‘Affluenza’ Tonya Couch Bail Hearing Update, Psych Eval Ordered As They Suspect Retardation
Like many people have surmised, there is likely something really wrong with Tonya Couch, the Affluenza Mom, but many things still don’t add up. First, she took $30k out of her bank account to go on the run, presumably forever with her convict son, Ethan Couch, and then paid his strip club tab of over $2k, where he left his Rolex as collateral. Now, Tonya Couch is saying that she is broke and can’t make bail. The Tarrant County judge has also ordered a psychological evaluation because they think Tonya Couch is likely of low-normal IQ at the very least.
According to The Inquisitr, Tonya Couch is complaining about her accommodations as well as the bail ordered for her release. She is also crying poverty, though she is paying for her own legal bills as well as those for her son, Ethan Couch, who now has high-priced legal teams in Mexico as well as Texas. Now, Tonya Couch has put up a thousand dollar reward for their dog who is missing in Mexico. What else is wrong with this picture?
Psychological testing ordered for 'affluenza' teen's mom @CNN https://t.co/9hy8E1z0vI
— Cindy-ArtistsforHire (@artistsforhire) January 11, 2016
CNN is now reporting that the court is ordering a psychological evaluation and testing for Tonya Couch, as they have found reasonable cause that she suffers with “a mental illness or is a person with a mental retardation,” according to court documents. Is she faking and trying to be declared incompetent to stand trial? Tonya Couch and her husband are allegedly separated, and he has said that he will not be contributing to her bail.
Couch is crying poverty, as she says she has no funds without Fred Couch, her husband. The judge asks if she and her husband have a prenuptial agreement, and Stephanie Patten said she did not know.
“Your client is sitting next to you,” the judge said. “You wanna ask her?’
Son tells court Tonya Couch's estranged husband was 'fairly adamant' he would not give her money to make bail https://t.co/wo3XjS1zEo
— gay nation (@gaygaynation1) January 11, 2016
The Ft. Worth ABC affiliate just shared that Tonya Couch has now been offered bail at $75k, which is a great deal lower than the million dollar bail she was given on Friday. She has now been officially charged with hindering apprehension after going on the run with son Ethan Couch. Normally that charge carries with it a $10k bail.
The Ft. Worth CBS affiliate says that Judge Salvant had great concerns about reducing the bail of Tonya Couch. The judge didn’t seem to want to lower the bail, but said he had to follow the law.
“One of the things I am concerned about is that you cannot set a bail just to keep someone in jail.” He continued, “As a judge I have got to look at the law.” “I just don’t believe with everything I’ve heard today, that it should be a million dollars,” he also said.
But in addition to bail, Couch also has to pay for all of the costs of returning to California and now Texas, which include airfare and the costs of the U.S. Marshals.
According to The Heavy, Steven McWilliams, the half brother of Ethan Couch, said that his mother has a negative bank balance the last he saw, when he testified on his mother’s behalf today. Tonya Couch will be released with an ankle monitor if she posts bail, and has to expect regular police visits. She will have to stay at the home of McWilliams pending her trial. Obviously, the people of Tarrant County are disappointed with this turn of events.
Do you think Tonya Couch should have gotten a bail reduction, considering she can’t find her passport?
[Photo courtesy of LM Otero/AP]
