Sarah Olson told Inside Edition the last time she saw her son was at his birthday party last year. Police say Samuel's dad's girlfriend was found with Samuel's body in a motel room earlier this month.
The mother of Samuel Olson, the 5-year-old boy found dead in a Texas motel room earlier this month, is speaking about the bitter custody battle between her and the boy’s father, Dalton Olson.
Sarah Olson told Inside Edition the last time she saw her son was at his birthday party in May 2020. Over the next year, she says COVID-19 made it impossible to appear before a family court judge and fight for the little boy’s return.
On May 27, Dalton reported Samuel missing, two days before his sixth birthday. Five days later, sheriff’s deputies discovered Dalton’s girlfriend, Theresa Balboa, in a Best Western motel room allegedly with Samuel's decomposing body.
Samuel's death has been ruled a homicide caused by blunt trauma to the head, according to autopsy results made public last week. Balboa was charged with evidence tampering involving a human corpse and is being held in lieu of $600,000 bail at the Houston County Jail. No one has been charged with killing Samuel.
Samuel’s disappearance made headlines when Dalton and Balboa gave a tearful interview after they reported Samuel missing. Blaboa also accused Sarah of taking Sam.
"I was gonna take Sam to school when his mother showed up with the police officer, or what I was under the impression to be a police officer and they demanded me to release Sam,” Balboa told reporters.
However, Balboa’s roommate told investigators that he arrived home on May 10 to find Samuel’s corpse lying on the bed, according to the criminal complaint filed in Balboa’s case. He and Balboa allegedly placed the body in their bathtub, where it remained for two days, authorities said.
They later wrapped the body in plastic, placed it in a bin and transported it to a storage locker, the roommate told officers, according to the complaint. The roommate was not been charged.
“It was all a lie,” Sarah says of Dalton's search for the boy. She doesn’t believe Balboa acted on her own.
“Dalton's definitely involved, in my opinion,” Sarah said. “With all the evidence that has been brought to light, his father is definitely responsible for his death.”
Dalton Olson has not been charged or arrested and denies having anything to do with Samuel’s death.
The boy had loved “Toy Story” since he was a little baby, Sarah said, as she shared photos of her son from happier days and a collection of his favorite toys with Inside Edition.
“I felt like the world was against me,” the grieving mom said.
As she tries to process her son’s murder, Sarah says she’s haunted by the last thing she ever said to him. “I told him everything would be OK. It wasn't OK.”
