In a chilling incident that has rocked an Ohio neighborhood, a resident made a frantic 911 call after hearing an alarming ‘smashing’ at her front door. This unsettling event unfolded near the home of Spencer and Monique Tepe, a local dentist and his wife, who were tragically murdered under mysterious circumstances.

The call was made in the early hours of December 19, around 2:30 a.m., only a few days before the Tepes were discovered dead in their residence. The unnamed caller’s voice, captured in audio obtained by Fox News, conveys her acute fear as she reports, “Somebody is smashing on my door. I think they’re trying to get in. They’re banging on my doors.”

Her fear is palpable as she describes the situation from her home in Columbus, located just a short three-minute walk from where the Tepes lived. Despite the panic, she was unable to provide any description of the person causing the disturbance, as she couldn’t see them from her vantage point.

This haunting call adds another layer of mystery to the tragic deaths of the Tepe couple, leaving the community on edge and searching for answers as the investigation continues.

She offered the dispatcher no description of the culprit who refused to leave her home because she could not see them.

When questioned if she’d asked what they wanted, the caller said no. 

The suspect left by 2.44am and the police never arrived on the scene.

But just days later, on December 30, police swarmed the very same neighborhood after the Tepes were shot and killed in their $700,000 Weinland Park home.  

Spencer and Monique Tepe’s neighbor made a distressed 911 call just over a week before their murder

Eerie surveillance footage shows a hooded figure walking calmly through a snowy alley near the Tepe home during the time the couple were murdered

The couple was found in their $700,000 Weinland Park home the morning of December 30

Investigators said they did not suspect a murder-suicide was to blame.

Loved ones grew concerned when Spencer, 37, failed to show up for work at his Athens, Ohio, Dental Practice the morning of December 30.

Neither he nor Monique, 39, responded to concerned calls from friends and family. The couple shared two children.

Worried coworkers contacted police, who conducted an initial wellness check at the family’s home but left after receiving no response at the door.

One hour later, friends returned to the residence themselves and immediately sensed something was wrong.

One called 911 just before 10am, telling the dispatcher that he ‘thought he heard one of [the kids] yelling’.

When Columbus police arrived, their two children were found unharmed and sobbing inside the home, with both adults declared dead at the scene. 

Officers found no obvious signs of forced entry or any firearm at the scene and are investigating the deaths as a double homicide.

Loved ones described the couple as ‘remarkable inside and out’

Spencer and Monique Tepe were shot to death upstairs while their two young children slept unharmed inside the family home

A separate, peculiar 911 call was made in April 2025 from the family’s four-bedroom residence. 

The distressed female caller reported a ‘domestic dispute’ in the early morning hours of April 15. 

Dispatchers called her after she phoned 911 and quickly hung up

In an audio recording of the call, the woman could be heard crying as she insisted that she no longer needed police officers to come.

She then told the dispatcher that ‘me my man and got into it,’ but no punches had been thrown. 

Monique’s brother has since stated that the call was not made by her and instead came from a partygoer at the couple’s home, per the New York Post.

The authorities are yet to name a suspect in the murders but are looking for a mysterious person of interest who was caught on camera just steps from the Tepes’ house.

Friends say the couple shared a deeply happy marriage built on laughter, travel and family life

Police said the video was captured during the narrow window when the couple was gunned down upstairs while their two young children slept.

‘Detectives believe the murder of Mr and Mrs Tepe occurred sometime between 2am and 5am on the morning of December 30 in the upstairs of their residence,’ police said in a statement.

‘Recovered video footage shows a person of interest walking in the alley near the Tepe’s residence during that timeframe.’

The brief but unsettling video shows a person dressed in light-colored pants and a dark hooded jacket, head down, hands in pockets, walking calmly through the snowy alley.

Police say the individual’s presence during such critical hours now makes them a key focus of the investigation.

Concerned coworkers called police after Spencer (pictured) failed to show up for his shift at an Athens dentist’s office 

Police are seen carrying out their investigations following the couple’s killing 

Loved ones started a GoFundMe to support the Tepes’ recently orphaned children. In the tribute to them, they were described as ‘remarkable inside and out’.

‘They were extraordinary people whose lives were filled with love, joy, and deep connection to others,’ it read. 

Columbus Police are asking anyone with information on the suspect or case to contact the Columbus Police Homicide Unit at (614) 645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at (614) 461-TIPS (8477).

The Daily Mail contacted the Columbus Police Department for comment.