‘Affluenza Mom’ Complains About Uncomfortable Jail Cell, Sheriff Snaps Back

The mother of “affluenza” teen Ethan Couch appeared in court Friday morning for an arraignment and complained about conditions in her jail cell, WFAA reports.

Tonya Couch is due in court again on Monday for a second hearing on possible bail reduction.

Ethan Couch is on probation for killing four people in a drunk driving crash in 2013.

Tonya Couch and her son left Texas after a video surfaced on social media in early December showing Ethan at an alcohol-fueled party.

Meanwhile Ethan Couch remains in Mexico, where he and his mother were arrested last week.

She was transported from Mexico to California by U.S. Marshals last week.

This item has been corrected to show that Wayne Salvant is a state district judge, not a Tarrant County judge.

Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said Tonya Couch was “quiet, reserved, respectful” on the ride from DFW to the jail in downtown Fort Worth.

The judge said if she is released on bond, she would be required to surrender her passport and wear a monitor on her ankle. Couch appeared miserable as she answered the judge’s questions about the whereabouts of her passport.

Tonya Couch will be arraigned Friday morning. The mother, wearing a yellow jail jumpsuit, said she did.

The lawyer, Stephanie Patten, said it was unusual for the sheriff to escort a prisoner to her cell, let alone talk to her. “I don’t think he’s had contact with anyone who’s been arrested ever”, Patten told reporters outside the courtroom.

The Couches are in all of this legal trouble because they fled the United States after Ethan violated his parole.

His defense attorneys claimed that the teen, then 16-years-old, was the victim of “affluenza”, an inability to distinguish right from wrong based on his affluent upbringing. The diagnosis, which is not recognized by the American Psychiatric Association, was widely ridiculed.

A Mexican court has granted the teenager a stay against deportation that could delay his return by weeks or months. He pleaded guilty in juvenile court to four counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault causing serious bodily injury and was sentenced to 10 years’ probation.