Houston, Texas: 5-year-old Samuel Olson was reported missing on May 27, just days before his 6th birthday. This morning 29-year-old Theresa Balboa arrived back in the Houston area to answer to charges related to the boy's death, believed to have happened weeks before what is believed to be his body was found in a Jasper motel room.
She was arrested on Tuesday.
According to KTRK Balboa did not appear in the Harris County court room to heard the charges against her this morning as she was being held in the jail's mental health unit.
The judge set her bond at $500,000 for the current charge against her of tampering with evidence, namely that of a human corpse. Should she post bond she will be required to wear an ankle monitor and submit to house arrest. She would additionally be banned from any unsupervised contact with children under the age of 17.
Balboa may face additional charges as the investigation continues.
Her public defender asked for a lower bond of $20,000 and attempted to argue that she was not a flight risk. Due to the information contained in the warrant establishing probable cause however, and the fact that at the time of the arrest Balboa was already out on bond, the judge sided with the state's request for the higher mount.
In November 2020 she was charged with "felony domestic violence" for assaulting her boyfriend, Samuel's father, Dalton Olson.
According to the warrant information read during the hearing Balboa told Dalton on May 27th, when he was reported missing, that the boy's mother and another unknown male showed up to take custody of the boy without permission.
The mother was able to provide officers with home surveillance footage that showed the claims against her were false.
Balboa had reportedly been caring for the boy since April 30, the last day that Samuel was in school.
On about May 10, Balboa's room mate told officers that she had called him stating that Samuel was dead. He said that he had returned home to find the boy bruised and dead on a bed.
According to his statement, the boy's body was moved to a bathtub for two days.
He reportedly purchased duct tape and a plastic tote from Walmart which he and Balboa used to conceal the boy's remains. They then moved the tote to a storage facility in Webster, Texas.
On May 31 Balboa called another male friend stating that she needed assistance as she had been in a fight. She met that man in the parking lot of a Walmart before directing him to the storage unit in Webster where she retrieved the tote.
The man then drove her to Jasper, Texas where she checked into motel.
Later that same day the man called Crime Stoppers and filed a report with them indicating that officers could find her and a "foul-smelling bin" in room 106 of the Best Western in Jasper.
The remains found in that container have been sent for positive identification and an autopsy to determine cause and manner of death.
Dalton is not considered a suspect at this time, but Samuel's mother wants to see him charged for her son's death as well.
The mother's attorney spoke on her behalf saying, "She also strongly believes that the adults, you know, the child's father should also be in custody, because she feels 100% that they both have something to do with this."