Salem couple found dead months after mother's suspicious death in Monmouth

Marion County Sheriff's Office deputies are investigating the deaths of a husband and wife at their home in northeast Salem.

Deputies found the bodies of Kali Lou Roque, 37, and Juan Roque-Delaguarda, 37, at about 1 p.m. March 30.

Detectives are handling the investigation in conjunction with the Marion County Medical Examiner's Office as well as the Marion County District Attorney’s Office.

Marion County Sheriff's Office officials said the death investigation is still open and active. They declined to release further information, including how Roque and Roque-Delaguarda died.

The deaths came four months after Roque's mother was found dead at her home in Monmouth.

Monmouth Police on Nov. 9 discovered Theresa Hethorn, 62, inside her residence on Yellowstone Drive near Madrona Park.

Read more: Police investigate suspicious death in Monmouth

Police said her death was "suspicious." As of Wednesday, investigators were still waiting on the medical examiner's office to release its report. The investigation remains open, and no arrests have been made.

Roque was named her mother's personal representative in a probate case following her mother's death. Court records for the case reported that Roque died March 30.

Both women worked in local schools

Both Hethorn and her daughter had careers in the educational system.

Hethorn worked in the Dallas School District as an English Language Learner teacher and director of migrant education. She won several awards for her work.

In a GoFundMe page created for her family, she's described as the ultimate grandmother, educator and staple of the local community.

Family members said online that Hethorn's death was a homicide and police had a person of interest in the case. They declined to publicly discuss it as the legal system worked to "bring her murderer to justice."

Her celebration of life was held Dec. 3 at Dallas High School.

On her Facebook page, Roque wrote that her heart shattered when she heard of her mom's death.

"She had a huge impact on the Dallas School District community," she wrote. "Saying she will be missed is such an understatement. She was the center of this family and we will forever have a hole in our hearts."

Roque was a licensed clinical social worker for Salem-Keizer Public Schools, employed by the district since 2017. She most recently worked at Roberts High School at Chemeketa, the Behavior Intervention Center and West Salem feeder schools.

A fundraiser following her mother's death said Roque had a daughter in kindergarten and a 4-year-old son. Newspaper archives listed her as a graduate of Central High School in Independence, where she played volleyball and was an all-state softball athlete.

Little information was available online about Roque-Delaguarda. Friends said he worked in landscaping, and his coworkers were torn by his death.

Also known as Braulio and Antonio, Roque-Delaguarda hailed from the Dominican Republic and played softball with the Oregon Latin Softball League on the team Los Caribeños.

County records show the couple in 2022 had purchased a home in northeast Salem, outside city limits, in the 4600 block of Carolina Avenue NE near Brown Road NE.

This story includes reporting from Capi Lynn

For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-910-6616 or follow on Twitter @wmwoodworth

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Salem couple found dead months after mother's suspicious death