Cops Take Son From Mother So He Can Get Murdered By Crazy Woman

Cops Take Son From Mother So He Can Get Murdered By Crazy Woman

Samuel Dalton Ronald Olsen was born in Texas on May 29th, 2015, to parents Sarah and Dalton Olsen. Samuel had wavy golden-brown hair, blue eyes, and round cheeks. He had just started losing his baby teeth, and his wide smile showed off the space left behind when his two bottom teeth fell out. He loved Toy Story and all of the characters, including Forky, but his favorite characters were Buzz Lightyear and Woody. He was obsessed with the movies, rewatching them countless times. He carried his Buzz and Woody toys everywhere and even had Toy Story pajamas and Buzz Lightyear tennis shoes.

Neighbors said he was a normal, happy kid who liked to run and play in the yard with his dad. He also loved dinosaurs, and his grandmother said he was so smart he could tell you which ones were herbivores and which ones were carnivores. Samuel had a funny personality and was described as a happy and goofy kid. His grandmother said he was affectionate and gave awesome hugs. He was sweet, well-behaved, and, according to his mother, definitely a mama’s boy. He could always make her smile, and she said, “I always loved when he called me beautiful.”

The Custody Battle and Growing Volatility

By the time Samuel was two, Sarah and Dalton were struggling to get along. Dalton moved out in 2017, leaving Samuel and Sarah behind. The couple officially separated in April of 2019, just a month before the boy’s fourth birthday. Sarah was awarded primary custody, while Dalton had visitation rights and was supposed to pay child support. In January of 2020, Dalton got an attorney and filed for sole custody, claiming he was concerned for Samuel’s well-being. A few days later, Sarah filed for divorce.

Now, sometime after the couple separated, Dalton started a new relationship with a woman named Teresa Balboa. Teresa had been the victim of domestic violence in a previous relationship and had lost custody of her own children in 2019. Neither Teresa nor the father of those children showed up in court the day custody was decided. The father, Alex Rizzo, wrote a letter to the judge asking him to award custody of their two daughters to his mother. His relationship with Teresa had gotten toxic and dangerous for everyone involved. He wrote, “I put myself in a position with that woman in which the only possible outcome was failure. Things had gotten so bad between Teresa and I, and we couldn’t get along,” citing an onslaught of verbal and physical abuse between both of them.

Several years before she lost her girls, Teresa had also lost custody of a son she had with another man. It is unclear whether Dalton knew about her history, and details weren’t released about how she treated her children, but they weren’t taken away because she was a good mother. Though they were arguing over custody in court, Sarah still dropped Samuel off for his regular weekend visit on January 18th. On Monday, Dalton refused to give him back.

The Legal Breakdown and Escalation

Still trying to be responsible and follow the law, Sarah arranged for a police deputy escort to his house on January 24th. The deputy then called the Harris County DA to ask if he could arrest Dalton for interfering with child custody, but the DA said no. Sarah had to leave, and Samuel stayed with Dalton. Frustrated and heartbroken, Sarah filed a motion that day asking the court to make Dalton return Samuel to her.

As we have seen in countless cases, even in the best of times, the legal system is agonizingly slow, and 2020 was not the best of times. Nationwide lockdowns were imposed in March, and Texas courts were shut down for months. Sarah could do nothing to get her son back. Once the courts reopened, her case moved very slowly. Finally, Sarah and her mother, Tiffany Clark Pharmaka, were given court-ordered permission to attend Samuel’s fifth birthday party on May 31st, 2020. Since Dalton was supposed to be there, she asked if he could be served with papers ordering him to let her take Samuel home. The court refused, citing continued concerns with disease prevention protocols.

Still, she and her mother were both so happy to finally see Samuel, and he was happy to see them as well. He told his mother, “I knew you would come for me,” and stayed close to her during the entire party. He told his grandmother he didn’t like being with his dad and that he didn’t like Teresa because they both were so mean to him.

Sarah had reached her limit. She had tried to do things the legal way, but nothing was working; she wanted her son back, so she decided to sneak Samuel out the side door and take him home with her. As she drove away, Dalton jumped in front of her car, forcing her to stop. He then claimed that she ran him over. The party was held at Dalton’s mother’s house, and several of his family members also attended, which meant he had plenty of witnesses to back up his story.

An argument broke out, and Teresa started cursing at Sarah’s mom, Tiffany. Between swear words, she said, “I wish I had my bat so I could beat Sarah with it.” Dalton told Sarah, “You will never see or speak to Samuel ever again.”

