes, multiple friends arrived at the house, reporting that they could hear
00:12:14
the couple's young children inside. And then one friend told police via a call to 911 dispatch that he could see
00:12:25
Spencer's body lying on the floor of a room in the house through a window. >> Well, and the children are ages 1 and
00:12:34
four. Correct. >> That is correct. >> So you might not get much information from the oneyear-old, but it's possible
00:12:40
that we'd get some information from the fouryear-old. >> So let's parse out this timeline a bit,
00:12:46
shall we? So, at 9:03 a.m., as the captain said, we have Spencer Tepe, who's very punctual. He is
00:12:54
the boss man at the dentist office in Athens there. And it's a colleague calling police requesting a well-being
00:13:04
check at the Tepe home. At 9:22 a.m., we have officers that report that no answer
00:13:11
was at the door. They responded to the house and they leave. Again, later learning this is likely what they
00:13:17
describe later as the wrong home. At 9:57 a.m., we have a man at the home who calls police. He's saying he can hear
00:13:30
children inside of the Teepe home. At 10:00 a.m., another coworker calls saying that she is heading to the home
00:13:39
out of concern. She's on her way there. At 10:05, a friend calls police after seeing Spencer's body inside. So,
00:13:47
officers returned. They entered the home, discovering both Spencer and Mo'Nique dead inside. Their two
00:13:54
children, both very young, were found physically unharmed, along with the family dog. What did the investigators
00:14:02
find inside the house? Inside the residence, police determined that both Spencer and Mon'nique had been shot to
00:14:08
death. A radiun log obtained through public records confirmed that Spencer had been shot multiple times.
00:14:18
Authorities quickly stated that there were no indications of a murder suicide, though they did not release further
00:14:25
details about the nature of the attack. The couple's two very young children and
00:14:31
their dog were also found in the home alive and unharmed, adding to the confusion and the mystery of this case.
00:14:40
to quickly address the no murder suicide determination. The gun that was used was
00:14:46
not found inside the home. >> Yeah. And when you have children that are left in the house and you have a dog
00:14:51
left in the house, you wonder if it's possible that it was a murder suicide and that the gun was just moved. But
00:15:00
it's a modern house, probably pretty easy to search. They didn't didn't seem like they had a a ton of clutter. So
00:15:07
once there's no weapon anywhere to be found, you can kind of rule that out. >> A dispatcher's report also included a
00:15:14
reference to a 41A robbery code, though police did not clarify whether this was connected to the case in any manner. The
00:15:24
Tepe residence, as said, is 1411 North 4th Street. The second house from the corner of East 8th Avenue. It sits in a
00:15:33
dense mixed residential area monitored by city crime cameras. In fact, police cameras were positioned roughly 150 ft
00:15:43
from the home, underscoring how shocking it was that such a violent crime occurred without immediate detection.
00:15:51
Well, nowadays with technology with home security and Ring cameras, I think one of the smartest things that the cops did
00:15:59
was they actually drew um a grid and they released that to the public in in Columbus to say, "Hey, if you live with
00:16:07
inside this grid, can you check your surveillance footage if you have that capability?"
00:16:13
>> Yes. As said, it's a densely populated area. And from our time near the crime
00:16:19
scene here, I'll go through a few of the observations that were made. As said, the homes are tall. They're relatively
00:16:27
close to one another. These are very modern homes. My guess is they're either fully restored or complete rebuilds.
00:16:35
Behind the homes on this street, you have detached garages. Okay? Okay. And these garages are sitting directly side
00:16:46
by side by side by side. So there's an alleyway that runs behind the Tepee's home. In front of the Teepee's home, you
00:16:54
have a sidewalk, street parking, rather busy street, especially during the daytime hours, and street parking as
00:17:05
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
00:17:12
front door, up the steps to their front porch to their front door from street parking or the front of the front yard.
00:17:22
They do have a keypad lock on that front door. They have large glass windows, so
00:17:29
it gets difficult to say which window the gentleman calling 911 describing what he's seeing when he says he sees
00:17:37
Spencer inside, which window he is referring to. If you take a look at the backyard, so
00:17:45
the again the garage is detached from the back of the house and there is a nice backyard setting between the garage
00:17:54
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.
00:18:03
The backyard is set up for hanging out for entertaining. There's a nice patio in the back that seemed like it was
00:18:13
wellused, a very inviting space. You would enter the garage with your vehicle via that alleyway. So you'd park, close
00:18:25
the garage door, go out the man door, which would lead you into your backyard. My guess is because of that setup, they
00:18:32
probably regularly use the back door to the home to enter and exit the home. That alleyway is extremely well lit.
