Prosecutors say additional charges will be filed against Theresa Balboa, the girlfriend of Samuel Olson's father, after an autopsy is completed on the little boy's remains.
More criminal charges are expected to be filed against Theresa Balboa as soon as an autopsy is completed on the remains of little Samuel Olson, according to the Harris County District Attorney's office.
Balboa, 29, is the girlfriend of Dalton Olson, Sam's father. She was arrested last week in Jasper County, Texas, where police found her in a Best Western motel room with what are believed to be the decomposing remains of the missing boy.
During a brief court appearance Monday, Balboa appeared shackled and in orange jumpsuit and her bail was raised to $600,000. She is charged with evidence tampering involving a human corpse, authorities said.
Balboa is being held at the Harris County Jail. Her next court appearance is scheduled for July 29.
Prosecutor Andrea Beall told the court that additional charges are expected in the murder or capital murder investigation.
The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences in Houston has not officially identified the body, but police have said the remains found inside a plastic bin belong to Samuel Olson, who was reported missing on May 27, two days before his sixth birthday.
Police have also said the little boy may have been dead for weeks before the bin was discovered on June 1.
Balboa did not speak at Tuesday's hearing. The prosecutor also noted that Balboa was charged in November with assault for allegedly choking Sam's father and had violated the conditions of a protective order that prevented her from contacting Dalton Olson and his family.
The boy's father called police May 27 to report Samuel's disappearance. Balboa falsely told officers the boy's mother arrived that morning with a uniformed officer and took the child, authorities said. But her story began to fall apart as investigators spoke to the boy's mother, who provided home surveillance video showing she had never left her house, according to court documents.
An arrest warrant affidavit said Balboa's roommate told investigators he arrived home May 10 to find Samuel bruised and unresponsive on the bed. He and Balboa put the boy's body in their bathtub and left him there for two days, the document said. He then helped her move the child's remains to a storage locker after placing them in a black plastic bag and stashing them a bin, the affidavit says.
Another friend helped Balboa retrieve the bin on June 1, which was emitting a foul odor, and drove the woman to the motel, some 130 miles away, according to court documents. After helping Balboa move the bin into the room, the friend went home, and later called Crime Stoppers to report Balboa's location, authorities said.
Houston police have released few details in the case, saying they were questioning people in connection to Sam's disappearance, including his dad.
Samuel Olson's father has not been charged in the case and Houston Police said he is not a person of interest, but more charges could be filed. "He had nothing to do with the death of his son," attorney Samuel Veenstra said, according to KPRC. The "family is in mourning, shocked and in disbelief."
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