HOUSTON — The mother of 5-year-old Samuel Olson said she is upset that her son's killer did not go to trial after entering a guilty plea Wednesday morning.
Theresa Balboa pleaded guilty to the murder of her boyfriend's son during a two-hour hearing.
Balboa was initially charged with capital murder in the 2021 case, but the charge was reduced to murder in the plea deal. Balboa's attorney said Tuesday night that Balboa didn't want to put Olson's family through the ordeal of a trial.
She was sentenced to 52 years in prison and will have to serve at least half of that.
Samuel's grandmother gave emotional testimony after Balboa's sentence was handed down. She said "Sammie" had the most infectious smile and told Balboa she’s a monster whose actions have consequences.
Samuel’s mother’s side of the family wore shirts with her son’s picture on them.
"Very sweet boy. He would have been an amazing big brother," a family member told us.
After the court hearing, she told KHOU 11 News she doesn’t think Balboa’s charge should’ve been reduced from capital murder to murder, saying she was robbed of seeing her son grow up.
“You’re an absolutely disgusting person,” Sarah Olson said. “I think she should get life. She has the chance of parole in 26 years. There’s still that chance she can get out. She shouldn’t have a chance at all.”
Olson said she wanted the case to go to trial.
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said quote, “We have now guaranteed that she has been held accountable, will serve decades in prison and can never appeal her sentence, and that is, in small measure, justice.”
Balboa was dating Samuel's dad when the little boy went missing in May 2021.
Samuel's battered body was found five days later in a storage bin at a motel in Jasper. Investigators believe Balboa was headed to Louisiana when she was caught.
Court documents say Balboa beat the child with the help of a roommate, Benjamin Rivera.
According to the initial autopsy report, Samuel died from "homicidal violence with blunt head trauma."
Balboa was the one who reported Samuel missing, but police said there were holes in her story from the beginning. A prosecutor said Balboa called Rivera saying she killed Samuel. They were able to corroborate that by looking at cellphone evidence.
Rivera and Dylan Walker are both charged with tampering with a corpse and have bonded out.
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