00:18:44
Extremely well lit. And some of the persons that have garages in that alleyway have security cameras on their
00:18:53
garages. Now, as of the early reporting in the double homicide case, investigators were not releasing much
00:19:02
information at all and not much information specifically about the following. a possible motive, whether
00:19:09
there were signs of forced entry, whether the couple knew their killer, how the children remained untouched
00:19:17
during the attack. Now, we would get an update on some of this fairly quickly to
00:19:27
tell us that there were in fact no signs of forced entry to the home. Police also
00:19:33
did not announce any suspects or arrest. And of course, the family and the community were both heartbroken and in
00:19:41
shock. >> Well, like you said, this becomes a a mysterious murder because you have the
00:19:47
children that weren't harmed and the dog that wasn't harmed. So, I think when you
00:19:51
you're making announcements that there's no forced entry, you go, "Well, did somebody have the code? Did somebody
00:19:57
have a key? Is this a family member? Who would kill them? so viciously and not harm the children.
00:20:06
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
00:20:14
two young attractive mom and dad right and and and so you go well was one of them having an affair or something cuz
00:20:23
that would make sense. Oh, I'm having a affair with this dentist and I go south and I kill him and I killed the wife,
00:20:29
but I'm not I don't don't want to harm the children. I want to talk quickly about this area, this neighborhood, uh,
00:20:35
a bit to try to give everyone a little richer understanding. The Columbus Dispatch had a great article titled
00:20:42
something along the lines of long troubled Wland Park neighborhood thriving despite tragedy. So, it's
00:20:50
talking both specifically about the neighborhood and the recent murders. And I'll give you my summarized version of
00:20:57
the information and also our understanding of this area having grown up not far from Widland Park. So, Wland
00:21:06
Park has long been a neighborhood defined by contrast, a place where decades of hardship have slowly given
00:21:13
way to renewal, investment, and a growing sense of stability. The recent murders of Spencer and Monnique Teepe,
00:21:22
however, shook residents and revived old fears, even as community leaders insist
00:21:28
the tragedy does not reflect the neighborhood's present reality. So, this is a neighborhood with a complicated
00:21:37
past, let's say. Okay, so for much of the 1990s and early 2000s, Wland Park was synonymous with gang activity, drug
00:21:46
trafficking, and urban decay. The area around North Fourth Street and Summit Street was once considered dangerous
00:21:56
enough that many Columbus residents avoided this area entirely. During the height of the Short North Posi influence
00:22:05
and the cocaine wars that were going on, large groups of young men openly gathered in streets and shootings were
00:22:13
rather common. a longtime resident, Tanya Long, who has lived in the neighborhood for more than 25 years. She
00:22:21
says, Captain, that she recalls moments when she would drive up a street only to
00:22:27
be stopped by gang members who would then decide if she was allowed to pass or if she had to stop and turn around.
00:22:34
She describes those years as a worn out chapter, one marked by abandoned homes, poverty, and the collapse of nearby
00:22:43
manufacturing jobs. Now, by 2010, a good amount of the properties in this WA Park area were abandoned or vacant,
00:22:54
creating pockets where crime could flourish. But transformation began in earnest.
00:23:00
This would be shortly after the housing market collapse. This is when a multi-pronged revitalization effort took
00:23:09
hold in the area. So, public and private organizations, including the now disbanded Wland Park Collaborative,
00:23:16
invested heavily in housing infrastructure and community programs. Between 2008 and 2016, more than 500 new
00:23:25
housing units were built, including low-income housing, Habitat for Humanity projects, and mixed income developments.
00:23:33
And as new residents moved in and abandoned properties were restored, the neighborhood's population well, it
00:23:40
rebounded from about 4,000 people in the '9s to 6,300 people by 2022. And community
00:23:51
leaders credit the growth with reducing crime in the area. It's it's simple. More eyes on the streets, more families,
00:23:59
you get more stability. The neighborhood got safer because there were more people. Today, Wland Park is home to
00:24:04
restaurants and small businesses. This a symbol of a neighborhood that has worked
00:24:10
hard to redefine itself. >> Well, maybe the area has got gotten better, but the surrounding areas maybe
00:24:17
not so much. So, we have no evidence that this crime is sexually motivated. So, it's possible that when you have a
00:24:25
nice area, crime comes to you. So, did somebody want to rob this couple? So, I think that's an interesting viewpoint
00:24:33
and and something that law enforcement had to look at initially in this crime. And why do some of these cases become so
00:24:41
talked about? Well, just like we have seen in so many other cases, most of that starts
00:24:49
with the story of the victims. And in this case, we have Spencer Monique Teepe. They were wellknown. They were
00:24:56
wellliked. Spencer practiced dentistry at Athens Dental Depot. Colleagues describing him as reliable and
00:25:02
dedicated, but well above and beyond anything else, Spencer was a father and husband. Mon'nique was a mother and
00:25:10
former early childhood educator who is remembered for her warmth and bright personality. Their deaths left friends,
00:25:18
co-workers, and neighbors devastated, especially given the presence of their two young children still in the home.
