Ohio police search for suspect after dentist, wife found murdered at home
mphotoi/Getty Images
Ohio authorities are searching for a suspect after a dentist and his wife were found murdered inside their home earlier this week.
Columbus Police Patrol officers responded to the home of Spencer Tepe, 37, and Monique Tepe, 39, on Tuesday morning after a welfare check was requested, according to an incident report viewed by ABC News.
When officers arrived, they found the couple suffering from apparent gunshots wounds. Paramedics arrived and the pair were declared dead shortly after, police said.
Spencer Tepe had multiple gunshot wounds while Monique Tepe had at least one gunshot wound to the chest, according to local ABC News affiliate WSYX.
Police did not find obvious signs of forced entry and no firearms were recovered at the home. Currently, the deaths are not believed to be a murder-suicide, WSYX reported.
Two small children were also found in the residence unharmed, according to the incident report.
The welfare check was requested after Spencer Tepe did not show up for work at Athens Dental Deport. The owner, Dr. Mark Valrose, called 911, telling dispatchers Tepe was always on time for work.
“I’m on vacation, but this individual, Spencer, works with me, and he did not show up to work this morning. And we cannot get a hold of him or his family,” Valrose told dispatchers, according to audio of a 911 call reviewed by ABC News. “He’s been reliable, and we cannot get in touch with him, his wife, his family, anybody that lives in that house.”
Police records indicate that authorities were initially contacted at 9:03 a.m. and that an officer responded to the home at 9:22 a.m. but received no answer and left, WSYX reported.
A person called police at 9:58 a.m., reporting that they heard children inside and nobody was answering the door, according to audio reviewed by ABC News.
A third 911 call was placed after the same person reported that they could see Spencer Tepe’s body inside the home and that he appeared dead, according to the audio call.
Columbus Police scanner audio shared by Broadcastify indicates that the 911 caller believed they heard one of the children yelling before calling again to report the body in the house.
The Tepes were married in 2021 and were one month shy of celebrating their five-year anniversary, Spencer Tepe’s brother-in-law, Rob Misleh, told WSYX.
Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact the Columbus Police Homicide Unit at (614) 645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at (614) 461-TIPS (8477).
(LOS ANGELES) — Widespread elevated fire weather danger is expected to continue across parts of the Rockies and Great Plains on Sunday, as the Southwest is forecast to see another day of record-shattering March heat wave temperatures.
Wind gusts across the Plains are forecast on Sunday to reach 30 to 60 mph. Combined with very low humidity and dry fuels, conditions could be conducive for rapid wildfire growth and spread.
The National Weather Service has issued red flag fire-danger warnings for much of the Rockies.
While not currently on alert, parts of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast will also see dry and breezy conditions on Sunday, with dry fuels contributing to an increased fire threat.
Meanwhile, the Southwest will continue to bake as a record-shattering March heat wave continues on Sunday, a day after several record-high temperature marks were matched or exceeded.
At least 18 cities across California, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, Nevada and Utah either broke or tied daily records on Saturday, including Yuma, Ariz., which hit a new daily record of 102 degrees; Death Valley, Calif., which reached 100; Phoenix, which saw temperatures soar to 96; and Las Vegas, which hit 92.
Relief from the Southwest heat wave is expected to come later this week, but not before another day of record-breaking temperatures.
Daily record highs are possible on Sunday and Monday in Las Vegas and Phoenix, with some daily record highs possibly being challenged in the Great Plains on Monday.
As the workweek progresses, a pattern change will bring warmer than normal temperatures and messy weather for the eastern half of the nation.
Overnight Monday and into Tuesday, a weak system is forecast to pass from the Upper Midwest through the Great Lakes, bringing showers and thunderstorms, some of which could be strong enough to produce gusty winds, isolated small hail, and spotty flooding.
By late Tuesday and into Wednesday, the system will continue to pass through the Great Lakes and eventually into the Northeast, spreading scattered showers and rain into the Northeast.
More messy weather is forecast through Wednesday and Thursday across the eastern half of the nation, mainly with scattered showers and some thunderstorms.
As April arrives on Wednesday, the weather pattern will start to change, likely bringing warmer-than-normal temperatures for the eastern half of the country. The West could also experience warmer-than-normal temperatures returning as April progresses.
What’s likely to remain consistent across the West is drier-than-normal weather, adding to an ongoing drought and record-low snowpack across the West.
Ruben Ray Martinez is seen in this undated photo provided by his family. (Courtesy family of Ruben Ray Martinez)
(NEW YORK) — Videos released by the Texas Department of Public Safety appear to cast doubt on the Department of Homeland Security’s account of a fatal agent-involved shooting of U.S. citizen that occurred in South Padre Island, Texas, in March 2025.
Ruben Ray Martinez, 23, was fatally shot by a Homeland Security Investigations agent on March 15, 2025. The incident was initially reported by local news outlets as an officer-involved shooting. DHS did not reveal the involvement of its agent until February when media outlets reported that the agents were involved.
In a statement given to San Antonio ABC affiliate, DHS said HSI agents were helping South Padre Island Police officers control traffic after an unrelated accident at the popular spring break destination when a driver “intentionally ran over” an agent “resulting in him being on the hood of the vehicle.”
The statement went on to say: “Upon witnessing this, another agent fired defensive shots to protect himself, his fellow agents, and the general public.”
DHS said an agent was taken to the hospital with a knee injury after the incident.
In a statement provided to ABC News, attorneys for Martinez’s mother said the video footage calls the DHS account of the shooting into question.
