Police conducting a welfare check on the slain Ohio dentist and his wife reportedly went to the wrong address before the couple was found shot dead inside their home as they two young children cried.
Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant revealed the startling mishap Thursday, explaining that officers initially responded to the wrong home in the Weinland Park neighborhood around 9 a.m. on Dec. 30 but then left after receiving no answer at the front or back door, the Columbus Dispatch reported.
Bryant said Spencer Tepe, 37, and his wife, Monique, 39, were found dead with gunshot wounds inside their four-bedroom Columbus home about 40 minutes after police had left the area.
“We’re going to be as transparent as possible, but we have to focus on the integrity of the investigation,” the police chief told the outlet.
“When we make an arrest, we want there to be nothing that would make that case unprosecutable.”
Columbus police did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Officers carried out the wellness check after the couple’s frantic friends showed up at their home and made repeated 911 calls when Spencer, who worked at Athens Dental Depot, failed to show up for work.
During one 911 call, the dispatcher said police had already visited the Tepe residence but left when no one answered the door. In a separate call minutes later, someone reported seeing a bloodied body and hearing a child screaming inside, according to audio obtained by Fox News Digital.
“There’s a body,” the caller says. “Our friend wasn’t answering his phone. We just did a wellness check.
“We just came here and he appears dead. He’s laying next to his bed, off of his bed in this blood. I can’t get closer to see more than that.”
Spencer was found with multiple gunshot wounds, with his wife suffering at least one shot to the chest, according to police records.
The couple’s 4-year-old daughter, 1-year-old son, and goldendoodle dog were all unharmed.
No gun was discovered at the scene and there was no sign of forced entry, police said, adding that they don’t believe the deaths were a result of a murder-suicide.
However, an unknown tearful woman called 911 and reported a “domestic dispute” at the couple’s home in April — eight months before they were killed.
While the call was reportedly traced to the Tepe residence, Bryant said it was not placed by Monique, with no prior record of calls from that address or concerning the family, the Columbus Dispatch reported.
No suspect has been publicly named in the Tepes’ slaying.
Police suspect the violent attack happened between 2 and 5 a.m. on Dec. 30 in the upstairs of the home.
Eerie surveillance footage released by authorities showed a “person of interest” walking down an alley near the couple’s home in the early hours on the day of the deadly shooting.
The investigation into the grisly double homicide is ongoing.
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