00:25:25
This case resonated here and beyond Columbus because of a combination of the residential neighborhood, respected
00:25:35
young couple, the two children, no immediate suspect, and the absence of a clear motive. And an absence of a clear
00:25:45
motive creates a sense of deep unease in the community, in the neighborhood, and
00:25:50
then across Columbus. The case raised urgent questions about safety, motive, and the possibility that the killer may
00:26:00
have known the family and their routines. [music] [music] >> [music] >> All right, we are back. Talk hands in
00:26:28
the air. Cheers to [music] the people in the back. Cheers to you, Colonel. >> Hey, don't forget about them people in
00:26:32
the front. Cheers. Inside the Tepe house, police [music] would find the couple shot to death upstairs. The two
00:26:40
young children, just four and one at the time, as the captain had said, were discovered unharmed. The family dog was
00:26:47
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
00:26:55
fail to make its way to my notes here, Captain. But the adults, mom and dad, husband and wife at
00:27:05
the center of that home were gone. And then as the early investigation days passed, we did get some new and updated
00:27:15
information regarding the crime scene. So first we get what let's call the window of violence here. Okay. So
00:27:24
investigators come out, CBT comes out and says, "We have narrowed the killings to a 3hour
00:27:31
window between 2:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. on December 30th, 2025." They also say there were no signs of forced entry, no
00:27:43
weapon recovered, and no evidence of robbery. The scene was intimate, deliberate, and deeply unsettling.
00:27:53
Three 9 mm shell casings were found inside the home. And then we get the unidentified man in the alley.
00:28:04
So, the most significant public clue at this point in our timeline was a short piece of surveillance footage released
00:28:14
by Columbus police. This video shows a lone figure walking through the alley, right? They don't
00:28:23
give us the exact location of where this was filmed, but the statements are walking through the alley beside or
00:28:33
behind the Tepe home during that exact window. Right, we've already said 2:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. when investigators
00:28:41
believe that the murders occurred. The individual is described only as quote a person of interest, not a
00:28:50
suspect, not a witness. We had to wonder, right? We had to was this person the suspect or just a witness regardless
00:28:59
titled person of interest. Well, because it was such early hours of the morning,
00:29:05
you go, "Well, he might have been the only individual that was walking in that neighborhood." But when I first saw the
00:29:11
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
00:29:18
pants were pretty tight. Like I say, tight in the pants. And then his gate was a little weird, but again, I say he,
00:29:26
but that's cuz we know it's a he now. But at the time, if somebody would have presented the idea that this might have
00:29:32
been a a female, I might have said, "Well, I could I could see that." But I thought the gate was a little weird. And
00:29:39
obviously there's uh with the Missy Beaver's case and the deli case, the true crime world has talked about and
00:29:45
looked into people's gates when they're seeing these surveillance footage. So there was definitely um and I would
00:29:52
might be one of the only people that noticed this because I have this, but I'm pigeon toaded. So the individual
00:29:59
looked a little pigeon to me. If I had to lean one way or another when I first saw the footage, I would have leaned
00:30:05
towards a man, but I I didn't think it was definitive. >> Yeah, we had this conversation offline
00:30:10
when we were waiting and hoping for information and and really a break in the case. And I believe my statement to
00:30:20
you was I felt very strongly was a a male individual based off of the the broad shoulders that I believed that I
00:30:28
was seeing in The footage again described as a only as a person of interest as you said, police
00:30:38
said this too and I think a lot of people were wondering this as well. Could just be somebody that happened to
00:30:42
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
00:30:51
major city. It's not a ghost town. It would be absurd to think that it would be out of
00:30:59
question that that somebody could just be walking in the area even at that strange hour of the early morning. Now,
00:31:06
according to police, one thing that they're pointing out and that they wanted to make everybody aware of, you
00:31:13
gota you got to draw the eyes in on the potential details here, right, Captain? So they're saying the footage here shows
00:31:20
a individual wearing light colored pants, a dark hooded [snorts] jacket, a steady unhurried gate,
00:31:29
and again a route that takes this individual directly behind or beside the Teepe residence. And that's exactly what
00:31:38
I saw too when they talk about a steady unhurried gate. The person didn't seem to be in a rush to get
00:31:46
anywhere. Didn't seem overly trying to conceal their presence from maybe onlookers, from somebody in a in a home
00:31:55
or somebody driving by. But it looked clear to me and I and I I've heard other people say this, so it
00:32:04
wasn't just wasn't just my eyes, but it looked like with the hood being up on this individual and the way they
00:32:13
were looked like they were purposely positioning their face like looking down that they may have had prior
00:32:23
understanding that that that area is both well lit and that There are security cameras placed in that area.