The police were called, and Sarah tried to explain that she was supposed to have custody of her son, but they didn’t care because child custody was a civil matter; their only concern was the criminal offense that Sarah had allegedly committed. Several of Dalton’s family members swore that she had tried to run him over. Sarah was arrested. Before they took her away, she told Samuel she loved him and that everything would be okay. A deputy sat with Samuel in the back of a patrol car while the situation was sorted out, but eventually the police told her to leave as well. Samuel was crying when she left.

Stalled Proceedings and Hidden Danger

Police issued a protective order and no-contact order against Sarah, though an exception was made so she had permission from the courts to talk to Dalton about Samuel’s care. Sarah fought the assault charges but wasn’t able to get them dismissed. She also continued to fight for custody, but her case stalled because Dalton kept moving his home address, making it difficult for the court to serve him with the required paperwork. Each time he moved, Samuel had to get used to new living arrangements and be registered with a new school. She was legally allowed to talk to Samuel, but Dalton wouldn’t put him on the phone. Sarah believed Dalton was using Samuel to punish her for their failed relationship; she thought he moved on purpose to evade court orders. He claimed he misunderstood their legal situation and thought he had been made the custodial parent, but he was mistaken—according to the courts, Sarah still had joint custody, and his actions violated the law.

In November, Dalton found out firsthand just how violent Teresa could be when the couple got into an altercation. Police were called, and she was arrested for assaulting Dalton. Under the law, they described it as “with the intent of impeding breath,” which means she tried to choke him. Another protective order was issued stating Teresa should have no contact with Dalton or anybody in his family, including Samuel. Dalton was required by state law to inform Sarah of a protective order that affected her child, but he never notified her. Teresa was released on a $5,000 bond while waiting for her trial. Soon, Dalton forgave Teresa, and they resumed spending time together in direct violation of the restraining order. He also continued to let her babysit Samuel.

In January of 2021, the couple announced their engagement on social media. Sometime after that, Dalton moved again, this time with a family friend in northwest Houston. Samuel was enrolled in Holbrook Elementary School, which was a short walk away from them. Neighbors often saw Dalton walking Samuel to school during the short time he lived there. Samuel was last seen at the elementary school on April 30th, 2021. He wasn’t unenrolled, and he didn’t switch to virtual school, but he was never reported as truant, even after several weeks. During a normal school year, his absence might have raised a red flag, but in a year that had started with online classes, no one raised an alarm whatsoever.

According to Dalton, he sent Samuel to quarantine with Teresa, though there are no records of the boy being taken to a doctor and no reports that Samuel was sick at the time at all. The arrangement was also very unusual: Teresa was living in an apartment with her roommate, Benjamin Rivera, who also happened to be her ex-boyfriend. Dalton continued to live separately with a friend in Houston. It is unclear why Dalton thought a woman who had attacked him and that woman’s ex-boyfriend were both suitable caregivers for his five-year-old son.

Samuel’s paternal grandmother, Tanya Olsen, claimed that she saw Samuel on May 2nd at a get-together at her house. She claimed she talked to him on the phone later that week. She was already planning his sixth birthday party on May 24th. Sarah was optimistic; she and Dalton were due in court for a custody hearing, and she would finally be able to take Samuel home. However, Dalton’s lawyer filed another motion, and the case was rescheduled yet again. By this time, she hadn’t seen or talked to her little boy in almost a year.

The Investigation and Discovery

Three days later, Samuel was reported missing, and Teresa claimed Sarah had taken him from the beginning. This story was strange: Teresa and Dalton waited over 10 hours before calling the police. He claimed he was taken at 7:30 that morning but didn’t report the alleged crime until 6:00 p.m. When police arrived at her apartment on McAvoy Drive to take a report, Teresa said Sarah and a fake cop showed up at her apartment that morning and made her hand over the boy.

In her written statement to the police, Teresa said, “Samuel and I went to the backyard to feed my two dogs. While we walked back to the car, we saw Sarah Olsen and a police officer standing in the driveway. Sarah pointed at Samuel and myself, saying, ‘That’s my son,’ and she took him. The officer told me I need to release Samuel or I would go to jail because I have no legal rights to him.” Teresa also described the outfit Samuel and Sarah were wearing, adding more details to her elaborate story.

Investigators from missing persons immediately contacted Sarah and asked if she had seen Samuel. She said she hadn’t, but this was the first time she had heard that he was gone. Based on Sarah’s previous behavior, police were likely suspicious, but Sarah was able to provide an alibi backed up with surveillance camera footage that showed she hadn’t left her home at all that day.

