Tonya Couch, the mother of the teen charged in the “affluenza” case, is appealing a $1 million bail set in her Texas jailing, the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram reports. Her lawyer filed a habeas corpus petition yesterday “seeking judicial relief from illegal restraint on her liberty and for protection from unreasonable bail.” A hearing is set for Monday. Couch is accused of helping her son, Ethan, flee to Mexico after he missed a probation appointment.
Ethan Couch remains in a detention center in Mexico City after taking legal action to delay his deportation to the United States. With seven passengers in his Ford pickup, Ethan Couch, who was 16 at the time, was driving drunk and speeding in 2013 when he crashed into a group of people trying to help a stranded motorist, killing four and injuring nine. He had a blood alcohol content of 0.24, three times the legal limit, and traces of Valium in his system. Prosecutors sought a 20-year prison term, but a judge put him on probation and ordered intensive therapy. Because he was portrayed during his trial as an immature teen from a wealthy but dysfunctional family, with a passing reference by a witness to his being a victim of “affluenza,” the sentencing became a national news story.