00:32:32
>> Yeah, but when are we going to get better cameras? Cuz maybe this individual just knows a little bit about
00:32:37
true crime and says, "Hey, I put my hoodie up. It's in the dark." Uh, they'll have no clue who it is. As long
00:32:44
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.
00:32:53
>> I didn't see a black and white blob. But one thing that was was curious about to
00:32:59
your point with the cameras is the inability to zoom in because what I couldn't see on the clothing of the
00:33:07
individual was any type of indicator, right? Like any brand recognition or anything like that. Um just simply as
00:33:16
described by police of a dark >> hooded jacket. It it looked like a a winter coat to me. dark hooded jacket
00:33:24
with light colored pants. >> Right. But did you see the tightness in the pants? >> Tighten the pants.
00:33:32
>> I wouldn't describe them as baggy. I would not describe them as baggy. >> There you go.
00:33:37
>> The other curious part of this statement from police was that they they wouldn't
00:33:41
say whether or not the man appeared on any additional cameras, >> right? >> Nor whether he entered or exited the
00:33:48
home. But of course, the timing of when a camera or two cameras spotted this individual is impossible and cannot be
00:34:01
ignored for this case. And very quickly, this became a case with more questions than answers. Because despite the heavy
00:34:10
presence of surveillance cameras in the area, including some city crime cameras positioned almost directly across from
00:34:17
the victim's home. Investigators are releasing very few details. And I know we've kind of re we're rehashing some of
00:34:26
this, but again, the key unknowns and this was I'm a guy that will frequent the restaurants and the bars and this is
00:34:33
a case that no matter what location uh what part of Columbus I was in, people in establishments were talking. They all
00:34:43
had the same questions. The very much speculating on the same aspects of this crime. How did the killer enter the
00:34:52
home? Did the couple know their attacker? Why would the children be left unharmed?
00:34:59
Thank God. Whether the person in the video is connected or merely a coincidence,
00:35:06
but there was a call for action, the old seeking information. Police were urging anyone
00:35:16
with video, photos, or digital evidence from the area, particularly between 2:00
00:35:24
a.m. and 5:00 a.m. on December 30th to come forward. And as the captain pointed out earlier, a grid of the area, the
00:35:32
that focus area included Summit Street, North Grant Avenue, East 7th Avenue, and
00:35:40
East 11th Avenue. And they were quick to tell the public, "Do not worry because here's the threat. We don't know who
00:35:47
this person is. We don't know what the motive is. People are afraid." They said submissions can be anonymous
00:35:57
and detectives did say that they are following up on numerous leads. There were a lot of tips coming in across the
00:36:04
city. We're following up on numerous tips, but no arrests have been made at this time. Well, I also think one of the
00:36:12
interesting things and and maybe while we talk more about some of these cases is the information because of social
00:36:19
media. So we have these two attractive individuals. They were murdered. We have pictures of them on their wedding. We
00:36:26
have pictures, family pictures that they that they have had taken, you know, professional pictures taken of the
00:36:34
family. So you have good source material to get out there. I think it's human nature to go, well, they look like a
00:36:41
success. They look like successful people, young and attractive, building their lives together. You go, which one
00:36:48
of them caused this? I think that's human nature to be like, well, was was the wife cheating on the husband? Was
00:36:54
the husband cheating on the wife? Uh what was going on here? What what was the cause for this?
00:37:00
>> Who's responsible? Yeah. We want we want to know and and >> well, no, but I think even gets goes
00:37:06
deeper than that. We we want to know who killed them, but we we also want to know
00:37:11
the why, you know. And so some of the initial speculation was when the his work was calling so quickly and really
00:37:21
putting pressure for people to check to see what was going on. Some of the speculation was well, they must have
00:37:27
known that he was in some kind of entanglement uh that would cause him to be in harm.
00:37:33
>> Yeah. I think rather than who caused this, it's more of what is the tie between one victim or both victims and
00:37:40
the offender, >> right? >> What are those what are those ties? Now, we've already talked about how they were
00:37:47
remembered, but I look, I've seen so many photos of their wedding day, their wedding celebration in the past 3 weeks.
00:37:57
It looked like one hell of a great party that I I missed. I I wish I would have been friends with them or friends with
00:38:04
their friends. How were they remembered? Friends, co-workers and family describe
00:38:09
Mo'Nique and Spencer as generous, joyful, and deeply committed to each other and their children.
00:38:16
And they were just kept they were just a few weeks after their fifth wedding anniversary. No, and I understand that
00:38:24
and maybe I'm a just a bitter, cynical son of a [ __ ] but when I see because everybody has a different way
00:38:34
that they want to present themselves to the world or social media and we all have friends that present I mean it's
00:38:42
human nature to present a certain story through social media. So I think some of
00:38:47
the people that were speculating on what might have happened sees this narrative that is being
00:38:54
presented and then you wonder is that a true narrative or was that a facade? Neighbors echoed the same sentiment when
00:39:03
it came to the teepeees saying they were kind, polite, and never caused trouble.
