Samuel Olson: Third person arrested in connection with Texas boy’s death

Another suspect has been arrested in the case of Samuel Olson, a 5-year-old boy found deceased earlier this month inside a hotel room.

According to police, 27-year-old Dylan Walker drove Samuel’s caregiver, Theresa Balboa, to a Best Western in Jasper, Texas, and checked her into a motel. Walker is the third person that has been arrested in the case.

Balboa, who was the girlfriend of Samuel’s father, was allegedly the last person to see the child alive. She initially told police that the boy’s mother and a police officer drove to her Webster apartment last month and took Samuel, but police later captured Balboa at the hotel. Samuel’s body was inside the room, wrapped in a tarp and stuffed into a plastic tote container.

Both Balboa and Walker are currently facing tampering with evidence charges.

Balboa’s roommate, Ben Rivera, is also facing a tampering with/fabricating evidence charge after he allegedly lied to police about the timeline of Samuel’s death. As CrimeOnline previously reported, around a week after Samuel was reported missing, Rivera called police and tipped them off to the motel.

*Dylan Walker, Theresa Balboa, and Ben Rivera [Police Handout]*

Samuel’s father, Dalton Olson, said that Balboa had been taking care of the boy since April 30, which turned out to be the last day he attended school.

On May 31, Rivera voluntarily gave a statement. He told investigators that he first learned about Samuel’s death on May 10, when Balboa told him the child was deceased.

Rivera, according to court documents, said he drove home and saw Samuel lying deceased on a bed. He said he helped move the child to the bathtub, where they left him for two days.

Rivera said that on May 13, he bought duct tape and a plastic tote from Walmart, according to court documents. He and Balboa wrapped the boy’s body in a plastic sheet, put it into the tote, and loaded it into his vehicle, court documents say. Then they drove to a storage unit 25 miles southeast of Houston in Webster, where they left the container.

Court documents, however, indicate that Rivera provided investigators an inconsistent timeline. According to ABC 13, investigators uncovered a text message exchange between the roommates on May 5. Balboa told Rivera that she needed to talk to him before he came home to the apartment.

Security footage showed someone driving a truck identical to Rivera’s at the storage unit on May 22. A storage tote was in the back of the trunk. Investigators said the tote matched the one Samuel was found in.

Then on May 12, Balboa allegedly texted Rivera and told him she needed to move Samuel’s body to a bed. An apartment maintenance worker was scheduled to visit.

Meanwhile, prosecutors said they have found the murder weapon used to kill the child. As of Friday, no one has been charged with Samuel’s murder.

Check back for updates.

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