HOUSTON – High-profile attorney Anthony Osso was assigned to the capital murder case against Theresa Balboa.
Balboa, 29, is accused of killing Samuel Olson, 5, who was her boyfriend’s son.
Court documents stated that Balboa killed Samuel in her Webster apartment in May, took his body to a storage unit and drove to a Jasper motel.
Police believe Samuel, who would have turned 6 years old on May 29, died weeks before Balboa reported him missing on May 27, according to documents. The Harris County Medical Examiner determined Samuel died of blunt force trauma. Prosecutors said they filed a capital murder charge based on forensic evidence, phone records and statements from Balboa’s roommate.
Osso said the first step was putting together a defense team to help in the case. He said they’ll likely hire an independent pathologist to review the autopsy.
“It’s a slow process and we ask people to keep an open mind. It’s an unfortunate situation and we don’t have all the evidence in the case yet. It’s gonna take us a while to figure this out,” Osso said.
Balboa’s roommate Benjamin Rivera, 27, and Dylan Walker, 27, have both been charged with tampering with evidence.
Court documents said Walker drove Balboa to Jasper and rented the motel room where Samuel’s body was found.
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg has yet to decide if prosecutors will pursue the death penalty.