00:39:10
For most of their neighbors, it didn't seem like they were overly close to them. There was one neighbor that I
00:39:18
thought was interesting. He had said, "Look, I due to my occupation, I'm out of town frequently." And he said, "They
00:39:27
would come over to my front porch and collect packages for me and keep them in their home until I came back came back
00:39:36
into town." Spencer's practice, his dental practice out in Athens, Ohio, closed temporarily
00:39:44
in mourning. And both families held joint visitation and celebrations of life services in early January 2026.
00:39:56
It goes without saying, but I'm going to say it anyway. There is something uniquely haunting about a crime that
00:40:02
unfolds quietly in the dead of night, leaving no witnesses, no clear motive, and no
00:40:10
forced entry. It suggests famili familiarity or confidence. It suggests planning. It suggests someone who knew
00:40:20
exactly when to move and how to disappear. And there's that man in the alley, a fleeting figure caught on
00:40:29
camera only for a moment. And until he's identified, there's going to be a whole
00:40:35
lot of questions and a big puzzle piece missing. Yeah. And then when Columbus PD
00:40:41
released a 911 call that happened earlier in the year that came from their house, that led to even more
00:40:49
speculation. And at first, they just released the transcripts of it. You saw that all over News Nation and other
00:40:56
places. But then I believe it was the following day that they're like, "Well, we'll just release the audio." And it
00:41:03
was a female caller, I want to say around 2:40ome in the morning calling. And so they released that. So again, a
00:41:11
bunch of speculation. Who is this woman? Is this the wife calling? But every indication from police and from uh
00:41:18
Mon'nique's family was it was not her. So then that made you even question more. Well, do they do they have a
00:41:24
nanny? And this person on the 911 call is saying, "Well, I had an argument with my partner." Well, is she talking about
00:41:32
Spencer? Is she talking about somebody else? But like you said, this this young couple was also known to have some
00:41:39
parties. So, is it possible that somebody at one of these parties got into an argument and for whatever reason
00:41:46
decided to call 911? And and I should report she calls 911 and hangs up and then they call back. She does sound
00:41:54
somewhat upset, but then tells them that she's fine and that they don't need to have police come out that way. Yeah. And
00:42:00
again, that was a call that took place months prior, but certainly something of interest. And I have to preface this by
00:42:09
saying this is just rumor, but the rumor I heard on regarding that 911 call from
00:42:16
a female inside their home that it was a friend of the family and that it that it
00:42:23
likely happened either after or during a gathering. We had mentioned that they regularly would host parties at their
00:42:32
house or small gatherings at their home. And I don't know exactly what happened,
00:42:37
but sometimes yours truly included. You're overserved, not thinking clearly, take something to an extreme. That might
00:42:48
be what took place there. We'll probably get more information on that front as well. And as the investigation was in
00:42:56
its second week, I just mentioned rumors. Rumors were rampant here in Columbus, but Columbus police themselves
00:43:04
remained fairly tight-lipped about the double homicide >> despite the high-profile nature of the
00:43:10
case. And they stated only that detectives were working diligently and the updates will come as the
00:43:16
investigation progresses. >> Yeah, but I think this was smart by Columbus PD. They as they're
00:43:21
investigating this crime, they find this 911 call. They get out in front of it by
00:43:27
releasing it. Me and you both speculate that they had more information on a credible suspect in this case before
00:43:35
they even probably found this 911 call, >> right? >> And even though that this call is going
00:43:41
to lead to speculation by the public, can't worry about that as investigators. Let's just get this out there. Let's get
00:43:48
it in front of it. They did make the statement this woman was not the wife, the mother, Mo'Nique. And so then and
00:43:57
then family members made that same statement. So, but that call did ramp up a lot of speculation locally and online.
00:44:05
>> Yeah. And as an investigator, what you're hoping to do with that uh is look, you you can't deny that that 911
00:44:14
call happened. So, like you said, get out in front of it. Very smart. But at the same time, when you're sitting there
00:44:20
looking at it as an investigator, you have to stay water. You can't close any doors. You have to go where the
00:44:27
information and the evidence leads you. Now, as far as evidence goes, I wonder how much physical evidence they actually
00:44:35
have. So, you're you're building a lot of your case if you don't have physical evidence off of information that's
00:44:42
coming to you or information that you are digging up. And by putting that out there, you can have the mindset of we
00:44:50
have everything telling us that this has nothing to do with our crimes that we're
00:44:55
investigating. However, by putting it out there, you might be proven otherwise. You might
00:45:01
somebody may come forward with information that you've not uncovered yet or a new person to talk to that has
00:45:08
something some insight to share with you that could tell you otherwise. And so I
00:45:14
think it was very smart to do this. But then not too long after we cut through the fog of mystery and
00:45:24
unanswered questions with a news break or as it truly felt like here in Columbus, a news bomb. The investigation
00:45:32
into the December 30th killings of Spencer Monique Mon'nique Teepe took a decisive turn when authorities
00:45:40
identified and arrested Michael David McKe. This is Mon'nique's exhusband in connection with the double homicide.