The next day, on May 28th, police questioned all of Samuel’s family members. Dalton filed his own written statement with the police in which he confirmed everything Teresa had said. He wrote, “The officer demanded Teresa to turn Samuel over to him, or she would go to jail. Teresa complied with the officer,” as if he had witnessed the events as she described them, though that would have been impossible. As they continued interviews with the family, Houston police were frustrated because Teresa’s story kept changing.

That same day, Texas EquuSearch—a nonprofit group that helps find missing people—posted about Samuel on their social media page. The Houston Police also posted their own missing person’s alert the next day, in a horrible coincidence, happening to be on Samuel’s birthday. Both alerts said Samuel was last seen with an unknown man and described the outfit the boy was wearing: a gray t-shirt, jean shorts, Buzz Lightyear tennis shoes, and mismatched superhero socks.

On May 31st, EquuSearch brought in ATVs to help search wooded and grassy areas surrounding Teresa’s apartment, while other volunteers, including Dalton and Teresa, went door-to-door handing out flyers with Samuel’s picture. During the search, the head of EquuSearch, Tim Miller, tried to get more information from the couple. When Dalton complained to him that in the past Sarah had almost run him over, Tim said, “I don’t care what Sarah almost did; your son isn’t almost missing.” He told Teresa, “I’m so damn disappointed in you. Every word you’re saying is a lie.” He told Dalton his girlfriend was responsible for whatever had happened to his son. After that conversation, Teresa went inside her apartment, changed her clothes, and said she was going to go pass out more flyers, but instead, she disappeared.

The following morning, Dalton’s mother, Tanya, spoke to the media, begging for information and swearing that she and her son had no idea whatsoever what had happened. When asked about Teresa, Tanya said she was really good with Samuel, saying, “She does flash cards with him, takes him to the beach, and plays with him.” She also defended her son, saying, “Dalton is not a bad father. He would never harm that baby and loves him to death; he would die for him.” During the same conference, she admitted the family didn’t know where Teresa was, saying, “Teresa, if you’re watching this, you need to contact the Houston Police Department. If you’re telling the truth, you have God on your side.”

That same day, police got a warrant to search Teresa’s apartment and towed away her black Dodge Avenger. That night, a tip came in to Texas Crime Stoppers that led police to a hotel room in Jasper. The tipster, Dylan Walker, said Teresa had called him the day before and said she needed help after an altercation. She met him in a Walmart parking lot in Cleveland, Texas, and asked him to drive her to a storage facility near her apartment about an hour’s drive away. At her storage unit, he helped her move a black and yellow plastic container into the back of his truck. She wanted to go to Louisiana, but he drove her as far as Jasper, where he rented Room 106 at the Best Western Inn under his name. He helped her carry the plastic bin up to his room but quickly left because the smell coming from the bin was horrific.

Crime Stoppers passed the tip on to Houston Police, who coordinated with the Jasper Police Department. Officers went to the room and knocked but got no answer. Hotel staff supplied them with a spare key to open the door, and once inside, one of the officers noted the smell of decomposing human remains. They found Teresa in the bathroom and asked where Samuel’s body was; she said it was inside the box. When they opened the box, they found a small human body wrapped in a black plastic sheet and duct tape.

Examination of the hotel surveillance footage showed Dylan and Teresa dragging the box out of his truck at 3:30 the previous morning. Though they suspected they had found Samuel, they had to positively identify the remains before they could be sure. The body was transported to the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences for autopsy. On June 2nd, police confirmed they had found Samuel, and his death had occurred weeks before, on May 12th—17 days before his sixth birthday. When Dalton’s lawyer was filing to reschedule the custody hearing, the boy was already dead. While Teresa was crying on national TV and passing out missing persons flyers, she knew exactly where Samuel was: in a storage unit just down the road from her apartment.

Accountability and Legal Outcomes

Dalton and Teresa’s attempt to frame Sarah made the DA reconsider what happened the day police arrested her and stopped her from taking Samuel home. Dalton’s account had changed several times, and one of the witnesses admitted they really hadn’t seen what happened. On June 4th, the DA dropped the assault charges against Sarah in the interest of justice.

