‘Affluenza’ teen, mom, reportedly detained in Mexico
Couch has reportedly been detained in Mexico.
The Tarrant County sheriff in Fort Worth, Texas, said he thought they fled across the border in late November after video emerged appearing to show Couch at a party involving alcohol and playing a game called “beer pong”.
The prosecutor’s office said the pair will be deported to the United States. Mexican authorities have detained Ethan, and are expected to turn him over to U.S. Marshals, who will then bring him to Tarrant County, Texas, to answer for his violation.
Couch and his mother were captured at about 6 p.m. Monday at an intersection in Puerto Vallarta after they couldn’t prove they were legally allowed to be in the country, ABC News reported early Tuesday.
Ethan Couch, aged 18, was sentenced to 10 years probation for manslaughter two years ago.
If he is not certified as an adult before his birthday, Couch would be released from probation.
Couch was apparently trying to lie low, and even disguise himself; a photo distributed by the Jalisco state prosecutor’s office show him in detention with his blond hair dyed black and his normally blondish beard a light brown.
For those who don’t remember, Ethan Couch dodged murder charges in 2013 after killing four pedestrians in a drunk driving accident, arguing that he was not responsible due to his “affluenza”, an invented psychological issue due to his lifestyle of wealth and privilege.
The psychologist later said he wished he had not used the word, which is not recognized by the American Psychiatric Association as a diagnosis.
The juvenile-justice equivalent of an arrest warrant was issued on December 11 for 18-year-old Couch.
Couch’s lawyers have said they know authorities are investigating whether their client violated his probation conditions, but they have declined to comment on whether he attended the party. He was later sentenced by a judge to probation and time in a rehabilitation center – a punishment that drew protests from prosecutors and others.
The case dates back to June of 2013, when Couch, behind the wheel of his pickup truck, slammed into four pedestrians and two cars, flipping his own truck.