Ethan Couch's lawyer: Teen may be in Mexico against his will

Ethan Couch's lawyer: Teen may be in Mexico against his will

Tonya Couch was quickly deported and has been released on bond in Texas.

In June 2013, Ethan Couch, then living in the Fort Worth suburb of Burleson, was driving drunk and speeding on a dark two-lane road south of the city when he crashed into a disabled SUV off to the side of the road, killing four people and injuring several others, including passengers in the then-16-year-old's pickup.

Ethan Couch fled with his affluenza-teens-mom-withdrew-30000-before-fleeing-to-mexico/">mother to Mexico in December and won a delay in his deportation based on a constitutional appeal that normally leads to a lengthy trial process.

Attorney Seth Fuller of Denton, Texas, said Couch's defenses are limited to claiming he didn't realize he was violating probation by going to Mexico or that he went there involuntarily. While Tonya Couch returned to the United States, Ethan Couch remained in Mexico. "This judge knows the juvenile law backwards and fowards and he found the state could not go forward with the transfer motion today", said Scott Brown, Couch's attorney.

Tarrant County prosecutors contend Couch forced his own absence by fleeing to Mexico and fighting his extradition back to the U.S.

Tonya Couch is accused of helping her 18-year-old son flee to Mexico after prosecutors began investigating whether he'd violated his probation in the 2013 wreck that killed four people.

When asked by CNN whether Couch, the so-called "affluenza" teenager, was taken against his will to Mexico, Brown replied, "I don't think that's what I said". A new date has not been announced.

When they were arrested, Ethan Couch appeared to have tried to disguise himself by dying his blond hair black and his beard brown, according to investigators.

Tuesday's hearing will also allow the juvenile judge to determine if the case moves to the adult system.

If his case is transferred to the adult system, Couch would face up to 120 days in an adult jail, followed by 10 years' probation.

Ultimately, Couch was sentenced to probation in juvenile court, a sentence that many have criticized as too lenient.

The judge in that case gave him probation, after his lawyers argued his wealthy upbringing left him unable to distinguish right from wrong.

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