Affluenza teen Ethan Couch’s mother Tonya is listed as missing

  • Tonya Couch is believed to have gone on run with son Ethan, 18
  • The teenager was given 10 years in probation in 2013 for killing four people
  • He went missing on December 11 before cops issued a juvenile warrant   
  • His attorney said his privileged upbringing was the reason for the crash 
  • US Marshals have placed a $5,000 reward for information on his location   

Wills Robinson For Dailymail.com

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The mother of a Texas teenager who attorneys said was suffering from ‘affluenza’ when he killed four people while driving drunk has been listed as missing as the hunt for the pair intensifies. 

Ethan Couch from Fort Worth, Texas, is believed to have gone on the run with mom Tonya Couch after a video emerged of him drinking during a game of beer pong- a violation of his parole that could land him 10 years in jail.

He went missing on December 11, prompting a judge to issue a ‘directive to apprehend’ – effectively a juvenile arrest warrant.

In 2013, he was given 10 years probation for killing four people while drunk behind the wheel, a punishment described as a slap on the wrist by critics.

There are fears he could have skipped the country, but police are offering a $5,000 reward for any information that leads to his capture.

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Ethan Couch’s (left) mother Tonya (right) has now been reported missing after the pair went on the run. Couch was given 10 years probation in 2013 for killing four people while drunk behind the wheel of his car 

Sources close to the investigation said the teen’s father told law enforcement officials the passports of the youth and his mother, with whom he was living, were missing. Above, his mother Tonya (left) and father Fred

Sources close to the investigation said the teen’s father told law enforcement officials the passports of the youth and his mother, with whom he was living, were missing. Above, his mother Tonya (left) and father Fred

The Tarrant County Sheriff's Department has released this image of Tonya Couch's pickup truck and the license plate in a bid to track the pair down

The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department has released this image of Tonya Couch’s pickup truck and the license plate in a bid to track the pair down

Tarrant County district attorney’s office spokesman Sam Jordan said Monday that a relative of Tonya Couch filed the missing person report over the weekend.

She is believed to be helping him avoid capture and authorities think they may be travelling in her black pickup truck.

Couch was sentenced to only probation after his lawyer argued that he could not tell the difference between right and wrong because of his parents’ privileged upbringing.

Investigators want to speak with the teen after a video was posted online of a party he appears to have attended.  

Kevin McConnell, whose then 12-year-old son Lucas was one of nine injured in the 2013 crash, said over the weekend that he doesn’t ‘think there’s been any accountability for Ethan’.

Couch was 16 at the time of the deadly crash and had a blood-alcohol level of nearly three times the legal limit hours after he was speeding and lost control of a pickup truck at 70mph.

The truck fatally struck the driver of a car that had broken down by the side of the road and three other people who had stopped to help the stranded motorist in June 2013.

A psychiatrist called in his defense at his trial two years ago said Couch had 'affluenza' and was so spoiled he did not know the difference between right and wrong Couch has now gone missing after a video surfaced of him at a party that many think suggests he violated the terms that spared him jail

A psychiatrist called in his defense at his trial two years ago said Couch had ‘affluenza’ and was so spoiled he did not know the difference between right and wrong. He received probation, but has now gone missing after a video surfaced of him at a party that many think suggests he violated the terms that spared him jail

The U.S. Marshal Service released this wanted poster after Couch went on the lam with his mother 

The U.S. Marshal Service released this wanted poster after Couch went on the lam with his mother 

The crash killed a mother, 52, and a daughter, 21, a youth pastor, 41, and a young chef whose car had a blown-out tire, 24.

Sergio Molina was in Couch’s truck and was paralyzed in the accident, which occurred on a night where the driver had stolen beer from a Wal-Mart.

Lucas McConnell received minor injuries, but also saw a family friend lying dead on the ground.

‘I think he was never taught that actions have consequences other than the easiest way out,’ his father told NBC News.

‘I think that punishment and correction might save his life. Might turn him around’.

McConnell had also told CNN that he had seen ‘a pattern’ in Couch’s behavior and that the teenager had already had numerous chances to turn his life around, including at a rehabilitation facility in California.

‘The scales (of justice) represent balance: There should be no entitling one way or the other, based on who you are or where you’re from,’ he said.

Numerous tips have been reported on the possible whereabouts of Couch, who is suspected of violating the probation deal that kept him out of prison.

The US Marshals Service has joined Texas officials in the hunt for the 18-year-old, who missed a probation meeting on December 11. 

Breanna Mitchell, 24, a young chef who was killed in the crash Brian Jennings, 41, a youth pastor who was killed while trying to help Mitchell with a blown-out tire

Two of those killed included 24-year-old Breanna Mitchell (left), and 41-year-old Brian Jennings (right)

Hollie Boyles, 52,  and her 21-year-old daughter Shelby Boyles, pictured above, were killed in the crash as well

Hollie Boyles, 52,  and her 21-year-old daughter Shelby Boyles, pictured above, were killed in the crash as well

A group of people were gathered on the side of the road south of Forth Worth, Texas, when Couch crashed into them. Above, the scene of the accident in June 2013

A group of people were gathered on the side of the road south of Forth Worth, Texas, when Couch crashed into them. Above, the scene of the accident in June 2013

The father of one of the victims injured in 'affluenza teen' Ethan Couch's drunk driving crash has said that the driver going missing does not surprise him. Above, Kevin McConnell, father of victim Lucas McConnell

The father of one of the victims injured in ‘affluenza teen’ Ethan Couch’s drunk driving crash has said that the driver going missing does not surprise him. Above, Kevin McConnell, father of victim Lucas McConnell

Lucas McConnel (center, pictured in 2014) was 12 at the time of the crash and received minor injuries, though four people on the side of the road were killed and one of Couch’s passengers is now paralyzed

 

 

 

 

 


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