Texas Affluenza Teen and Killer of Four Ethan Couch Wanted by Police
A warrant has been issued for the arrest of the “affluenza” teen Ethan Couch for failure to check in with his probation officer.
Couch received probation in the juvenile system rather than jail time after he killed four in a drunk driving crash in 2013 because his lawyers argued his life of wealth and affluence was tantamount to a disease, barring him from any real culpability for the killings.
Their defense worked.
District Judge Jean Boyd seemed to agree that Couch’s wealth protected him from serving real time behind bars, after which the teen was treated for “affluenza” in the Vernon State Hospital. Vernon is 50 miles northwest of Wichita Falls.
Although Couch's lawyers launched a successful defense of Couch's actions with a mental disorder of affluence, caused by his wealth and consequence-free lifestyle, the DSM-V - "a listing of diagnostic criteria for every psychiatric disorder recognized by the U.S. healthcare system" - does not recognize or even list affluenza.
WFAA-Dallas reports court officers have been unable to locate Couch or his mother and that his father does not know their whereabouts.