Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther reassured residents of Weinland Park that they are safe after Monique and Spencer Tepe were found shot dead in their home there on Dec. 30.
Ginther declined on Jan. 9 to speak to whether there is still a present danger from the shooter, who hasn’t been found nearly two weeks later. Police have not named any suspects or a potential motive in the killings.
“We know that that neighborhood is one of the safest neighborhoods in our city,” Ginther said. “Homicide and violent crime are down to the lowest levels in nearly 20 years. So there is nothing that I know today that would suggest that folks in that community are at risk from the individual who committed that.”
He deferred further questions about the investigation to the Columbus Division of Police.
On Jan. 8, Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said the department is balancing the community’s safety with putting information out to the public and trying to be as transparent as the investigation will allow.
Ginther also said he’s deferring to a member of the Tepe family who told reporters this week they’d rather have the investigation done right than fast.
Ginther said the city grieves with the Tepe family and he he trusts the police working this case.
“We want this done right and we want to hold people accountable,” Ginther said. “I would encourage people not to share or spread misinformation. We are going to share as much information as we can in the appropriate time but we can’t jeopardize this investigation.”
Monique Tepe, 39, and Spencer Tepe, 37, died on Dec. 30 after being found shot inside their home on the 1400 block of North 4th Street in Weinland Park. The couple’s two young children, both under the age of 5, were found physically unhurt inside the home.
Columbus police have not publicly identified a suspect or potential motive in the couple’s deaths.
Around 9 a.m. on Dec. 30, coworkers of Spencer’s from the dentistry office where he worked in Athens called Columbus police after Spencer did not show up for work and no one could reach Spencer or Monique by phone.
An officer went to do a well-being check but went to a home on Summit Street instead of the Tepe home, according to body camera footage released by Columbus police. About 40 minutes after that check, friends of the Tepes found them dead in their home.
Police have focused the investigation on the window of time between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Dec. 30, which is when they believe the couple was killed. On Jan. 5, detectives released video from a security camera showing a person walking in an alley near the Tepes’ home during that time frame, calling the person a “person of interest.”
A public visitation for the Tepes will be held from noon to 3 p.m. on Jan. 11 at the Schoedinger Northwest funeral home on Zollinger Road in Upper Arlington. An additional gathering for a celebration of life will occur from 3:30 to 6 p.m. at Due Amici in Columbus.
Government and politics reporter Jordan Laird can be reached at jlaird@dispatch.com. Follow her on X, Instagram and Bluesky at @LairdWrites.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ginther says Weinland Park among ‘safest neighborhoods in our city’
Reporting by Jordan Laird, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
