Ohio Dentist and Wife Murdered in Home as Children Slept Were 'Madly in Love' and 'Still Acted Like Newlyweds': Friend By Chris Spargo

Spencer and Monique Tepe, the Ohio couple killed inside their Columbus home in the early morning hours of Dec. 30, were “madly in love” and were devoted parents, a friend of the couple tells PEOPLE.

“They still acted like newlyweds,” the friend says of Spencer, 37, and Monique, 39, who got married in 2021.

The couple would have been celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary later this month were their lives not suddenly cut short.

The Columbus Police Department is now working to identify a suspect in what authorities say was a double-homicide.

At least one family believes it was a targeted attack, based on the fact that nothing was stolen from the home and the couple’s children — who are now orphans — were left unharmed.

It was the cries of those children from inside the home on the morning of Dec. 30, that alerted Spencer’s co-workers to the fact that something was wrong when they went to check on the dentist, who had failed to show up for his first appointments of the day.

“They were great parents,” the friend says of the the couple, who had a 4-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old son.

“They [hosted] playdates, they were involved in the community, they were the kind of neighbors you want to have, especially as a parent,” the friend adds.

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Spencer was also Monique’s biggest supporter, says the friend.

“He would always be talking about her” explains the friend, who adds he would “champion” her all the time.

The friend notes that it was evident “Spencer respected [Monique] just as much as he loved” her.

It was a special bond that the friend says she did not see in many couples.

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Police have yet to identify a suspect eight days after the couple’s murders, but on Jan. 5 released surveillance video of an individual they believe could have information about the case.

That person was captured on video in the alleyway of the couple’s home between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Dec. 30, which is when police believe the couple was killed.

In addition, a Go Fund Me has been set up to benefit the couple’s children.

The friend says that residents of Weinland Park, the neighborhood where the family lived, have been placing flowers in front of the couple’s home over the past few days to remember them.

“I miss them both so much,” the friend says.

Anyone with information is requested to contact investigators at 614-645-2228 or send anonymous tips to Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477.