00:45:51
McKe is 39 years old. He was taken into custody in Illinois where he lives in the state of Illinois and was being held
00:46:03
at the Wnebago County Jail waiting extradition to Ohio. Right. So, how did Columbus PD identify
00:46:16
this suspect? Homicide detectives were able to identify McKe through neighborhood surveillance footage.
00:46:22
According to court documents, investigators tracked a vehicle that appeared near the victim's home just
00:46:30
before the killings and then left shortly afterward. >> Am I correct in saying that it's not
00:46:35
only that they could identify the vehicle, but they were able to have the license plate as well?
00:46:42
>> Yeah. So, we've talked about this in a bunch of cases and what you're seeing in
00:46:46
the more recent cases that lead to an arrest. We talked about this at length in our coverage last year, episodes, two
00:46:55
episodes titled Killing for Chaos, where police use cameras. They they're identifying license plates and vehicles.
00:47:04
And in some cases, they the the cameras are even clear enough that you can get a
00:47:09
good look at the driver or even maybe the clothing of the driver. And in this situation, very much like the Killing
00:47:20
for Chaos and some other stories that we've covered recently, they're creating a trail of the known movements of this
00:47:28
vehicle. Okay, so they spot this particular vehicle of interest near the victim's home. It arrives shortly before
00:47:37
the killings, leaves shortly afterward. Okay, that that rises to the top of our list of vehicles that we're interested
00:47:43
in. That vehicle was later located in Rockford, Illinois, where police then say they found evidence linking this
00:47:51
Michael David McKe, ex-husband of Mon'nique, to the murders. So the they're basically going to use these
00:48:00
cameras between Rockford, Illinois, and Columbus, Ohio to create a trail of this
00:48:07
vehicle traveling from point A, what is that, a 6 and 1 half hour drive to >> Some people say it's about 400 miles. So
00:48:17
basically what you're able to do is to take this ex-husband. So he's obviously connected to Mo'Nique and go we can
00:48:26
place him in the neighborhood. This vehicle now where it's unclear to me is they're not stating it it they're not
00:48:35
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
00:48:41
know more information about that than I do. But then we have the surveillance footage of this unknown individual. I
00:48:47
think they're able to connect that unknown individual to that car. And guess what? Similar build,
00:48:55
exact same weird gate, right? Um so now we're putting uh two and two together and he's not looking too innocent here.
00:49:05
>> Yeah. I I really feel like the information that has come out that that Columbus police have announced and
00:49:12
released to the public is really just surface material. I think that there's probably a lot more. We do have some
00:49:20
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
00:49:28
not outwardly stating that as such. They're they're simply saying, "Look, we know that the vehicle of interest
00:49:39
traveled from the general area where he lives to very nearby the victim's homes, arriving
00:49:47
shortly before we believe they were killed, leaving shortly after we believe they were killed, and returning to very
00:49:54
near where the suspect lives. That's uh if he's not the killer, it's one hell of
00:50:01
a coincidence. And then on top of that, it makes you wonder he's walking the man
00:50:08
seen walking on surveillance footage like he's aware that the cameras may be there now. Maybe maybe he simply caught
00:50:15
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.
00:50:25
But if he was aware those cameras were there, which that's what I thought I was seeing the first time seeing the the
00:50:32
footage, I could be absolutely wrong. But it but if he were aware that they are there, then he may have traveled to
00:50:40
their home prior to the night of their murders. >> Yeah, very possibility. I agree with you
00:50:48
there. But I also what I see is somebody walking like I walk when it's cold out.
00:50:54
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
00:51:01
realm of possibility because his movements before this crime, before this double homicide, are kind of loosey
00:51:09
goosey at best. I'm and I'm talking about the weeks leading up to it. So is it the evidence is pointing that he's
00:51:16
crazy enough to drive 400 and some miles and within those 400 and some miles nothing inside him told him to stop.
00:51:23
>> Oh yeah. He he's he's driven by something that we can't understand. So a little background on this Michael David
00:51:31
McKe. He's a vascular surgeon. So a smart guy as far as uh book learning goes, right,
00:51:39
Captain? And he's lived in multiple states. He was married to Mo'Nique from 2015 to 2017, which is also very
00:51:48
shocking considering that they've been separated for a considerable amount of time.
