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Mom Of 'Affluenza Teen' Jailed After Testing Positive For Drugs, Police Say
Tonya Couch, mother of 'affluenza teen' Ethan Couch, violated the terms of her release after testing positive for amphetamine or methamphetamine, her arrest warrant says.
Cops jailed the mother of so-called "Affluenza Teen" Ethan Couch after she tested positive for drugs, violating the terms of her release on bond, officials said.
Tonya Couch was booked into a Fort Worth, Texas jail Thursday after a drug test showed amphetamine or methamphetamine, according to The Associated Press.
She is awaiting trial on money laundering and hindering apprehension charges after attempting to hide her child from law enforcement in Mexico.
This is the second time police say she violated the terms of her release. She previously failed a urinalysis in March. She was out on bond for only two weeks before failing this second test.
The Couch family became known around the world during Ethan Couch's trial for a 2013 drunk driving crash that killed four people. The teen's lawyer used a bizarre defense, claiming that the adolescent suffers from "affluenza," and deserved leniency in court because he was too wealthy to understand the impact of his reckless behavior. The judge bought the argument, letting Ethan Couch avoid jail time.
In 2015, Ethan Couch fled to Mexico with the help of his mother and was jailed after cops caught up with the pair. He was released earlier this year to serve out the remainder of a ten year probation, according to USA Today.
The term affluenza, originally coined as part of a sociological critique of the wealthy, is not (and was never intended to be) a medically viable diagnosis. The psychologist who used the term in court has since expressed regret for his word choice.
"I wish I hadn't used that term. Everyone seems to have hooked onto it," G. Dick Miller told CNN in 2013.
[Photo: Tarrant County Sheriff's Office]
