‘Affluenza’ Teen Wins Delay in Extradition; Mother Jailed in US

(Mexico’s Jalisco state prosecutor’s office via AP)FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) – The Texas teenager who used an “affluenza” defense in a deadly drunken-driving wreck grew up in a wealthy yet unstable household where his parents underwent an acrimonious divorce, which included accusations that his mother was addicted to pain pills and his father was abusive. Authorities found the Couches in Puerto Vallarta after tracking down a call from one of their phones to a Domino’s Pizza.

The son, who had been held with her at a migration facility in Jalisco’s capital, Guadalajara, was transferred to Mexico City in a van that arrived early Thursday. After being arrested, Ethan Couch filed a legal writ to allow him to stay in Mexico. The judge has three days to consider Couch’s appeal.

The timeline for Ethan’s return to the States is less clear, however, since it is entirely dependent on the schedule in the Mexican court that will be hearing his case. A judge sentenced him in juvenile court to 10 years’ probation and a stint in a rehabilitation center. She is charged with a third-degree felony punishable by two to 10 years in prison.

Couch will get three meals per day, including a special one for New Year’s Eve.

Eisenman says Couch will be held until USA marshals arrive to take her to Texas, where she and her son, 18-year-old Ethan Couch, live and where he was on probation for the 2013 crash.

The counsel for Tonya Couch, Stephanie Patten released the following statement on her client late Thursday afternoon.

Mr Richard Hunter, chief deputy marshal in Houston, said it probably would take at least two weeks for the Mexican courts to sort out the youth’s deportation. Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson told NBC News that Tonya Couch is not expected to return to North Texas on Thursday. There was a weeks-long manhunt for the mother and son when they went missing after Ethan didn’t show up for a mandated probation check in Texas.

During Couch’s trial in juvenile court over the crash in 2013, a psychologist testified on his behalf that he was afflicted with “affluenza”, meaning he was so spoiled by his wealth that he could not distinguish between right and wrong. There was public outrage when a judge made a decision to sentence Ethan to probation and rehab instead of jail time. Affluenza is not recognized by the American Psychiatric Association.

“I think it’s particularly satisfying to families that, indeed, it appears that his mother, Tonya, may have committed a crime and may finally be held accountable as well”, he said. A Los Angeles police fugitive task force picked her up shortly after 1:30 a.m. and took her to the Metropolitan Detention Center, according to Officer Norma Eisenman.

Authorities believe the Couches fled to Mexico in November as prosecutors investigated whether he had violated his probation.

“Maybe she was assisting the violation of his probation”.

INSIDE EDITION has learned that Ethan Couch allegedly spent most of his time in the hotel room.

But the injunction did not apply to Tonya Couch, who was deported immediately and put on a plane, an official with Mexico’s National Immigration Institute told The Associated Press.