Ethan Couch

Fred founded Cleburne Metal Works, a metal roofing company, in 1986, and Tonya was a nurse before her license was revoked in 2012.

Couch grew up in Burleson and previously attended Anderson Private School.

Couch drove himself to school at the age of thirteen; when this was questioned by the principal his father responded by threatening to buy the school.

Couch then withdrew from Anderson and began attending a co-op based in nearby Watauga until age 15, when he enrolled in a community college.

At the age of 15, Couch was cited for "minor in consumption of alcohol" and "minor in possession of alcohol", after he was caught in a parked pickup truck with a naked, unconscious 14-year-old girl.

He pleaded no contest and was sentenced to probation, a compulsory alcohol awareness class, and 12 hours of community service.

Ethan Anthony Couch (born April 11, 1997) killed four people at the age of 16 while driving under the influence on June 15, 2013, in Burleson, Texas.

Couch, while intoxicated and under the influence of drugs, was driving on a restricted license and speeding in a residential area when he lost control of his vehicle, colliding with a group of people assisting another driver with a disabled SUV.

Four people were killed in the collision, and nine people were injured.

Two passengers in Couch's pickup truck suffered serious injuries, with one passenger suffering complete paralysis.

Couch was indicted on four counts of intoxication manslaughter for recklessly driving under the influence.

Fred Couch has previously been charged with evading arrest, theft by check, and assault against his then-wife Tonya, and was convicted of misdemeanor assault in 2000.

In December 2013, Judge Jean Hudson Boyd sentenced Couch to ten years of probation, subsequently ordering him to undergo therapy at a long term inpatient facility.

Before sentencing, Couch's attorneys had argued that Couch had "affluenza" and needed rehabilitation instead of prison, arguing that Couch had no understanding of boundaries as his affluent parents had never given him any.

Couch's sentence, judged by many as outrageously lenient, set off what The New York Times called "an emotional, angry debate that has stretched far beyond the North Texas suburbs".

In 2013, Tonya Couch was sentenced to a $500 fine and a six-month community supervision order for reckless driving when she used her vehicle to force another motorist off the road.

On the evening of June 15, 2013, according to authorities and trial testimony, Couch was witnessed on surveillance video stealing two cases of beer from a Walmart store, driving with seven passengers in his father's red 2012 Ford F-350 pickup truck, and speeding at 70 mph in a designated 40-mile-per-hour (64 km/h) zone.

Approximately an hour after the beer theft, Couch was driving his father's truck at 70 mph on rural, two-lane Burleson-Retta Road where motorist Breanna Mitchell's sport utility vehicle had stalled.

Hollie Boyles and her daughter Shelby, who lived nearby, had come out to help her, as had passing youth minister Brian Jennings.

Couch's truck swerved off the road and into Mitchell's sport utility vehicle, then crashed into Jennings' parked car, which in turn hit an oncoming Volkswagen Beetle.

Couch's truck then flipped over and struck a tree.

Mitchell, Jennings, and both Boyles were killed, while Couch and his seven teenage passengers, none of whom were wearing seat belts, survived.

The two children in Jennings' car and the two people in the Volkswagen also survived.

Three hours after the incident, Couch, 16, had a blood alcohol content of 0.24%, three times the legal limit for adult drivers (21+ years old) in Texas, and he also tested positive for marijuana and diazepam.

Couch was charged with four counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault.

Couch entered a guilty plea, and Tarrant County prosecutors were seeking a maximum sentence of 20 years' imprisonment for Couch.

G. Dick Miller, a psychologist hired as an expert by the defense, testified in court that the teen was a product of "affluenza" and was unable to link his actions with consequences because of his parents teaching him that wealth buys privilege.

It was initially reported that, as part of his sentencing, their son would be sent for teen substance abuse and mental health rehabilitation to Newport Academy, an upscale residential treatment center in Newport Beach, California with costs upwards of $450,000, annually.

Following a court hearing closed to the public, Judge Boyd instead sentenced Couch to an unspecified lock-down rehabilitation facility at his parents' expense; the time Couch would have to stay there was also unspecified.

Couch was ordered to stay away from drugs, alcohol, and driving.

On August 19, 2014, he was arrested for impersonating a police officer, allegedly displaying a fake badge during a disturbance call, and was later found guilty and sentenced to a year of probation in December 2016.

On December 11, 2015, after a video was posted online purporting to show Couch drinking at a party, Couch became the subject of a manhunt, and was listed in the National Fugitive Database after attempts by his probation officer to contact him failed.

On December 28, 2015, authorities detained Couch and his mother in the Mexican resort city of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco.

On April 13, 2016, Couch was sentenced to serve two years in prison, and was released in 2018.

In February 2016, police were called to his home after he allegedly choked his girlfriend, but no charges were filed.

His parents — who divorced in 2017 — have also each had legal problems, publicized in the media following their son's conviction.

In September 2019, he was charged with assault, allegedly having choked his girlfriend with his hands that July.

On January 2, 2020, Couch returned to jail for an alleged probation violation, failing a mandated drug test for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

He was released a day later, pending an investigation into whether the positive test result for THC came from illegal marijuana or from cannabidiol oil.

Couch's parents are Fred and Tonya.