The father of Samuel Olson, a 6-year-old found deceased in a Texas hotel Tuesday, says he’s in shock after learning his girlfriend could possibly be responsible.
During a Wednesday morning press conference, Houston police said Theresa Balboa was arrested in connection with the death of Samuel. Balboa was found at a Best Western motel in Jasper on Tuesday evening, over an hour away from Houston.
Authorities indicated they were tipped off to the motel off of West Gibson Street at around 6 p.m. Tuesday via a Crime Stoppers tipster. Although the body has not been officially identified, investigators strongly believe it to be Samuel.
“At this time, we believe the child to be Samuel, but we cannot confirm it is him until the medical examiner makes that determination,” Houston Police Assistant Chief Heather Morris said. “No further information on a cause of death has been shared, or a possible motive.”
The child’s body was found inside a tote bag inside room number 106. Hall said there were signs that the boy had been there for a while, Fox 4 reports. Investigators are currently reviewing security camera footage at the motel.
Theresa Balboa is currently facing charges of tampering with evidence, police said. Additional charges could follow. Police said she told numerous inconsistent stories.
“I don’t know what’s going on. I found out what happened last night,” Samuel’s father, Dalton Olson, told KPRC 2.
“I can barely breathe…Why? He loved you so much. I do not understand what happened. Why did you, why did you do this?”
Balboa was arrested in November 2020 for allegedly attacking Dalton Olson with intent to impede his breath. She was out on bond when police arrested her Tuesday.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Samuel was reportedly last seen Thursday in Houston, in the 8800 block of McAvoy Drive. According to Samuel’s grandmother, Tanya Olson, Balboa said someone dressed up as a cop showed up with the boy’s mother and took him. Tanya said Samuel was being cared for by a friend of his father’s girlfriend when the incident happened.
On Tuesday, the Houston police announced that no one outside of Samuel’s family had seen him since April 30, when he attended class at Holbrook Elementary in Cy-Fair ISD.
Balboa reportedly insisted that she last saw Samuel on Thursday.
“I was going to take Sam to school when his mother showed up with the police officer, or who I was under the impression to be a police officer, and they demanded me to release Sam,” Balboa said.
Houston Police Department Executive Assistant Larry Satterwhite said they have not been to verify the accuracy of Balboa’s claims.
“All we have are reports. The last time we know, for a fact, he was in school and that was April 30th,” Satterwhite added.
Check back for updates.
Anyone with information on the case should call 911, or the Houston Police Department Missing Persons Unit at 832-394-1840.
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[Feature Photo: Sam Olson/Police Handout; Screenshot via ABC 13
