HOUSTON – Two weeks after 5-year-old Samuel Olson’s body was found in a motel room in Jasper, Texas, the boy’s mother spoke out for the first time on Tuesday.
“I’m holding up. It’s hard,” Samuel’s mother, Sarah Olson, said on Tuesday. “I’m taking it day-by-day. No one ever expects anything like this to happen. I’m trying to understand things.”
Sarah’s attorney, Marco González, said this is the first time the mother is speaking out publically because she wanted to wait until the boy’s body had been identified, which happened on June 9.
González also stated that Sarah felt like Samuel’s father, Dalton Olson, should be in custody after learning that his girlfriend, Theresa Balboa, was arrested and charged with tampering with evidence in connection to Samuel’s case.
“With all of the evidence that has been brought to life, how is he not involved?” Sarah asked.
Sarah said she believes the police have all the information they need, and as far as charges, she believes they know what they are going to do.
Balboa initially accused Sarah and a man who presented himself as a police officer of taking the boy. Samuel had been living with Balboa since April 30, which was the last day he was seen at school. Authorities have not said why Samuel was staying with Balboa. Samuel’s father, Dalton, lived at a different address.
Samuel’s parents had been involved in a custody battle over the boy after filing for divorce in January 2020.
A spokesperson for the Department of Family and Protective Services would not confirm who had custody of the boy at the time he went missing.
“We don’t have details to share because investigations are confidential by law,” wrote Melissa Lanford, a public relations officer for DFPS.
González said his client had primary custody and was denied for many months from getting the child. He said Sarah hadn’t had access to Samuel since January 2020.
On Tuesday, Sarah said that she actually last saw Samuel at his birthday party on May 31, 2020.
She said that she planned to take the boy home that day, but she was denied by Dolton. She also said that Dolton prevented her from communicating with Samuel after that day.
“He actually told me that I would never speak to him (Samuel) again,” Sarah said. “I called police after police to figure out what to do and it came down to it being a civil matter, so I had to take it to court.”
González said his client feels like she was let down by the system.
Watch the full news conference below:
The Associated Press contributed to this article.