Mother of ‘affluenza’ teen agrees to be sent back to Texas

Tonya Couch is looking at a third-degree felony for accompanying her son to Mexico last month, possibly in violation of the probation he received for a DWI crash that killed four people. In video obtained by CNN, Couch can be seen in handcuffs with us marshals at Los Angeles International Airport on her return from Mexico.

Her attorneys have previously released a statement saying they do not believe that she has broken any Texas laws. He added that she faced a $1 million bond in Tarrant County.

Couch is at a facility in Mexico City where illegal immigrants are held while their cases are processed.

Prosecutors plan to ask that Tonya Couch, 48, be extradited to the Lone Star State, where she is charged with hindering the apprehension of a felon.

It was unclear when Ethan Couch would be returned to the United States. Her attorney said the timing of her return is now up to Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson, although it may take until Wednesday to complete all the paperwork in California.

The statement says that while the public may not like or agree with what Couch did, she never violated Texas law when she and her son went to Mexico.

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.

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 condition is not recognized as a medical diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association, and its invocation during the legal proceedings drew ridicule.

Tonya Couch, who was wanted on a charge of hindering apprehension, was flown out of Mexico and landed in Los Angeles early Thursday en route to Texas.

The Couches had filed an injunction to delay their extradition and a judge in Mexico would have up to 72 hours to consider the injunction, they said. At the time, many were outraged that a judge sentenced him to probation instead of jail time, slamming his now-notorious “affluenza” defense – that he was too rich and spoiled to understand the consequences of his actions.