The American teenager
derided for a defence of "affluenza" in the killing of four people
while driving drunk has arrived back in Texas after being deported from Mexico
and been placed in juvenile detention.
Ethan
Couch, 18, was seen with his hands behind his back being escorted by uniformed
officers through the Dallas-Fort Worth airport on Thursday.
He
fled to Mexico in December along with his mother after a video emerged on
social media that likely showed Couch in violation of the probation deal
reached in juvenile court that kept him out of prison for causing the deadly
crash in 2013.
A
white sport utility vehicle with tinted windows carrying Couch arrived at a
Tarrant County juvenile detention centre about an hour after his arrival at the
Dallas-Fort Worth airport.
He
faces a detention hearing on either Friday or Monday, at which a judge will
determine whether to transfer the case from the juvenile system to the adult
system, a spokeswoman for the Tarrant County District Attorney's office said.
Couch
was 16 when he was tried as a juvenile.
A
psychiatrist testifying on his behalf said he had "affluenza," as his
family's wealth had left him so spoiled that it impaired his judgment to tell
right from wrong.
The
affluenza diagnosis, not recognised by the American Psychiatric Association,
was widely ridiculed.
"It's
more than overdue for Couch to be held accountable after taking the lives of
four people, and injuring several others," activist group Mothers Against
Drunk Driving (MADD) said in a statement.
If
he is found to have violated the probation deal, Couch faces about four months
behind bars.
His
mother, Tonya Couch, faces up to 10 years in prison for helping her son flee to
Mexico.
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