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‘Affluenza’ Teen’s Mom Released from Jail While He Rots in Mexican Prison

Tonya Couch Ethan Couch

The mother of Ethan Couch, the ‘affluenza’ teen who killed four people while drunk driving, bonded out of a Texas jail on Tuesday. Tonya Couch walked out of the Tarrant County jail Tuesday morning after after a judge reduced her bail from $1 million to just $75,000.

Texas State District Judge Wayne Salvant said Couch’s charge — hindering the apprehension of a fugitive — wasn’t serious enough to warrant such a high bail.

Couch was held overnight in jail so she could be fitted with a GPS monitor. She is confined to her home except to visit her doctor.

Couch and Ethan, 18, fled to Mexico after he violated his court-ordered probation. They were captured in Puerto Vallarta while ordering pizza.

Tonya Couch was extradited to the United States but Ethan Couch was granted a stay by a Mexican judge.

His case could be tied up in Mexican courts for months while he fights extradition.

Prosecutors urged the judge to reconsider releasing Tonya Couch, saying she “showed a willingness to disregard rules by helping her son flee the terms of his probation.”

But Salvant dismissed their concerns.

“We’re talking about a case that the punishment range is 2 to 10 years,” Salvant said. “Let’s look at it for what it is.”

The judge ordered Couch to comply with weekly check-ins and drug tests.

Couch’s other son, James McWilliams, said his mother is not as wealthy as the media claims.

He said her bank account holds only $100,000, which has been frozen by the feds.

She doesn’t even have enough money to buy a toothbrush.

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