"Affluenza" teen's mom en route to U.S.
TARRANT COUNTY, Texas -- A Texas fugitive made famous for his use of the "affluenza" defenseafter killing four in a drunken-driving wreck will not be returned to the U.S. from Mexico Wednesday, reports CBS DFW.
However, Mexican officials say the mother of Ethan Couch, Tonya Couch has been deported to U.S. late Wednesday.
Attorneys for Ethan Couch and his mother Tonya, who were taken into custody Monday evening by Mexican authorities after an nearly three-week international manhunt, have filed a legal writ to postpone their planned deportation, according to Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson.
The sheriff says the move is common among suspects trying to prevent a forced return to the United States by U.S. Marshals.
Mexican officials originally said that the 18-year-old Ethan Couch and Tonya Couch were scheduled to be aboard a commercial flight to Houston on Wednesday. They are being held at immigration offices in Guadalajara.
Authorities tracked the duo down in Puerto Vallarta, about 1,000 miles from their home, after one of the Couches' telephones was used to order delivery from Domino's Pizza,according to a police report. Ethan Couch -- who was on juvenile probation following the 2013 drunken-driving wreck -- and his mother disappeared in early December as authorities investigated whether he had violated the terms of his probation.
During the sentencing phase of Couch's 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 drew ridicule.
Officials began looking for Ethan Couch after he missed a mandatory appointment with his probation officer on Dec. 11.
But Anderson said Tuesday that before Ethan and Tonya Couch disappeared they had "something akin to a going away party."
Anderson said that after the gather, the duo apparently crossed the border in her pickup and drove to Puerto Vallarta. It was not clear whether they had any accomplices.
No immediate charges were planned for others who may have known about or assisted with the flight plan, Anderson said. He said authorities have no evidence that Couch's father, who owns a sheet metal factory in North Texas, was involved.