The mother of a Texas teenager, derided over a claim of “affluenza” as a defense for his deadly drunken-driving crash, arrived in the United States on Thursday after deportation from Mexico while her son won a delay in his extradition, officials said.
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Couch will remain in custody until deputies from the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department in Texas come to get her, said Officer Norma Eisenman, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman.
Couch was deported back to the USA from Mexico last week after hiding out with her son, Ethan Couch.
She is expected to waive extradition at a hearing Tuesday morning in Los Angeles.
The Daily Mail reported Monday that Ethan Couch maxed out his debit card and was so drunk that employees had to help him back to the hotel he was hiding at with his mom.
The pair fled to Mexico after officials in Tarrant County, Texas, began an investigation into whether the teenager violated the probation deal that kept him out of prison after he killed four people with his pickup truck in 2013.
Down in Texas, Ethan Couch is being represented by hotshot lawyer Fernando Benitez, who is questioning the legality of the United States seeking the return of Couch to Texas. She has been charged with hindering the apprehension of a felon.
Ethan Couch was being held at a detention facility in Mexico City after winning a court reprieve that could lead to a weekslong or even monthslong legal process in Mexico. Her attorney says that she is eager to have her statement in court.
Her attorney maintains that she violated no laws.
Ethan Couch, now 18-years-old, was on probation for killing four people in a drunk driving accident. During his 2013 trial on drunken-driving charges, a defense witness testified that Ethan was afflicted with “affluenza”, saying that his irresponsible behavior and lifestyle were a product of his affluent upbringing and “profoundly dysfunctional” parents. The condition is not recognized as a medical diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association, and its invocation drew ridicule.
She said very little during the hearing, answering “yes” when asked if she is the Tonya Couch wanted by the state of Texas, according to The Associated Press.
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Her son was sentenced to ten years of drink- and drug-free probation, which critics saw as leniency because of his family’s wealth.
