HOUSTON — Court records show a third person has been arrested after the death of Houston child Samuel Olson, 5.
Dylan Walker, 27, was arrested Thursday afternoon. He is facing a charge of tampering with evidence.
Records early Friday showed Walker had already bonded out of jail in Jasper.
Prosecutors say the Jasper motel room where Olson’s body was eventually found was booked under Walker’s name. In probable cause documents filed during the arrest of a previous suspect, Walker was also accused of playing a role in moving the child's body from a storage unit to that motel room.
According to court documents, Walker told an investigator with the Texas Rangers that he called Crime Stoppers to report Balboa was at the Jasper motel, possibly with Olson.
“We never, ever know who our tipsters are,” said Rania Mankarious, CEO of Crime Stoppers of Houston. “The only way a tipster’s identity is revealed is if the tipster, him or herself, makes a statement that they called Crime Stoppers of Houston and shared a tip.”
Mankarious said if Crime Stoppers is made aware a suspect charged was also a tipster, that person would not be eligible for the group’s reward.
“In a situation where there is credible evidence where the tipster, him or herself, is sharing information that only a suspect would know, or in a situation where our law enforcement call takers, the people who handle our tip line, believe that they are talking to a suspect, somebody involved in the case, that person would not be eligible for the Crime Stoppers reward,” Mankarious said.
Mankarious added that Crime Stoppers is still taking tips in the Samuel Olson homicide investigation.
Benjamin Rivera and Theresa Balboa were the first two suspects arrested in the case. They also face charges of tampering with evidence. So far, no one has been charged with the actual killing, however.
Harris County prosecutors on Thursday said they were still working with Houston police to gather evidence and get justice for little Samuel. They also said they believe they found the murder weapon that was used, but they did not elaborate further on the killing.
Samuel, who would have recently turned 6, was falsely reported missing weeks ago before his body was found in a bin, police allege. He had not been seen at school since late April.
No one’s been charged so far in Olson’s actual death.