The mother of Ethan Couch, who used an “affluenza” defense after killing people in a drunken-driving wreck appeared in court on a cha…
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Mark J. Terrill/AP Tonya Couch is taken by authorities to a waiting auto after arriving in Los Angeles on Thursday.
The mother of a fugitive teen who used an “affluenza” defense after killing four people in a drunken crash was returned to Texas on Thursday to face a charge of helping her son evade capture.
Tonya Couch, who did not enter a plea, can be seen wearing a yellow jumpsuit as a Texas judge asked her to confirm her name and marital status.
Tonya Couch was escorted on an American Airlines flight by two sheriff’s deputies after being picked up from a Los Angeles County jail, according to Terry Grisham, executive administrator for the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office in Texas. She is expected to be arraigned Friday on a charge of hindering the apprehension of a felon.
After fleeing to Mexico and getting caught after a worldwide manhunt, Couch and her fugitive son tried to fight coming back to the United States. After authorities had examined the video further, they determined that Ethan and his mother appear to be celebrating their plan to flee to Mexico. The video raised questions about whether he had violated his probation agreement, which was reached in juvenile court.
Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said he spoke with a subdued Mrs Couch at the airport.
“It is not a question of if he is coming back, it is a question of when he is coming back”, Anderson said.
Live TV footage provided by broadcaster WFAA showed Tonya Couch being led off a plane after her trip from California and placed in a sport utility vehicle.
At a hearing Tuesday in Los Angeles, the 48-year-old woman waived extradition to Texas.
“I think we will feel better about her being closely monitored rather than being set loose without any restrictions at all”. Breitbart Texas reported that late Thursday, Couch’s attorney, Stephanie Patten, filed a motion to have that bond amount reduced to $15,000, calling the $1 million bond “unreasonable” because it reflected six times the recommended bail for a third-degree felony in the Tarrant County Bond Schedule, according to the Dallas Morning News.
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Her son, Ethan Couch, remains at a holding facility in Mexico City.
