MONIQUE TEPE AND SPENCER TEPE TRAVELED ON DECEMBER 27, 2025, FROM MASON, OHIO, TO COLUMBUS
One of the big questions often asked by the public is:
How did Monique Tepe’s ex-husband Michael McKee know that she would be home alone with her current husband of 5 years, Dr. Spencer Tepe, and their two young children, in the early morning hours of December 30, 2025?
At a recent press conference, a local reporter asked Columbus police if it was true that neighbors indeed spotted McKee hanging out around the Tepe home in the days prior to the murders.
According to a new article from People, published Tuesday, January 20, 2026, we are now learning what Monique and Spencer did in the days prior to the tragedy.
Apparently, they spent that wonderful last Christmas as it were with family and enjoying the holidays.
On the night of Christmas, December 25, 2025, the Tepes then-3-year-old daughter Emilia Tepe gave a little fashion show in the living room of her grandparents wearing her custom princess dress.
That impromptu fashion show took place in Mason, Ohio.
Two days later, Monique, 39, and Spencer, 37, would make the trek with their children approximately 87 miles northeast back to their home on N. 4th St. in Columbus.
And while they beamed with joy at their daughter on Christmas, little did the couple know they were driving towards danger and towards an obsessive ex-husband who may have been scoping out their residence the entire time.
SPENCER’S SISTER MADDIE SPEAKS OUT ABOUT HER BROTHER
Madeleine Misleh, 35, is the wife of Rob Misleh, who has been a loyal and moving spokesperson for the family since the tragedy began, spoke to the publication and shared wonderful memories of her brother.
Madeleine or Maddie is also a talented fashion designer who crafted the pink gown with ivory trim for her niece that she displayed last Christmas.
Most touchingly, Maddie is also Spencer’s younger sister, as seen in a gorgeous photo floating around the Internet of Spencer, giving his younger sister a piggyback ride when they were teenagers.
Also beautiful are the photos and videos of Spencer celebrating the 2018 marriage of his sister Maddie to Rob.
Spencer can be seen in those wedding celebration photos and videos, tossing his head back in laughter or dancing on the dance floor with a cigar planted between his lips.
Spencer’s effervescent personality shines through in those images, many of the ones online captured by his talented brother-in-law.
“My brother has always been the biggest fan of my art,” says Maddie.
“He was always proud.”
THE LAST TIME ROB SAW SPENCER AND MONIQUE
When reading about the last time family members spent time with Spencer and Monique and their children, one is appreciative that they do have those memories to treasure.
Christmas Day 2025 found the Tepe children, Emilia and her 17-month-old brother Beckham, showered with gifts.
The extended family wiled away the day watching movies and eating holiday treats.
That evening, Rob Misleh, 34, and Spencer stayed awake playing pool in the basement.
“Neither of us wanted to go to sleep,” recalls Rob. “I hate to say that was the last real ‘bro time’ I had with him.”
ROB MISSED A CHANCE TO SAY GOODBYE TO MONIQUE AND SPENCER
As life often moves quickly, we tend to make the assumption we will always see our loved ones again.
Especially a brother-in-law and sister-in-law who are young parents and only in their 30s.
Perhaps that’s why Rob, who was asleep when the Tepes left for home in Columbus, Ohio, on December 27, 2025, didn’t get the opportunity to say goodbye before the family of four hit the road.
It’s one of those common occurrences that many people experience when traveling to a gathering to see their loved ones over the holidays. You always think you’ll have the chance to see them again at the next family gathering.
However, Monique and Spencer at that point would only have days to live.
It’s a fact that haunts Rob now that tragedy struck the family.
By the early morning hours of December 30, 2025, the couple known to friends as Spence and Mo were shot and killed inside their Columbus home.
The children, who were physically unharmed, slept nearby.
By January 10, 2026, Monique’s ex-husband, McKee, was arrested for their murders.
WHY?
Monique and Spencer Tepe were raised in Ohio.
Spencer was a dentist, and Monique had earned her degree in early childhood education from Ohio State.
The brilliant and beautiful couple met online in 2018 and fell in love immediately.
“I remember Monique telling me that on one of their first dates they just talked all night and couldn’t take their eyes off of each other,” says Spencer’s cousin Audrey Mackie, 40.
Spencer would deejay at parties with friends.
He shared his wife’s love of animals. And that’s why they had a dog they took care of together, one whose presence was important enough to feature in their wedding ceremony at their home.
Eerily it would be the same home where their lives ended.
But during their lives, the couple insured their time was fruitful. Monique was a homebody who enjoyed baking and taking care of her family, whilst Spencer even found the time to volunteer as a big brother.
“He was always doing more,” says sister Madeleine, “always pushing the limit.”
Monique, meanwhile, also enjoyed playing board games and hosting gatherings at their home.
While living in their Weinland Park home since 2020, the couple welcomed Emilia in 2022 and Beckham in 2024.
Monique became a stay-at-home mom and focused on raising the children while Spencer continued his work as a much beloved dentist.
Yet that picture perfect dream of an idyllic life and the proverbial $1 million family was cut short one day before the end of 2025.
The children, who each had their own bedroom just a few feet away from their parents, were heard crying in the background of a 911 call, where a friend reported seeing Spencer dead.
“We believe Beckham was unable to get out of his crib on his own” for hours, says Rob.
All fingers pointed back to Monique’s ex-husband McKee, who was arrested, and will ultimately be brought to Ohio to stand trial for the horrible homicides, that is, if he doesn’t ultimately enter a guilty plea.