00:51:53
>> A warrant for McKe's arrest was issued on January 10th. He was booked into that
00:52:00
Wnebago County jail shortly before noon that very same day. And the way that I understand this was he was he works at a
00:52:09
hospital there. This is the the greater Chicago area. Works in a hospital there and he was on his lunch break and he's
00:52:18
arrested at a Chick-fil-A restaurant near the hospital. >> And I believe they were able to do a
00:52:27
search of his rep of his property and they retrieved a gun that they believe has matched ballistically to the crimes
00:52:34
as well. >> Exactly. So what we have here is he had to appear in an Illinois courtroom on January 12th where he waved
00:52:44
extradition. So he extradition is he he's going to be charged. It's a state crime. Okay. Homicide is so the state of
00:52:51
Ohio is going to be the one the the charging entity. And so he needs to be here for us to charge him and hopefully
00:53:00
convict him in these cases. So they have to extradite him. But there can be a hearing, an extradition hearing. Usually
00:53:08
they're fairly short. Rarely does the defendant win. Most every time the person is extradited and then has to
00:53:16
fight their battle in the charging state. He however waves extradition. As I understand it, he had a impromptu
00:53:28
public defender. They gave some statement which was weird saying you know he so he denies the murders being
00:53:35
committing the murders. >> Yeah. He basically says take me back to Columbus and cuz it doesn't matter. I'm
00:53:41
not guilty of these crimes. >> Right. He's saying get get me to Columbus as soon as you can because he's
00:53:47
ready to get on with the trial to prove his innocence. He faces multiple serious
00:53:52
charges and these could can morph uh into different charges depending on what they have as far as evidence goes and
00:54:01
and hardcore timeline and what they find going forward as they prepare for the trial. But but most recently what I was
00:54:10
seeing is that he's charged with four counts of aggravated murder, one count of aggravated burglary.
00:54:18
Uh, these charges include firearm specifications, including allegations that McKe used an
00:54:26
automatic firearm or a firearm equipped with a silencer during the killings. And
00:54:34
he faces a minimum of life in prison with parole eligibility after 32 years and a maximum of life without parole.
00:54:44
Going back to circling back to some of the evidence linking McKe that you were talking about here, Captain
00:54:52
investigators recovered multiple weapons from his property. One of those firearms
00:55:00
is prelim is later stated by Columbus Police Department to be linked to the homicides
00:55:09
through the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network. And that is from a statement from WKYC.
00:55:20
Police records also show that three spent 9mm shell casings were recovered from the crime scene. However, we can
00:55:29
speculate and others have as well. And I think giving the given the relationship
00:55:36
from one of the victims, well, both of the victims to the person believed to be responsible for their murders.
00:55:44
While motive is still unknown, you can you can circle around that idea with the ties to the victims. And
00:55:54
>> well, yeah, a lot of his co-workers come out and say, "Hey, I never would have
00:55:59
suspected of this guy. He was very quiet. He was very respectful. I mean, he's a surgeon." So sometimes these
00:56:07
surgeons go in and they treat their other co-workers as peeons, and he didn't do that. But he had a lot going
00:56:14
on with his life, I think, financially. And I think there was some malpractice um lawsuits and stuff. And I I believe
00:56:24
his one of his license, medical practicing license was revoked in a certain state.
00:56:31
So, you have this guy's world crumbling down and multiple people in his life, I believe it's some of his family members
00:56:40
and then obviously some of her family members believe that he was basically obsessed and just kind of stalked this
00:56:49
family online and just kept these mental notes of like how, you know, after this
00:56:54
marriage ended, look how great her life became and my life isn't that, you know,
00:57:00
it's not he he didn't become this like ultimate loser. I mean he was still working and had some success there but
00:57:08
he I guess that's what his family is saying is that he kind of viewed himself a as a failure and I think he was
00:57:15
putting the blame on her. >> Yeah, I could absolutely see that. And there this is not unlike personalities
00:57:22
that we've discussed on this show before. It's an individual that has jealousy, a a lot of it, and holds a
00:57:31
grudge. And that those seeds grow into deep deep hatred for an individual and a they
00:57:47
feel that because this person left them, turned on them, what have you, and everything good has gone their way since
00:57:55
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
00:58:05
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,
00:58:14
Captain, because I found this to be interesting. We did talk about the gun. You know, they found a gun that they're
00:58:19
saying is linked. >> Yeah. And I'm sure at some point we're going to circle back to this case when
00:58:27
the trial happens. And maybe that will be on the main feed or maybe that'll be on off the record, but there'll be more
00:58:34
that comes out with this. >> Yes. And and I think we might have to wait till just before the trial or
00:58:40
during the trial to get more to come out because the reason why I want wanted to
00:58:45
touch on some of these things is because in the in her relatively short time here,
00:58:53
my observation has been that Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant has been rather quiet on a lot of different cases
00:59:03
and evidence and aspects and details of particular cases. So, she gave a press conference
00:59:14
during which it looked like reporters kind of had to pull it out of her, but then she seemed happy to deliver the
00:59:22
information of, "Yeah, we think the gun we found is we scientifically it's telling us it's it's the murder weapon,
00:59:31
>> right?" and [snorts] she described the killings as a targeted domestic violence
00:59:35
related attack and also stating that that McKe is the individual or that she and Columbus PD believe 100%
00:59:47
that McKe is the individual seen in the what was released in January 5th, the surveillance video, the person of
00:59:57
interest walking through an alley near the victim's home during during the estimated time of the murders,
01:00:03
>> right? And like you said, so you link him cuz of the video, then you link the
01:00:08
car, then you link this gun. And like you said, it wasn't just linking this car to this crime scene. They they link
01:00:17
that car to the >> pathway of murder. Yeah. The pathway of murder. >> And I think what we're also
01:00:23
>> and the retreat back home, >> right? And I think what we're also going to see in this is a lot of digital
01:00:29
forensics, whether that's >> uh his Google searches or what he was looking at online. What if there was any
01:00:39
contact between these individuals? Was there any harassing statements? I think that's going to eventually come out.
