Mother of 'Affluenza' Teen Released From Jail After Posting Bond
Tonya Couch, the mother of "affluenza" teen Ethan Couch, was released from jail last Tuesday after a Tarrant County judge allowed her to post bond and even slashed its amount. The previous bail was at $1 million but the judged reduced it to $75,000.
Tonya, the mother of 18-year-old Ethan who was allegedly behind the 2013 wreck that killed four people, is now out of the Tarrant County Jail in Fort Worth and is in house arrest while being required to wear an electric ankle monitor.
Fox News Latino reports that the 48-year-old will temporarily be housed at her 29-year-old son Steven McWilliams' home. This news has been confirmed by Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson.
Furthermore, CNN reported that on the bond hearing last Monday, Tarrant County Judge Wayne Salvant was the one responsible for lowering Tonya's bond and issued several conditions.
The conditions include wearing an electronic ankle monitor, reporting to authorities on a weekly basis, living in Tarrant County with her 29-year-old son and abstaining from using controlled substances or alcohol because she will be drug tested.
Not only that, Tonya will be under 24-hour home confinement, but her lawyers and doctors will be allowed to visit her. She will be restricted to possessing or transporting any firearms or weapons and will be required to pay a monthly supervision fee of $60.
Furthermore, the news agency reports that the conditions also requires Tonya to avoid "bad actors." Tonya is accused of hindering the apprehension of a felon, her son, after flying with him to Mexico back in November.
Tonya was already arraigned last Friday in Fort Worth and did not enter a formal plea yet. But according to her lawyer Stephanie Patten, she will plead not guilty.
Also, Tonya will be undergoing a mental exam after Tarrant County Magistrate Judge Matt King released an order form, citing "reasonable cause" to believe that Tonya is suffering from "a mental illness or is a person with a mental retardation."
Ethan's case made it to the headlines because of his intriguing defense that he was suffering from "affluenza." Ethan's camp argued that he was spoiled too much by his wealthy parents, which prevented him from knowing what is right and wrong.
The said condition is not recognized as a medical diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association. However, his defense paved the way for him to receive a probation sentence that he later broke.
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