Now federal officials are helping Texas deputes search for Couch, who was 16 years old when his drunken driving crash killed four pedestrians. As part of Couch’s 10-year probation for the deadly 2013 accident, he was barred from consuming alcohol or drugs. Authorities have speculated as to whether Couch has left the country.
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Prosecutors said his alcohol level was three times the legal limit when he caused the chain reaction crash in Burleson.
Couch’s attorneys made headlines in the case after they invoked a defense that he suffered from “Affluenza”. Couch pled guilty but – despite facing a maximum of 20 years in prison for intoxication manslaughter – was let off with ten years on probation and a mandatory stay at a rehab facility after presenting a controversial “affluenza defence”. Couch and his mother stopped communicating with his probation officer and appear to have abandoned their home. Two were riding in the bed of the truck and were seriously injured. Mohmand suffered broken bones and internal injuries.
In the meantime, Couch’s disappearance means more heartache for the families of those he killed and fuels their belief, and that of others, that he should have gotten a stiffer sentence.
Speaking to CNN’s “AC 360”, Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson remarked that he “wouldn’t be surprised” if the two had fled the country. “I knew he was going to end up in more trouble”.
“He’s going to have to look over his shoulder the rest of his life”, Anderson promised on Wednesday.
“We have recently learned that for the last several days, the juvenile probation officer has been unable to make contact with Ethan or his mother with whom he has been residing”, Couch’s lawyers Scott Brown and Wm Reagan Wynn said in a statement to TV station HLN. “We’re going come after you”, Anderson said. We’re going to find you, wherever you are.
Speaking to theNew York Times, district attorney’s office spokeswoman Samantha Jordan said investigators had yet to confirm Couch had in fact violated the terms of his parole. On Dec. 11, the U.S. Marshals issued an arrest warrant for Couch.
Grisham said officials were interviewing people every day to track Couch and his mother down.
Couch was sentenced as a juvenile in 2013 by Judge Jean Boyd of Tarrant County, Texas. The message the judge sent is all wrong, he said.
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If and when Couch is apprehended, a hearing will be held to determine what will happen to him, including whether his case will be moved from juvenile court to adult court once he turns 19. However, someone posted a beer pong clip on Twitter earlier this month of Couch drinking, and the county DA got wind of it. They went to talk to Couch about it, but it seems he’d disappeared.
