As the manhunt continues for the Texas teenager sentenced to probation for killing four people in a 2013 drunken driving wreck, federal investigators are shifting focus to his mother.
Ethan Couch, famously known as the “Affluenza Teen,” went missing after failing to meet a probation officer for a scheduled meeting last week. The juvenile equivalent of an arrest warrant was issued for him.
Over the weekend, authorities turned up the heat on his mother, Tonya, who is now listed as a missing person by the Tarrant County District Attorney.
NBC News confirmed the move will allow police across the country will see Tonya Couch in a national police database.
If Couch is caught, he could face up to 10 years in prison. If his mother helped him disappear, she could also face charges.
The U.S. Marshals told NBC News Sunday, even if Couch fled the country, he’s not beyond their reach.
“It really doesn’t matter if he flees the country,” Richard Taylor, acting United States Marshal for the norther district of Texas, told NBC News. “We’re gonna find him and we’ll make every effort to get that person back.”
Here are a few questions surrounding the case involving 18-year-old Ethan Couch:
DO AUTHORITIES KNOW WHERE COUCH MAY BE?
Officials say they don’t know his whereabouts and have expressed concern that he may have left the country, although Sam Jordan, a spokeswoman for the Tarrant County district attorney’s office, says there’s no specific indication that he has crossed the border.
“He and his mother have the means to be able to travel to wherever they may want to travel,” Jordan said.
Couch was supposed to be accompanied by a parent for a regular visit Dec. 10 with his probation officer. When he didn’t show, authorities issued an order for his arrest the next day.
Feds Now Involved in Hunt for ‘Affluenza Teen’
WHY WOULD HE HAVE FLED?
Tarrant County investigators were looking for Couch to ask him about a video posted online a few weeks ago showing people at a party playing drinking games. One of them appears to be Couch, and if found to be drinking, his parole could be revoked and a 10-year prison sentence could be imposed. Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said Friday that he believes Couch fled in the days after the video came to light. He said Couch and his mother may have left the area in late November, shortly after Couch attended a mandatory meeting with his probation officer and well before their next scheduled meeting on Dec. 10.
WHY WASN’T COUCH ALREADY IN PRISON FOR KILLING FOUR PEOPLE?
In June 2013 at age 16, Couch was driving drunk and speeding on a dark two-lane road south of Fort Worth when he crashed into a disabled SUV off to the side, killing four people. Among the injured were some of the seven minors who were in Couch’s pickup. Couch pleaded guilty to four counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault causing serious bodily injury. Because of his age, he wasn’t certified as an adult for trial and a judge sentenced him in juvenile court to 10 years’ probation and a stint in a rehabilitation center.
WHAT IS ‘AFFLUENZA’?
During the sentencing phase of his juvenile court trial, Couch’s attorneys relied on a defense expert who argued that Couch’s 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 drew widespread criticism and ridicule.
IS COUCH’S MOTHER FACING CHARGES?
Terry Grisham, a spokesman for the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department, said investigators haven’t confirmed whether Tonya Couch fled with her son and he declined to say whether she’s facing any charges.
“We are only assuming that they’re together,” Grisham said. “They’re both missing. But no one has placed them together outside of Tarrant County.”
WHERE IS COUCH’S FATHER?
Anderson, the Tarrant County sheriff, said Couch’s father, Fred Couch, told investigators that he hasn’t heard from his son or ex-wife in about two weeks.
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Copyright Associated Press / NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
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