Police continued their investigation into Samuel’s murder, particularly focusing on Benjamin. He eventually confessed to helping Teresa move Samuel’s body, but he denied playing a larger role. He said Teresa called him in mid-May and said, “I think I’ve killed him.” Using all collected information, investigators concluded that Samuel died on May 12th. Benjamin went home, where he saw Samuel’s bruised body on a bed in the apartment. He helped Teresa move the boy to the bathtub, where they left him for two days. In text messages, they discussed moving his body again because the apartment’s maintenance man needed to enter the apartment. Benjamin went to the local Walmart and bought duct tape, a large plastic sheet, and a black and yellow storage container. He helped Teresa wrap Samuel up and shove his body into the bin, which stayed in the apartment for several more days.

On May 22nd—after he had been dead for 10 days—they moved Samuel’s body to the storage unit. Police recovered surveillance video showing a man and a woman arriving at that facility. The camera didn’t capture their faces, but the truck they were in matched the make and model of Benjamin’s pickup truck, and an identical plastic box sat in the truck’s bed.

On June 23rd, Benjamin Rivera was arrested and charged with tampering with evidence involving a human corpse. Benjamin’s bond was set for $100,000, and he bonded out the next day with requirements to wear a GPS monitor and have no contact with minors. Dylan Walker was arrested on June 24th and charged with tampering with evidence with the intent to impair; his bond was set for $125,000, and he too bonded out the same day.

Teresa was arrested the day she was found with Samuel’s body and initially charged with tampering with evidence involving a human corpse. Her original bond was set at $500,000, but it was raised to $600,000 once the court realized she was already out on bond for trying to choke Dalton the previous November. On July 8th, she was charged with capital murder, and her bond was revoked. Dalton’s mother, Tanya, said she was shocked that Teresa was arrested. Dalton kept quiet, speaking only through his attorney, who said the father was devastated by the whole situation and had no reason to suspect something was off with Teresa. Dalton continued to deny any responsibility.

After many delays, Teresa’s trial was scheduled to begin on August 7th, 2023, with Judge Hazel Jones presiding. Prosecutor Andrea Beal said she reviewed all the evidence in preparation for the trial, and it corroborated the statements Benjamin made. The medical examiner’s report listed his cause of death as homicidal violence with blunt head trauma. Teresa accepted a plea deal: she pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and admitted she killed Samuel by hitting him with a blunt object. She was sentenced to 52 years in prison and must serve at least 26 years before becoming eligible for parole. As part of her plea, she agreed that she could not appeal her conviction or sentence. She was sent to the William P. Hobby Prison in Marlin, Texas, and will be eligible for parole on June 3rd, 2047.

After the plea, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg stated:

“This woman robbed the world of a little boy with a big smile and bright future, and there is no prison sentence long enough for someone like her. 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.”

Many of Samuel’s family members attended the sentencing hearing on May 17th, including Dalton and Sarah. Dalton clenched his fists during the proceedings and left before any of the family got up to give their statements. In her impact statement, Sarah expressed anger and frustration because Teresa could be paroled after 26 years, saying:

“My son didn’t even get six years of life, and she still gets a chance at one? This is not justice.”

When asked if anyone else would be charged, including Dalton, prosecutor Beal said, “I don’t believe so.” This was not the news Sarah wanted to hear; she thought Dalton should face legal repercussions for his actions. She said, “He was supposed to keep our son safe. He didn’t. He took him away from me for what? To have him murdered?”

Memorials and Legacy

After the state released Samuel’s body, Dalton continued to torment Sarah, refusing to agree to cremation and forcing Sarah to jump through hoops to make that final decision for her son. Her mother, Tiffany, organized a small private memorial held on July 10th. Only family and close friends attended, celebrating his short life with pictures and stories. Tiffany said losing her grandson left her broken beyond repair.

When Samuel’s birthday approached in May of 2022, she posted a request:

“Please pray for my daughter as this weekend passes. On May 29th, Samuel would have turned seven. Pray for all the children split between two families and being kept from one side out of spite or selfishness. The person that suffers most is the child.”

Samuel’s other grandmother, Tanya, also misses her grandson every day. The first Christmas without him, she attended the annual holiday memorial tree ceremony hosted by Crime Stoppers, decorating her personalized ornament with a picture of Samuel, rows of eggs—because that was his nickname for her—and a drawing of Buzz and Woody from Toy Story.

Sarah said that her faith in God and everyone’s prayers helped her to survive her loss. In the statement released through her lawyer, she emphasized:

“All I want is justice for Samuel, my baby. I do not want people to forget Samuel’s name.”

She also spoke publicly about the flaws in our current legal system, urging other parents:

“Don’t stop fighting for your babies. Do whatever it takes, just make sure they’re safe.”