The mother of a Texas teenager who gained notoriety for his “affluenza” defense in a deadly drunken-driving case waived her right to fight extradition to Texas during a brief court hearing on Tuesday in California.
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A California judge gave Texas authorities until January 19 to pick up Tonya Couch, Reuters reported.
Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson has said when the teenager returns to the United States he will face a detention hearing in the juvenile justice system.
Attorney Fernando Benitez sat down with his client, Ethan Couch, at the immigration detention center where the teen is being held on the outskirts of Mexico City.
It seems possible that in lieu of getting their hands on Ethan Couch, the state of Texas will be happy to jail Tonya Couch, as the affluenza excuse put the spotlight on her bad parenting.
Tonya Couch, left, is seen during an extradition hearing in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
Tonya Couch is headed back to Texas.
Her attorneys have previously released a statement saying they do not believe that she has broken any Texas laws.
Ethan Couch is on probation for driving drunk on June 15, 2013, and crashing into an accident scene in southern Tarrant County, killing four people and injuring others, including passengers in his pickup truck. She’s charged with hindering the apprehension of a felon and will be held on a $1 million bond.
Benitez said Couch could go home to Texas almost immediately if he drops his deportation appeal, or he could drag it out for weeks or months.
She has been in the custody of the Los Angeles Police Department since she landed.
Ethan Couch has been granted a stay in his deportation case while the legal process in Mexico runs its course, according to his Texas attorneys. She faces a penalty of two to 10 years in prison.
During the sentencing phase of his trial, a defense expert argued that Ethan’s wealthy parents had coddled him into a sense of irresponsibility – a condition the expert termed “affluenza”.
The diagnosis is not recognised by the American Psychiatric Association and was widely ridiculed. Anderson said he expects Couch to return Thursday at the earliest.
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She has been wearing the same clothes since she was apprehended by the U.S. Marshals on Wednesday and has only had one shower.
