Richard Robinson concealed Meihong “Kiki” He’s death for more than a year before her remains were discovered in Oregon, investigators allege.

GOLDENDALE, Wash. — A man accused of killing his fiancée in rural Washington, transporting her remains across state lines and leaving them in an Oregon storage unit has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder as two criminal cases move forward in neighboring jurisdictions.

Richard Michael Robinson, 59, entered the plea July 9 in Klickitat County Superior Court in the death of Meihong “Kiki” He. A judge appointed public defender Lori Hoctor to represent him. Robinson also faces an Oregon charge of second-degree abuse of a corpse after He’s remains were discovered in a rented storage unit in The Dalles in July 2025. The murder allegation remains unproven, and Robinson is presumed innocent unless convicted. His defense lawyer declined to comment after the Washington arraignment, according to local reporting.

The case began as a missing-person investigation after He’s sister told authorities that she had not been able to reach her following a phone conversation on May 25, 2024. He had been staying with Robinson in the Glenwood area of Klickitat County, and the two were expected to marry within days. Investigators say Robinson initially reported that he had dropped He off to fish with friends near Underwood, a community along the Columbia River. More than a year passed before investigators recovered her remains about 35 miles away in Oregon.

Authorities say Robinson’s explanations about He’s disappearance changed as detectives questioned him. According to accounts of the probable-cause affidavit, he first said she had left to go fishing. He later allegedly offered other explanations, including claims about sex work and a Chinese criminal organization. Investigators have not publicly identified evidence supporting those accounts. The affidavit describes the shifting statements as part of the evidence that caused detectives to focus on Robinson, but the allegations have not yet been tested at trial.

Another unusual event drew law enforcement attention shortly after He disappeared. On June 3, 2024, authorities received a report that a man was using a backhoe to dig holes on property near Glenwood that he did not own. The holes were described in court records as about 8 feet deep. Robinson allegedly told investigators that they were intended for a septic system, while the property owners said they had not authorized him to work there. Investigators found no remains or other reported evidence inside the holes.

Prosecutors allege He died inside the trailer where she had been staying with Robinson. The affidavit says Robinson later acknowledged that he was present when she died and told investigators she had been strangled there. A medical examiner determined that He died from asphyxiation, according to reporting based on the court document. Authorities further allege that she may have been alive when she was placed in a large plastic container. That claim is an allegation by investigators and has not been established by a jury.

Investigators say the container was secured with plastic wrapping, ratchet straps and zip ties. Charcoal briquettes were allegedly placed inside or around it in an attempt to reduce the odor. Prosecutors contend that Robinson kept the tote in the back of his truck and drove with it for several days. The affidavit alleges that he attended his daughter’s birthday gathering during that period and made a vague statement indicating that he had done something wrong. The available reports do not identify anyone who said they understood at the time what he allegedly meant.

The account described in the affidavit marks a major change from Robinson’s earlier statements. After his arrest in Colorado in August 2025, investigators say he claimed that two masked men of Asian descent had entered the trailer and attacked the couple. Authorities say Robinson later admitted being present for He’s death, but public reporting does not establish whether that statement was recorded, whether he had a lawyer present or how prosecutors intend to use it. Those questions could become important if the defense challenges the admissibility or accuracy of his statements.

Police did not find He’s remains through the missing-person inquiry alone. On July 29, 2025, a person who had acquired the contents of an unpaid storage unit on West Sixth Street in The Dalles contacted police after encountering a suspicious container. Officers secured the facility, and a regional major-crimes team obtained a search warrant. Investigators, assisted by the Oregon State Police crime laboratory, removed human remains from the unit. The remains were sent to the state medical examiner for examination and identification.

The Dalles Police Department announced in August 2025 that the remains belonged to He, who was originally from China and had lived in the Mid-Columbia region. Some early official and media reports gave conflicting ages for her. Later reporting identified her as an adult woman who had also lived in Montana. Because those accounts conflict, this article does not state a precise age. Authorities said her relatives were notified after the identification was completed.

The discovery brought together agencies from both sides of the Columbia River. Police in Oregon investigated the storage unit and the handling of the remains, while authorities in Washington focused on what allegedly happened at the Glenwood trailer. Investigators also pursued leads in California, Utah, Nevada and Colorado as they worked to locate Robinson. The multistate search ended Aug. 25, 2025, when U.S. marshals took him into custody in Colorado on a warrant related to an alleged failure to register as a sex offender.

At that stage, police publicly described Robinson as a person of interest rather than announcing a murder charge. He was returned to Oregon, where a Wasco County grand jury had indicted him on second-degree abuse of a corpse. Under Oregon law, that charge generally concerns intentionally mistreating a body or unlawfully removing, carrying away or concealing human remains. The Oregon case addresses alleged conduct involving He’s body after her death; it does not itself accuse Robinson of causing her death.

The Washington case developed later. Klickitat County authorities obtained a second-degree murder charge and arranged Robinson’s transfer from Oregon so he could appear in Superior Court. Second-degree murder can cover an intentional killing that prosecutors do not allege was planned in advance, though the exact theory must be established through the charging documents and evidence presented in court. Public accounts of the affidavit indicate that prosecutors are relying on Robinson’s alleged statements, the condition and location of the remains, the medical examiner’s findings and his conduct after He disappeared.

The evidence described so far comes mainly from law enforcement reports and a probable-cause affidavit. Such documents present the government’s basis for an arrest or charge and are not findings of guilt. The defense has not publicly offered a competing account of He’s death, challenged the medical evidence or addressed the alleged transportation and storage of her remains. Robinson’s not-guilty plea requires prosecutors to prove each element of the Washington charge beyond a reasonable doubt.

The division of the case between Washington and Oregon may require coordination over witnesses, physical evidence and Robinson’s custody. Investigators recovered the remains in Oregon, but prosecutors allege the killing occurred in Washington. Evidence collected from the storage unit may therefore be relevant to both cases, even though each state is pursuing a different offense. Court records available through the reports do not indicate whether one prosecution will be completed before the other.

For now, Robinson remains in the Klickitat County Jail following his Washington arraignment. His Oregon proceeding had been scheduled for Aug. 18, though court calendars can change and the latest docket should be consulted before relying on that date. No trial date in the Washington murder case was identified in the reviewed reports. The cause and circumstances of He’s death, Robinson’s alleged statements and the movement of the storage container are expected to remain central issues as the prosecutions continue.

Author note: Last updated Aug. 2, 2026.