Samuel Olson: Girlfriend of boy’s dad charged after body found in Texas tote bag

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The girlfriend of Samuel Olson’s father has been arrested in connection to the death of the six-year-old who went missing in Texas and was later found dead.

Theresa Balboa has been charged with tampering with evidence and was taken into custody to Jasper County Jail.

Houston Police Assistant Chief Heather Morris told The Houston Chronicle that additional charges may be filed if appropriate and that investigators are interviewing several more people.

Officers were continuing to interview the boy’s father, Dalton Olson, but Ms Morris would not say whether or not he was a suspect.

Samuel’s body was found inside a tote bag in a room at the Best Western motel in Jasper on Tuesday after he was reported missing from Houston on 27 May. His sixth birthday was on Saturday.

Jasper Police Chief Gerald Hall told media the body appeared to have been there for some time.

The arrest of Ms Balboa comes after Houston police searched an apartment rented by her acquaintance where police were reportedly told the boy was last seen.

Ms Balboa had told police she had handed Samuel to his mother Sarah Olson, but Ms Olson’s attorney Marco Gonzalez told KTRK-TV that said had been denied access to the child for many months.

Ms Morris told the Chronicle that evidence showed Ms Olson to be home on the morning of Thursday 27 May.

While police searched Ms Balboa’s apartment and car over the weekend, they did not find the body they believe to be Samuel until receiving an anonymous tip on Tuesday that he was in the hotel in Jasper.

Ms Balboa was in the room at the Best Western when investigators arrived and was immediately taken into custody, according to The Daily Beast.

The medical examiner’s office is still to confirm the identity.