Samuel Olson's mother Sarah says Dalton Olson and Theresa Balboa '100 percent' responsible for his death
HOUSTON, TEXAS: Sarah Olson, the mother of Samuel Olson, has called for the arrest of the six-year-old’s father Dalton Olson. She issued a statement through her attorney on Wednesday night, June 2, asking for the arrest after his partner Theresa Balboa was detained on Tuesday, June 1.
Before she was arrested, Balboa had allegedly planned to travel to Louisiana with the child’s body. A motion for bail obtained by The Daily Beast alleged that after having her roommate help her hide the boy’s body, she schemed to flee the state of Texas with the remains. But her plan was foiled when authorities found her and the body inside a Jasper, Texas, hotel room. She's charged with tampering with evidence in connection with Samuel's death. More charges could be filed after the Harris County Medical Examiner determines how the boy died.
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While in a press conference on Wednesday, Houston Police Assistant Chief Heather Miller said Dalton was not currently considered a person of interest, Sarah said that she feels both Dalton and Balboa are "100 percent" responsible for her son's reported death.
"She feels that if Samuel is deceased ... [and] that this is her child after the identification process, she feels 100 percent of the blame is on both Dalton and Theresa," attorney Marco Gonzalez said. "Theresa is in custody, but she also strongly believes that the adults, you know, the child's father, should also be in custody, because she feels 100 percent that they both have something to do with this."
Gonzalez further said, "So, she's hoping, you know, praying that he also will be taken into custody. So that justice can be done for Samuel."
Dalton, reportedly, was “shocked and devastated” to learn of Balboa’s alleged involvement in the story. He and his family initially believed Balboa’s account leading up to Samuel’s disappearance. Balboa had claimed that on May 27, the child’s mother and a man in a uniform showed up at her house and told her she would go to jail if she didn’t let him take the boy.
“It’s been a rollercoaster,” attorney Samuel Veenstra said. “He had no reason to suspect something was off with Theresa, assuming Theresa did this.” Veenstra also denied that Dalton had anything to do with the disappearance or apparent death. “He’s been nothing but devastated through this whole situation,” he said. “To put blame on Dalton, as having responsibility for the death of his son, it’s just absurd.”
Dalton, reportedly, had been engaged in a custody battle with Sarah, who was divorcing him, and he believed he had primary custody over their child. The estranged couple spent almost two years attempting to negotiate Samuel’s care.
They had separated and entered a custody order in April 2019, splitting time with Samuel, as per Veenstra. When he felt concerned over Samuel’s wellbeing, Dalton allegedly filed another order in January 2020 and hired an attorney. Sarah filed for divorce days later. “The relationship between Sarah and Sam has been real rocky to say the least,” the attorney said. “We’re not trying to throw Sarah under the bus by any stretch. It’s a young couple that had issues. They couldn’t get along.”