Death of 5-Year-Old Houston Boy Whose Body Was Found in Motel Ruled A Homicide

HOUSTON (WBAP/KLIF News) – There’s more tragic news in the death of a Houston boy whose body was found in a storage unit at the Best Western Inn in Jasper, about 135 miles northeast of Houston, last week.

The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences ruled that 5-year-old Samuel Olson died of homicidal violence with blunt head trauma, according to the Associated Press.

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

Theresa Ray Balboa, Samuel’s father’s girlfriend, has been charged with tampering with evidence, a human corpse in connection with the boy’s death.

Investigators said Balboa initially accused Samuel’s mother and an unknown man of taking the boy. He’d been living with Balboa since April 30th, the last day he was seen at school.

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

Police say additional charges against Balboa are pending.