Second Person Charged in Connection with Houston Toddler’s Death

HOUSTON (WBAP/KLIF News) – A second person has been charged in the tragic death of a 5-year-old Samuel Olsen, whose body was hidden in a storage unit before being discovered in a hotel room in Jasper earlier this month.

The Harris County District Attorney’s Office said 27-year-old Benjamin Rivera has been charged with tampering with evidence, a human corpse.

Rivera is the the roommate of Theresa Balboa, Samuel’s father’s girlfriend, who investigators said reported the boy as missing.

She and Rivera are charged with the same count.

The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences ruled that 5-year-old Samuel Olson died of homicidal violence with blunt head trauma.

Samuel was reported missing Thursday, May 27th. He would have turned 6 May 29th.

Authorities believe Samuel’s body was kept in a bathtub of the apartment Balboa and Rivera shared before they moved it to a storage unit, according to the Associated Press.

A tip from a friend of Balboa helped lead investigators to the whereabouts of Samuel’s body.