“These new videos confirm that Ruben’s car was barely moving when he was shot,” the statement from attorneys Charles M. Stam and Alex Stamm said. “That he was braking, not accelerating. That nobody was on the hood of his car. That nobody was in front of his car when he was shot. That he was shot at point-blank range through his side window by an ICE agent who was in no danger.”
The statement went on to say: “This batch of evidence shows no justification for Ruben’s killing.
In a statement, Todd Lyons, acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said: “We stand by the grand jury’s unanimous decision that found no criminality. This incident was investigated from every possible angle by an independent body, and it cleared our officer.”
Body camera video Footage from the body-worn camera of a South Padre police officer appears to show Martinez’s blue Ford slowly approaching the intersection and moving forward when someone is heard saying, “Keep going.”
Martinez’s vehicle slows to a crawl or a possible stop as a group of pedestrians are seen crossing the street. Martinez moves forward after the pedestrians pass and officers appear to become concerned and yell, “Stop him” and “Get him out.” Three shots can be heard as the officer with the camera runs toward the vehicle.
Martinez’s brake lights appeared to be on when he is shot. Since the DPS footage does not include the perspective of the agent who shot Martinez, it does not show any possible impact between agents and the vehicle.
“Stop the f—— vehicle someone,” can be heard saying as the vehicle comes to a complete stop.
Agents are then seen pulling Martinez and his passenger, Joshua Orta, out of the car. Paramedics on scene begin to render aid roughly over a minute after he was pulled from the vehicle.
A toxicology report released shows Martinez has a blood alcohol level of 0.12% above the legal limit of 0.08%.
In his statement to ABC News, Lyons, the acting head of ICE, pointed to an investigative report done by the Texas Rangers which included analysis of multiple body cameras, and which showed Martinez holding a bottle of Crown Royal Whiskey and “rolling toward an officers location,” Lyons said in the statement.
Lyons’ statement continued: “Officers yell ‘where are you going’ and ‘stop him.’ At this point, an officer directing traffic ‘was directly in front of the Fusion’ and ‘only one-half a car length away.'”
Lyons said, “Martinez ‘rolled forward and made an immediate left turn.’ The agent then ‘appears to move as if he were on the vehicles hood.'”
The agent’s perspective The agent who shot Martinez, identified in documents as Jack Stevens, said he approached the vehicle after an officer yelled to “get him out.” Stevens said that when he approached, he noticed the smell of marijuana coming from the driver’s side window, according to the documents.
“The driver’s eyes were open widely, fist clenched to the steering wheel, and he was looking past the officers on scene as he failed to comply with the loud and repeated verbal commands of multiple law enforcement officers. This is a behavior I have observed in my training and experience as a pre attack indicator and sign of noncompliance as the suspect is looking in the path of their intended movement and is not indicative of compliance,” he said.
“This path of movement, if left unmitigated, would, using the vehicle as a weapon, have resulted in numerous casualties,” he wrote.
Stevens said he was struck and knocked backwards by the driver’s-side front pillar and side mirror, according to the documents. He said he attempted to backpedal to avoid being run over and was “still in contact with the vehicle as the vehicle struck” another agent.
Stevens said recent incidents where vehicles had been used as a weapon, like the New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans earlier in the year were “fresh on my mind,” according to the documents.
“Upon observing the vehicle strike SA [Hector] Sosa causing him to fall onto the hood of the vehicle and driving through the scene, with SA Sosa clinging to the vehicle’s hood, I discharged my service issued handgun firing through the open driver’s side window striking the driver multiple times. This action stopped the threat and gained compliance from the driver who stopped the vehicle and placed it into park,” he wrote.
A grand jury decided not to issue an indictment in the case, south Texas ABC affiliate KRGV reported.
Passenger speaks with investigators In a recording of an interview that was also released, the passenger, Joshua Orta, told investigators that when they approached the scene of the accident, an officer spotted a container of alcohol in the vehicle but told him to keep going forward and turn to the left, but Martinez continued straight toward the other officers, Orta said.
“That’s when he, you know, panicked and turned the wheel, and he didn’t floor the gas but he kind of went a little bit and I guess they thought he was like trying to run the cop over or something,” Orta said in the interview.
“I saw the officer, kind of get on the hood. Like he didn’t hit him, but like he … caught his feet,” he said.
Orta said Martinez did not intend to run over the agents.
“He didn’t know what to do … he definitely didn’t want to go to jail. But as far as, like, running over an officer … he wouldn’t do that,” he said.
Orta died in a car crash in February, KRGV reported.
Right-wing influencer Jake Lang walks with a goat and supporters at a protest organized by the influencer on March 7, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Ryan Murphy/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Police arrested four people after a smoke-generating “suspicious device” was thrown during a protest at the New York City mayor’s residence Saturday.
It was not immediately known if Mayor Zohran Mamdani or his wife, Rama Duwaji, were inside Gracie Mansion at the time. Mamdani had no public events announced but was in the city, according to his public schedule released Friday night.
Police sources told ABC News that the anti-Muslim protest was organized by a “known agitator.”
The NYPD bomb squad was investigating if the device was a smoke bomb, after some smoke started coming out of the device before the crowd was moved back, sources said.
No injuries were reported during the incident.
The mayor’s office did not immediately return messages to ABC News for comment.
Two unidentified people arrested were accused of throwing a suspicious device, police sources said.
One person was arrested for disorderly conduct and another person was arrested for deploying pepper spray, according to sources.
