Monique Tepe’s brother-in-law says he believes the children did not see the crime scene
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(496x380:498x382):format(webp)/Spencer-Tepe-Monique-Tepe-010326-bfa407c5464f419587a2b918f7613a98.jpg)
The brother-in-law of Monique and Spencer Tepe — the Ohio couple found slain in their home last week — says their children are too young to understand what happened to their parents.
The children were left physically unharmed inside the couple’s Columbus, Ohio, home, where Monique, 39, and Spencer, 37, were found dead on Dec. 30, Columbus Division of Police said at the time.
However, a friend of the family who called 911 from outside the house while waiting for police to get to the residence for a welfare check said he could hear the kids crying inside, CNN previously reported, citing call records.
Rob Misleh, who is married to Spencer’s sister, told NewsNation in an interview that the deceased couple’s children are “in loving hands,” but are “unaware.”
“We have had them for the past couple of days … they were just as happy and, unfortunately, unaware as they ever could be,” Misleh told NewsNation’s Banfield. “But they’re in loving hands, and even more people are coming by their side to make sure that they’re taken care of.”
The couple’s surviving daughter is 4 and their son is 1, Misleh tells PEOPLE. He says he’s struggling with how to tell the girl her parents are gone.
“We just don’t know how to do that,” Misleh said. “I’m sure she’s wondering when is she gonna see her mommy and daddy again.”
Misleh added that he believes the children were not exposed to the crime scene.
“As far as I know, I don’t think that they were. I don’t think that they saw what happened,” he said, adding, “or at least I want to believe that with my heart.”
Authorities have remained tight-lipped about the investigation, releasing limited information nearly a week into the killings.
On Monday, Jan. 5, police released an eerie portion of surveillance footage that shows a person walking near the couple’s home around the timeframe they believe the couple were killed.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
The video shows a hooded figure calmly walking on a snowy street, dressed in dark clothing. The person’s face is not clearly visible from the video, but it’s unclear whether that’s due to the video quality or if the person had covered their face.
Anyone with information that might lead to identifying the person is requested to contact police at 614-645-2228 or send anonymous tips to Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477.
