'Affluenza' Teen Ethan Couch Delays Extradition from Mexico but His Mom Is Deported

Ethan Couch, the wealthy Texas 18-year-old who became known in the United States for his "affluenza" defense during his trial over a 2013 drunk-driving crash that killed four people, is fighting to remain in Mexico, where he fled while he was on probation with his mother.

His mother, 48-year-old Tonya Couch, was deported on Wednesday to Los Angeles, a Mexican immigration official said, adding that she was flown to Los Angeles because there were no more flights available to Texas. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that once in Los Angeles she would be turned over to the US Marshals service.

He said that Ethan Couch remains in Mexico, where a legal injunction filed to delay his extradition is still being processed.

The pair were captured in the Mexican Pacific Coast city of Puerto Vallarta on Monday and had both been due to be flown back to Houston on Wednesday.

US authorities are meanwhile investigating whether Couch violated the probation deal that kept him out of prison for four counts of intoxication manslaughter, which he won after a psychologist for the defense testified in juvenile court that financial privilege impaired his ability to distinguish between right and wrong. Couch, who was 16 at the time of the crash, was speeding and had a blood-alcohol level of nearly three times the legal limit when he lost control of his pickup truck and fatally struck a stranded motorist on the side of the road and three people who had stopped to help.

The supposed "affluenza" diagnosis used in his defense is not recognized by the American Psychiatric Association, and the use of the term was widely ridiculed at the time. Couch was sentenced to 10 years of drink and drug-free probation, which critics saw as leniency shown because of his family's wealth. His escape to Mexico rekindled anger over the sentence.

Mexican migration official, Raul Vera, had previously said that both Couch and his mother had filed injunctions to delay their return to the US, and that a judge had up to 72 hours to consider their case, with a delay of two weeks possible.

A US Marshals Service spokesperson said that the Couches could not be deported until legal matters were resolved.

"We simply do not know when the Ethan and Tonya Couch will be returned to the US," said Laura Vega, a spokeswoman with the service in Dallas.

Party with beer
Couch and his mother fled the United States this month after a video surfaced online apparently showing him at a party where beer was being consumed. Authorities then launched a probe into a possible parole violation, law enforcement officials said.

The two were tracked down and caught in Puerto Vallarta, after they used a cellphone to order pizza from Domino's. Mexican authorities said they had been working with the US Marshals Service since Dec. 24 to locate the pair.

Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson commented on the delayed extradition in a tweet on Wednesday, saying, "Is anyone surprised the Couch duo are putting up legal fight to not return and face justice? Not me. Will it never end?"

Anderson said on Tuesday that when the pair arrived back in the US, Couch would appear in juvenile court and his mother would be arrested for hindering an apprehension.

Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson said she expected the judge to hold Couch after his juvenile hearing. County prosecutors have been working for months to move his case into the adult system.

Anderson said on Tuesday that the Couches appeared to have planned for their departure, including holding a farewell party.

The Dallas Morning News reported that Couch's mother sold her home in Tarrant County and was renting a house before she and her son fled the country.