01:00:46
>> I think something you said is incredibly intriguing. something you said earlier
01:00:50
here, Captain, with the uh going beyond just the your recent statement, digital forensics,
01:00:59
getting a hold of his phone, his computer, his devices. I think you're right. I think there's had to have been
01:01:05
some stalking online going on. >> Yeah. And again, he might not have had contact with her, but what I've heard is
01:01:12
from his family when this happened, it wasn't like his family was like, "Well, it definitely wasn't
01:01:19
wasn't our son. You know, I think his family had some awareness of some obsession. In a public statement
01:01:27
following Michael David McKe's arrest, the Teepe family expressed gratitude to law enforcement for their tireless
01:01:35
efforts and emphasized their commitment to seeking justice for Spencer and Mo'Nique. They also highlighted their
01:01:43
focus on protecting and supporting the couple's two young children. They have successfully
01:01:52
moved McKe from Illinois to Ohio. He is sitting in a Franklin County jail awaiting arraignment.
01:02:03
Now, there will be a couple days between the time we hit stop and when this hits
01:02:09
your ears. So, he has not yet been arraigned. And typically here in Franklin County, we see arraignments
01:02:18
take place on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I put the emphasis on Monday. There typically I see a lot of these
01:02:26
arraignments taking place on a Monday. So, that might be when we get some more information.
01:02:34
and anticipation expectation would be he's going to plead not guilty based off of the statements
01:02:42
released through his public defender in the state of Illinois. >> Right. So, charges are filed. We do know that a uh
01:02:52
grand jury here in Franklin County did formally indict McKe on January 16th. what remains the date yet to be known
01:03:03
for us but scheduled for this arraignment hearing in Franklin County common police court.
01:03:08
>> But this is a case that we had to jump on because it was getting some national
01:03:13
attention and people knowing that we're from Columbus, Ohio. People were reaching out. So, we wanted to give you
01:03:19
as much information on this as we could. And this is definitely a case that we will revisit as we know more
01:03:27
information. And it's I mean all of the cases that we cover are very sad, tragic
01:03:34
stories. Some of them to different degrees. Seeing all their photos for the past
01:03:41
several weeks, I mean, and hearing about their personalities and not just their personalities, their actions.
01:03:49
Columbus, Ohio lost two very, very good people. And it looks like the state institute, the state penitentiary
01:03:58
here is going to gain one [music] very, very bad one. [music] [music] Want to thank everybody for joining us
01:04:18
here in the garage each and every week. Thanks for telling your mother. Thanks for telling [music] your brother. Make
01:04:22
sure you share these cases on social media. It really helps out the show. Colonel, do we have any recommended
01:04:27
reading for the beautiful listeners? >> Why, of course, here, Captain, we will be recommending recommended listening.
01:04:35
We are recommending the incredibly great True Crime Garage podcast. We're recommending their podcast, our podcast,
01:04:42
and our socials for a very good reason. February is approaching and as it sits right now, we have two very big
01:04:50
announcements coming in February. We are working on putting together some events.
01:04:55
So, tune back in throughout the month of February. Be in the know for some big announcements. Also, it is fast
01:05:04
approaching Crime Con 2026, the biggest event of the year, and we have been at all of them. That's right.
01:05:13
It would not be a true Crime Con without True Crime Garage. Crime Con is an immersive weekendl long event dedicated
01:05:23
to all things true crime and mystery. This year's Crime Con is at Caesar's Palace in Sin City, Las Vegas, the last
01:05:32
weekend of May, and tickets are going fast. You will want to use our promo code TCG
01:05:38
at checkout to save some cash. For tickets, go to crimecon.com and use our code TCG.
01:05:46
That's your notso secret garage code TCG. And until next week, be good, be kind, and don't litter. [music]
01:06:02
[music] >> [music] [music] [music]