'Affluenza' mother returns to Texas to face charges for fleeing
Source: Reuters
US | Thu Jan 7, 2016 3:24pm EST
'Affluenza' mother returns to Texas to face charges for fleeing
FORT WORTH, TEXAS | BY MARICE RICHTER
The mother of a Texas teenager, derided for a defense of "affluenza" in his trial for killing four people while driving drunk, was flown on Thursday from Los Angeles to Texas, where she faces an indictment for helping her son escape to Mexico.
Tonya Couch, 48, could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted in Tarrant County on a third-degree felony charge of helping her son, Ethan, 18, flee to Mexico after he apparently violated the terms of a probation deal that kept him out of prison for killing the four in 2013.
Ethan Couch remains in a Mexican immigration detention facility as he fights deportation.
Tonya Couch had been deported from Mexico at the end of December and sent to Los Angeles where she was placed in custody. She will be held on a bond of $1 million in Tarrant County, officials said.
Live TV footage provided by broadcaster WFAA showed Tonya Couch being led off a plane after her trip from California and placed in a sport utility vehicle. Her wind-blown red curls covered her face.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/us-texas-affluenza-idUSKBN0UL22M20160107