Houston, Texas — A Houston man has admitted his part in a chilling crime, pleading guilty to assisting in hiding the body of a 5-year-old boy killed in 2021 during the pandemic’s most stringent lockdowns. The confession exposes deeper layers of a harrowing case that gripped the city and sparked widespread discussion on child safety and guardianship.
Benjamin Rivera, 31, faced the court on Thursday, pleading guilty to felony tampering with evidence, specifically a human corpse, after authorities uncovered his role in concealing the death of Samuel Olson. The boy was reportedly killed by Rivera’s roommate, Theresa Balboa, who was also the girlfriend of Samuel’s father.
The tragic unraveling began when Balboa reported Samuel missing on May 27, 2021, misleading police with a fabricated story that the boy’s biological mother had taken him away. Police investigations quickly poked holes in her account, revealing that Samuel had in fact died weeks before the report and under more sinister circumstances.
Surveillance footage was instrumental in challenging Balboa’s initial claim, showing the child’s mother at a location far from where Balboa insisted the exchange occurred. This led to rapid developments as law enforcement delved deeper into the boy’s last known interactions and whereabouts.
After his death, it was revealed through police findings that Samuel had been under Balboa’s care when he met his untimely death resulting from a violent assault with a blunt object. Balboa, who later pleaded guilty to murder, is currently serving a 52-year sentence, with a possibility of parole after 26 years.
The complicity of Rivera came to light when he divulged to authorities that on returning to their shared apartment on May 10, upon Balboa’s urgent request, he found the boy unresponsive with visible bruises. The duo initially kept the body hidden in their bathtub, moving it only after two days, meticulously wrapped in plastic and stored in a tote. The remains were then shifted from their apartment to a storage facility and eventually to a motel room in Jasper, around 100 miles northeast of Houston.
The discovery of Samuel’s remains on June 2, 2021, in the motel where Balboa was apprehended marked a significant breakthrough. Balboa disclosed to the police at the scene that Samuel’s body was “inside the box” in the room.
Rivera’s arrest followed the uncovering of these events, more than two weeks after the recovery of Samuel’s body, a discovery that coincided closely with what would have been Samuel’s sixth birthday. He later admitted to purchasing the materials used in concealing Samuel’s body and detailed their efforts to obscure their tracks by relocating the remains.
Now, with Rivera’s sentencing scheduled for October 20, 2025, the case seems poised for a legal closure. However, the emotional and societal repercussions of the disturbing events continue to linger in the Houston community, raising questions about child protection and the devastating impacts of domestic violence.