LOS ANGELES – The mother of a fugitive teenager known for using an “affluenza” defense in a deadly drunken-driving case has agreed to be sent from California to Texas to face a charge.

Tonya Couch appeared Tuesday for an extradition hearing in Los Angeles, where she was flown last week after being deported from Mexico. It’s unclear when she will be sent to Texas, where she’s charged with hindering the apprehension of a felon.

Couch, 48, and her 18-year-old son, Ethan, were apprehended last week in Mexico, where authorities believe the pair fled in November as Texas prosecutors investigated whether he had violated his probation in a car crash that killed four people.

Her attorneys have said that Couch wanted to return to Texas as soon as possible to have her day in court, saying she violated no laws.

Ethan Couch was being held at a detention facility in Mexico City after winning a court reprieve that could lead to a weekslong or even monthslong legal process in Mexico.

Ethan Couch was driving drunk and speeding near Fort Worth in June 2013 when he crashed into a disabled SUV, killing four people and injuring several others, including passengers in his pickup truck, authorities say.

During the sentencing phase of his trial, a defense expert argued that his wealthy parents coddled him into a sense of irresponsibility – a condition the expert termed “affluenza.” The condition is not recognized as a medical diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association, and its invocation during the legal proceedings drew ridicule.

He was sentenced to probation.


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