Disturbed Woman Charged with Capital Murder of Child

HOUSTON, TX – Nearly two months after 5-year-old Samuel Olson allegedly disappeared from his Houston home, authorities have brought additional charges against Theresa Balboa.

Balboa was dating Samuel's father when the boy disappeared in late May. She reported the boy as missing and told police his biological mother had taken the child.

After her story began to fall apart, Balboa fled Houston. She was located days later at a hotel in Jasper, TX. Inside her hotel room, authorities located a plastic bin with Samuel's remains.

The initial autopsy report revealed Samuel died from "homicidal violence with blunt head trauma." 

As a result, Balboa has now been charged with capital murder. She was previously charged with tampering with evidence of a human corpse.

During the investigation, authorities discovered that Samuel was murdered weeks before he was reported missing.  According to police, Samuel lived with Balboa instead of his biological father for unknown reasons.

After Samuel was murdered, Balboa enlisted the help of her roommate Benjamin Rivera. Rivera told police Balboa called him on May 10th and told him Samuel was dead.

The duo then kept Samuel's body in the bathtub of their Houston apartment for a few days. Rivera later purchased duct tape and a plastic tote from Walmart.

They then wrapped Samuel’s body in a plastic sheet, placed it into a tote bag, and hid him in a storage unit.

Rivera has also been charged in connection to the case.