Left to right: Benjamin Rivera and Samuel Olson (Houston Police Dept.).
A 31-year-old man in Texas is facing decades behind bars for helping his roommate, Theresa Balboa, hide the body of a 5-year-old boy after she beat the child to death with a blunt object during COVID-19 quarantine. Benjamin Rivera on Thursday formally pleaded guilty to one count of felony tampering with evidence — human corpse in connection with the 2021 murder of young Samuel Olson, records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
Balboa, who was dating the victim”s father at the time, pleaded guilty in 2023 to one count of first-degree murder in Samuel’s death. She was subsequently sentenced to 52 years in prison but will be eligible for parole after serving only 26 years. She had initially been charged with capital murder.
As previously reported by Law&Crime, Samuel was reported missing by his father on May 27, 2021, after Balboa, who had been watching the child since April 30, claimed the boy’s biological mother had come to Balboa’s home with a police officer and taken her son. However, that story quickly unraveled, as surveillance footage showed the biological mother was at her own home during that time, police wrote in a probable cause affidavit.
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.
