Ethan Couch is the young Texan teen who killed four people and paralyzed another while driving drunk on June 15, 2013. His defense was “affluenza.” It’s a term that refers to rich kids who were spoiled and therefore don’t know right from wrong. Just hours before ABC 20/20 airs its investigative report on October 16 (10pm), never-before-seen deposition tapes were released by ABC News.
[Ethan Couch “Affluenza” Judge Jean Boyd No Longer A Judge]
Couch did not testify at his criminal case nor did his parents Tony and Fred Couch, owners of the metal company Cleburne Sheet Metal, worth a reported $15 million. But the tapes do reveal all three talking about what happened, under oath. The parents admitted to letting the 16-year-old drive before he was of legal age but said they weren’t aware of Ethan drinking. Ethan Couch did not go to jail. He was given 10 years of probation. The 18-year-old has served two years of his probation and works for the family business. Six lawsuits have been filed by the families of the victims and by two of the seven passengers in Couch’s pickup truck. ABC 20/20 airs Fridays at 10pm.
[Affluenza: Is a Double Standard for the Affluent Inevitable?]
