PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – An indictment filed by the Polk County Grand Jury claims that a beloved Dallas School District educator and grandmother was killed at the hands of her own son.
Five months after 62-year-old Theresa Hethorn was found dead inside her Monmouth home, her 30-year-old son Robin Hethorn was arraigned in court Friday afternoon.
Robin has been in custody on unrelated charges since shortly after her passing, and while authorities are not yet able to release a cause of death, they told KOIN 6 the evidence they have all points back to her son.
“We’ve investigated it and we have probable cause to believe that he did murder his mom,” said Lt. Matt Olafson of the Monmouth Police Department.
Documents show Robin faces seven counts in connection to the death of his mother, including two counts of murder in the second degree, robbery, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, identity theft and more.
“Robin’s been a person of interest in this case for a long time,” Olafson said. “And he’s been in custody since that time. So, we’ve been able to work around that to develop the probable cause needed to hold him accountable for this.”
Olafson says authorities had long suspected Robin in the death of Theresa.
Robin’s address was listed at the same home off Yellowstone Drive – where his mother was found dead.
Court records show he was arrested and charged with assault and strangulation for a 2021 incident less than 10 days after his mother’s death.
In November, Theresa’s daughter Kali Roque told KOIN 6 off-camera that authorities had an idea of who could have been involved.
“She made everybody feel welcomed and feel okay and I just hate that the world doesn’t get that anymore,” Kali said.
Unfortunately, Kali and her husband Juan Roque-Delaguarda or “Braulio” were found dead in their Salem home on March 30.
“When we first heard of Kali’s death, it impacted us all,” Olafson said. “Being a small community, a lot of our officers, a lot of our family members, a lot of our kids know this family. And so it kind of hit everybody.”
Although the Marion County District Attorney’s Office would not provide an update on that case, Monmouth Police tell KOIN 6 with Robin in custody since last November, they do not believe the two cases are connected
“At this point, nothing that we’ve seen has tied those two together,” Olafson said.
After Kali’s death, her brother Daniel Hethorn has been searching for answers in both cases while caring for the children she left behind.
“My mom’s situation…that in itself is so much to unpack, and so much to deal with, and there’s so much therapy and healing that needs to occur,” he said. “But then to have this kind of festering wound of like, no progress, no justice, no answer.”
And now with some closure, Daniel’s attorney provided KOIN 6 with a statement, which he read at his brother’s hearing in court today:
“I must insist for the safety of my family, friends, and community that you do not release Robin from jail before the conclusion of his trial. Our entire family has been under an unbelievable amount of stress over these past five months, fearing that Robin would be released and harm one of us. This giant weight around our necks has finally become the slightest bit lighter with Robin finally being charged.”