Texas woman accused of hiding boy's body for weeks transferred to Harris County Jail, given $500,000 bond
Theresa Balboa was arrested in a motel room with Samuel Olson's remains on Tuesday, police say
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The Texas woman who has been charged with tampering with evidence for allegedly hiding a child's lifeless body in a storage container for weeks was transported to the Harris County Jail and had her bond set at $500,000 on Friday.
Theresa Balboa, 29, was arrested on Tuesday evening in Jasper, Texas after police found in her motel room what they believe to be the remains of Samuel Olson, who would have turned 6 years old last weekend.
Balboa is the girlfriend of Olson's father, Dalton Olson. She originally reported the boy missing on May 27 when she called police to her home and told them that the boy's mother and a police officer came and took the boy away earlier in the day.
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Police say that during their investigation, Balboa's story started falling apart and they discovered evidence that Samuel Olson may have actually died weeks earlier.
Theresa Balboa was arrested Tuesday evening after police say they found what they believe to be Samuel Olson's remains in her hotel room. (Houston Police Department)
Benjamin Rivera, Balboa's roommate, told investigators that on May 10, he returned home from work and saw Olson's bruised and lifeless body on a bed, according to a charging document. The pair placed Olson's body in a bathtub for days, then on May 13, they "wrapped [Samuel’s] corpse in plastic sheet, placed the corpse in a plastic tote, and placed the tote in Rivera’s motor vehicle," Rivera told investigators.
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The charging document states that Balboa and Rivera then took the tote to a storage unit in Webster, Texas, where it remained until Balboa allegedly called another friend, Dylan Walker, on Monday, and told him "she needed help because she was involved in an altercation."
TEXAS WOMAN TAKEN INTO CUSTODY AFTER CHILD IS FOUND DEAD IN MOTEL ROOM
Walker told investigators that after helping Balboa move the plastic tote with "a foul odor" inside the motel on Tuesday, he went home and "called into Crime Stoppers to report [Balboa's] location and the location of the container containing [Olson]."
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Police went to the hotel Tuesday evening and after finding Balboa in the bathroom, an officer asked "multiple times for the whereabouts of [Olson], and [Balboa] advised him that [Olson] was inside the box."
Samuel Olson, who would have turned 6 over the weekend, was last seen at school on April 30. (Houston Police Department)
Houston Police Department Assistant Police Chief Heather Morris said Wednesday that more charges are possible as the investigation continues and the autopsy is completed.
Samuel Olson was last seen at school on April 30. It is unclear why Balboa had the child, but Olson's parents have been in a custody battle since they filed for divorce in January 2020.
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The boy's mother, Sarah Olson, hasn't seen her son since last summer, according to her attorney, Marco Gonzalez.
"Her utmost priority is that justice is done for her baby Samuel," Gonzalez told reporters this week, adding that his client also blames Dalton Olson for the boy's death. "She’s completely heartbroken."
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Dalton Olson told KPCR 2 on Wednesday that he wants "justice for his son."
"I don’t know what’s going on. I found out what happened last night," Olson told the local news outlet. "I can barely breathe."
Fox News' Stephanie Pagones and The Associated Press contributed to this report.