'Affluenza' Mom Tonya Couch To Return To Texas After Waiving Extradition
Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter
LOS ANGELES (AP/CBSDFW.COM) — The mother of a fugitive 18-year-old known for using an "affluenza" defense in a drunken-driving case appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom for an extradition hearing on Tuesday.
According to Los Angeles District Attorney's office, Tonya Couch, 38, has agreed to waive extradition to Texas. She has been ordered to be held without bail until authorities in Texas pick her up.
The L.A. DA's office says that Couch's next court appearance will be on January 19th, only if she has yet to be returned to Texas.
Couch was deported from Mexico and flown to Los Angeles early Thursday morning.
Tonya Couch and her 18-year-old son, Ethan, were taken into custody last week in Mexico, where authorities believe the pair fled in November as Texas prosecutors investigated whether he had violated his probation.
Ethan Couch was being held at a detention facility in Mexico City after winning a court reprieve that could lead to a weeks- or even months-long legal process in Mexico, a Mexican immigration
In Texas, prosecutors charged Tonya Couch with hindering apprehension of a felon. Her bond there was set at $1 million.
Her attorneys released a statement saying she had done nothing illegal and wanted to get back to Texas as soon as possible.
"While the public may not like what she did, may not agree with what she did, or may have strong feelings against what she did, make no mistake — Tonya did not violate any law of the State of Texas and she is eager to have her day in court," lawyers Stephanie K. Patten and Steve Gordon said in the statement.
Ethan Couch was driving drunk and speeding near Fort Worth in June 2013 when he crashed into a disabled SUV, killing four people and injuring several others, including passengers in his pickup truck. He was sentenced to probation.
During the sentencing phase of his trial, a defense expert argued that his wealthy parents 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.
(©2016 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)