A 31-year-old man in Texas faces decades in prison for assisting his flatmate, Theresa Balboa, in concealing the body of a 5-year-old boy after she beat the child to death with a blunt object during the Covid-19 quarantine.
On Thursday, Benjamin Rivera formally pleaded guilty to one count of felony tampering with evidence — human corpse in connection with the 2021 murder of young Samuel Olson, according to records reviewed by Law&Crime.
Balboa, who was dating the victim’s father at the time, pleaded guilty in 2023 to one count of first-degree murder for Samuel’s death.
She was sentenced to 52 years in prison, but will be eligible for parole after only 26 years. She was initially 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 arrived at Balboa’s home with a police officer and taken her son.
However, that story quickly unravelled, as surveillance footage revealed the biological mother was at her own home at the time, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Investigators quickly discovered that Balboa had killed Samuel weeks before. Rivera later admitted that he helped Balboa hide Samuel’s body.
According to the affidavit, Rivera told police that on May 10, Balboa called to inform him that Samuel “was deceased and not breathing.” Rivera left work and returned home, discovering Samuel “unresponsive on a bed” with “bruising” on his body.
“He and Teresa Balboa put [Samuel’s] corpse in the bathtub, where he 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 it in a plastic tote, and placed the tote in the defendant’s vehicle.
Defendant stated that he and Theresa Balboa then drove the corpse to a storage unit at 16650 Highway 3, Webster, Harris County, Texas, where they placed the corpse and plastic tote.”
Several days later, authorities said Rivera and Balboa transferred the child’s body from the storage unit to a motel room in Jasper, Texas.
When police and Texas Rangers arrived at Balboa’s room on June 2, 2021, they discovered her hiding in the bathroom. When asked about the boy’s whereabouts, Balboa replied that he “was inside the box.”
Rivera was taken into custody more than two weeks after the body was discovered. Samuel would have turned six on May 29, 2021.
Rivera faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on October 20, 2025.
