But prosecutor Richard Rousseau described Tonya Couch as a “well-financed suspect”, who “cut all ties and headed for the border”.
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A judge has sharply reduced the bond of the mother of a Texas teenager who used an “affluenza” defense after killing four people in a drunken wreck. The condition is not recognized as a medical diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association, and its invocation drew ridicule.
On Monday, Mothers Against Drunk Driving started a petition supporting Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson’s decision to ask for Ethan Couch to be moved from the juvenile justice system to the adult criminal system. A judge on Monday also ordered that Couch undergo a mental exam. Couch is in custody on the charge of hindering the apprehension of a felon after fleeing to Mexico with her son Ethan, who may have violated his probation.
Stephanie Patten, an attorney for the mother, said her bank account had been frozen and she could not access enough money to pay the bond. Tonya Couch will stay with McWilliams if she makes bond, which generally requires a payment of 10 percent of the total bond to a bondsman. Tonya Couch was brought back to Texas last week after first being taken to Los Angeles. She will be released on Tuesday after an electronic ankle monitor is put on her, Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said. The teen didn’t have his own ID, however, Gabbert said.
Law enforcement officials believe the mother and son had a going away party shortly before driving across the border in her pickup truck, making their way to Puerto Vallarta.
Couch, 18, remains in a Mexican jail and is fighting extradition to the USA, where he faces jail time for violating his probation.
During Ethan’s sentencing, a psychologist hired by his defense team coined the term “affluenza”, which he used to describe Ethan’s irresponsible lifestyle associated with his affluent upbringing.
Before she and her son fled to Mexico, she withdrew $30,000 from her account and told her husband that he would not see them again, an arrest affidavit stated.
She has 30 days to undergo that evaluation.
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Video surfaced online late previous year that appeared to show Ethan Couch in violation of his probation.
