On Friday afternoon, Ethan Couch was released from jail after Tarrant County officials said he violated the terms of his probation after a failed drug test.
The 22-year-old spent almost two years in jail for killing four people on June 15, 2013, under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
According to a statement released by the Tarrant County district attorney’s office, “Couch had a ‘weak positive’ THC result on a drug patch that he wore for monitoring purposes and that probation officers did not have confidence in the result.”
The court documents showed that Couch denied using marijuana.
District Attorney Sharen Wilson said, “Until final testing, we cannot tell if the patch result was actually THC. We cannot tell whether the ‘weak positive’ was caused by legal CBD oil or illegal marijuana.”
The “affluenza teen” was asked to wear a drug-test patch as a condition of his probation after getting released from jail in 2018.
The 2013 car crash that killed Hollie Boyles, Shelby Boyles, Brian Jennings, and Breanna Mitchell. Sergio Molina and Soliman Mohmand, two teenagers who were riding in the bed of Couch’s Ford F-350, were seriously injured, with seven other people who suffered minor injuries.
At the time, Couch’s blood alcohol content was 0.24 parent, which is three times the limit for adults to drive legally. He was going at around 70 mph in a 40 mph zone and eventually lost his control.
Couch was charged with four counts of intoxication manslaughter.
The case made national headlines and outrage after a psychologist confirmed that he actually suffered from “affluenza,” a psychological condition that he had due to a dysfunctional relationship with his wealthy parents. He was sentenced to rehabilitation and 10 years of probation in 2014.
