"Affluenza" mom Tonya Couch is back in Texas
Mother of fugitive teen, Ethan Couch, who is serving probation for killing 4 people in a drunken driving wreck, is back in Texas.
Tonya Couch and her son ran away to Mexico in December after video surfaced of Ethan apparently violating his probation by drinking at a party. They were both was arrested last week in Mexico.
Tonya Couch was flown to Los Angeles first for an extradition hearing, and Thursday traveled back to DFW.
Her attorneys released a statement last week saying she has done nothing illegal.
Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson says she was cooperating with officials, “She wasn't angry, she
wasn’t short with me, she was overall strangely appreciative of what had happened and the way she's
been treated, he said.”
As for Ethan, he said it's just a matter of time before he’s back in Texas. “It's not a question if he's coming back; it's a question of when he's coming. As I have said over and over, I am patient. We wait, we will be here,” Sheriff Anderson said.
He also said it is frustrating spending all this time and taxpayers money. “It's been a huge expense, and a huge burden on everyone, and so it's just frustrating that if he wasn't out running around, and he was locked up like I think he should be, we wouldn't have had this issue. We wouldn't have to be looking for him, and he wouldn't have been able to run away”
After the crash, Ethan Couch 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.
He received only probation after a defense expert argued Couch had been coddled too much by his wealthy parents, a condition the expert called "affluenza." The condition is not recognized as a medical diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association, and its invocation drew widespread ridicule.
Tonya Couch is expected to be arraigned Friday on a charge of hindering the apprehension of a felon.
Her bond was set at $1 million dollars.