Prosecutors said more charges will be added as Ms Balboa appeared in court on Monday. Her bond was raised to $600.000 because of Samuel’s death and an alleged assault six months before the child disappeared.
Prosecutor Andrea Beall from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office said a murder or capital murder investigation is pending in the case.
Samuel’s grandmother, Tonya Olson, has said that she last saw him alive on the weekend of 8 May.
He was last seen by someone outside the family on 30 April, when he attended school. Ms Balboa reported him missing almost a month later.