Sat, Apr 17, 2021
Newsweek
U.S.

'Affluenza' Teen Ethan Couch Detained in Mexico With Mother

By
1229ethancouch
Ethan Couch is pictured in this undated handout photograph made available to Reuters on December 29, 2015, by the Jalisco state prosecutor's office in Mexico. Fiscalia General del Estado de Jalisco/Reuters
U.S. Ethan Couch Affluenza Mexico Tonya Couch

Ethan Couch, better known as the "Affluenza Teen," was detained in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, with his mother, authorities told CNN.

Couch, 18, was on probation after killing four people in a drunken-driving accident in 2013. A warrant was out for his arrest in Tarrant County, Texas. Couch is two years into a 10-year probation sentence that requires him to check in with an officer regularly.

According to the news network, Couch and his mother were found near a beachside resort on the Pacific Ocean. His mother, Tonya, went missing this month and became part of the search for her son on December 21.

12_21_TonyaCouch_01
Tonya Couch has been listed as a missing person on all relevant national databases and has become part of an investigation into the disappearance of her son, Ethan Couch. In 2013, in the wake of a drunken-driving crash in which he killed four pedestrians, he told a Texas court he suffered from "affluenza." Tarrant County Sherrif's Department

Couch gained the nickname "Affluenza Teen" after a psychologist said his privileged lifestyle kept him from developing the ability to tell what kind of behavior was acceptable and what was not.

United States Marshals were involved in the search for the teenager. CNN reported Mexican authorities will turn Couch over to the marshals.

Request Reprint & Licensing, Submit Correction or view Editorial Guidelines