Left to right: Benjamin Rivera and Samuel Olson (Houston Police Dept.).
A man in Texas, 31 years old, could be sentenced to many years in prison for assisting his roommate, Theresa Balboa, in concealing the body of a 5-year-old boy after she fatally struck the child with a blunt object while they were under COVID-19 quarantine. Benjamin Rivera recently entered a formal guilty plea to a charge of tampering with evidence — human corpse related to the 2021 death of young Samuel Olson, according to records obtained by Law&Crime.
Balboa, who was romantically involved with the boy’s father at the time, confessed in 2023 to a count of first-degree murder in connection with Samuel’s killing. She was subsequently handed a 52-year prison sentence, with the possibility of parole after completing 26 years. Initially, she had been facing a charge of capital murder.
Samuel was first reported missing by his father on May 27, 2021, after Balboa, who had been looking after the child since April 30, stated that the boy’s biological mother had arrived with a police officer and taken her son. However, this narrative quickly fell apart as surveillance video indicated that the biological mother was actually at her own residence during that period, as outlined in a probable cause affidavit by the police.
Investigators soon learned that Balboa had actually killed Samuel weeks earlier. Rivera later admitted that he assisted Balboa in hiding Samuel’s body.
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According to the affidavit, Rivera told police that Balboa, on May 10, called to tell him that Samuel “was deceased and was not breathing.” Rivera left work and returned to the home where he found Samuel “unresponsive on a bed” with “bruising” on his body.
“He and Teresa Balboa placed [Samuel’s] corpse in the bathtub, where [Samuel] remained for two days. Defendant stated on May 13, 2021, he purchased duct tape and a plastic tote at a local Wal-Mart,” the affidavit states. “[Rivera] stated that he and Theresa Balboa wrapped [Samuel’s] corpse in a plastic sheet, placed the corpse in a plastic tote, and placed the tote in Defendant’s motor vehicle. Defendant stated that he and Theresa Balboa then drove the corpse to a storage unit located at 16650 Highway 3, Webster, Harris County, Texas, and placed the corpse and plastic tote inside of the storage unit.”
Several days later, authorities said that Rivera and Balboa moved the child’s body from the storage unit to a motel room in Jasper, Texas. When police and Texas Rangers converged on Balboa’s room on June 2, 2021, they immediately found her hiding in the bathroom. Asked about the boy’s whereabouts, Balboa said he “was inside the box.”
Rivera was taken into custody more than two weeks after the body was discovered. Samuel would have celebrated his sixth birthday on May 29, 2021.
Rivera will face up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on Oct. 20, 2025.
