New details are emerging about the time Ethan Couch -- a teen who killed four people in a car crash in 2013 -- spent in Mexico on the run with his mother while U.S. authorities searched for him.
Couch and his mother, Tonya, stayed at an apartment in Puerto Vallarta, a resort town frequented by American tourists, and visited a restaurant and butcher shop nearby, locals told ABC News. Law enforcement sources confirm to ABC News that the Couches managed to elude authorities for a time by using at least one throw away phone.
In 2013 Couch pled guilty to four counts of intoxication manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 years probation instead of jail time. In the sentencing phase his defense team had argued that he suffered from “affluenza,” meaning, they explained, that his affluent upbringing and his mother and father’s profoundly dysfunctional parenting led to his irresponsible behavior.Ethan more +
At the butcher shop, a worker named Luis, who did not give his last name, said Ethan Couch already had black hair when he last saw him two days ago. He said the teen paid for meat and chicken nuggets in pesos and only spoke in English – even telling the butcher he was from Texas. He said he did not recognize him as the fugitive wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service and Texas officials for allegedly skipping out on a probation check-in.
Luis witnessed Couch and his mother being escorted, handcuffed, out of the apartment by municipal police in plain clothes – right across the street from the butcher shop. He said the Couches cooperated with police and that there was no resistance.The owner of a local eatery said Couch went into the restaurant a couple of times and sat at a table in the back. She said although there are Americans in the area, they don’t tend to eat there.
Initially, Couch and his mother stayed at a resort, Los Tules, downtown by the beach and then moved to the apartment, according to prosecutors.
Mexican prosecutors say the pair was picked up Monday at 6 p.m. local time. An order was issued for his arrest on Dec. 11 and his mother was declared a missing person, officials said. It was not clear how long they had been in Mexico.Texas officials are convinced that Couch and his mother fled the country in a planned escape, saying in a press conference Tuesday that the mother and son drove their pickup truck across the border into Mexico.
But before Couch left town, said Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson, Couch threw "something akin to a going away party “ citing an interview with an unspecified source.
Tonya Couch is expected to face charges of hindering apprehension, which could carry a sentence of between two and 10 years behind bars, Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson said.Couch has a hearing scheduled for Jan. 19 to determine whether the case will be handled in adult court. If he is treated as a juvenile, the longest sentence he could receive is four months in confinement. He would be released when he turns 19 in April.
If his case is transferred to the adult courts he wouldn’t receive extra time if convicted. If his case is transferred to the adult courts he would likely to serve out the remainder of his original 10-year probation period and will likely have to wear tracking devices, Wilson said.
Attorneys for the Couches released a statement prior to the press conference saying they had not yet heard from themHeavy flooding from the Mississippi River continues to rock the state of Missouri as residents are evacuated and businesses and homes are inundated in rare winter flooding.
Thirteen flood-related deaths have been reported, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon said Tuesday during a visit to Perry County, where a record crest is predicted for the Mississippi River in the area.
In West Alton, about 20 miles north of St. Louis, 520 people were evacuated after water from the Mississippi overtopped the levee there, the Associated Press reported.
Nixon urged motorists to stay away from roads that have even a low level of water due to the fast-moving current of the flood waters, adding that nearly all of the people who died were in vehicles that drove onto flooded roadwaysThe governor activated the Missouri National Guard to protect local communities and support emergency response personnel. He said he expects hundreds of guardsmen to be deployed today in the St. Louis area and south. They will be swapped out for local police through tomorrow.
The red cross now has eight shelters across MissouriIt’s an unusual time for the Mississippi River to flood, said ABC News Meteorologist Melissa Griffin. Spring and summer are usually prone to flooding due to the rainy season combined with snow melt.
The Mississippi River near Memphis, St. Louis and Chester, Missouri has had only one other winter crest in the past, Griffin said. This kind of flooding in winter typically isn’t possible because the air is too dry and cold to produce enough moisture of extended periods of heavy rain.
St. Louis and Springfield are seeing their wettest December on record, Griffin said.In a commercial area in Union, Missouri, several businesses are submerged in water due to the overflowing of the Bourbeuse River, which is expected to reach a record-setting 35 feet, Officer Mike Joyce of the Union Police Department told ABC News today.
The flooded businesses include a McDonald's, Dollar General, gas stations and convenience stores, Joyce said. Some residences are submerged as well.
Residents in the area were evacuated yesterday, he said. They were warned to gather their belongings into U-Haul trucks.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Coast Guard has closed a portion of the Mississippi River to all vessel traffic near St. Louis because of high water levels and fast currentsHighways and road closures include I-44 near the central Missouri town of Rolla and a section of I-70 in southern Illinois. Hundreds of smaller highways and roads were closed across the two states, where flood warnings are in effect.
A wastewater treatment center near St. Louis has stopped operating Monday night after it malfunctioned, causing sewage to go directly into nearby rivers and streams, the Metropolitan Sewer District of St. Louis said in a release. Utility officials said the plant is designed for 6.75 million gallons per day of flow, but was treating nearly 24 million gallons per day at the time of the malfunction.
On Sunday, Nixon had declared a state of emergency in Missouri due to the prolonged storm system. Although Nixon warned that there will be a significant uptick of flood water is in the coming, no rain is expected for the next seven days to exacerbate the water levels.
Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg has opened up about the group of childhood friends who helped her deal with the surprising loss of her husband last May.
“These amazing women have supported me since I was ten years old—through ups and downs, laughter and tears, life and now death,” Sandberg wrote in a Facebook post today. “Together, we have been through adolescence, college, starting careers and families. They’ve advised me on everything—from what dress to wear to the prom to what job to take.”When my husband, Dave, passed away last spring, my whole notion of plans crumpled,” Sandberg wrote on Facebook. “I stopped trying to meditate, but my connection to this group of friends was one of the things that helped pull me through.”
“They checked in daily. Even though they live across the country, they showed up early and often,” she wrote of her girlfriends. “They did not just hold me as I cried—they cried with me. One day when I was feeling particularly alone and down, a card from one of them arrived in the mail. It said, ‘One day she woke up and understood we’re all in this together.’ It has hung above my desk ever since.”
Sandberg, who also shared the card and photos of her childhood friends in the post, wrote
that she believes everyone, especially women, “needs this kind of help and connection.”The Facebook leader said it was a friend, Pennsylvania professor Adam Grant, who inspired her New Year’s resolution for 2016.Univerof sity
“When I first lost Dave, I felt overwhelmed with just getting through each day,” Sandberg wrote. “My friend @Adam Grantsuggested that every night before bed I write down three things I did well that day. I tried to do this, although some days I had such a hard time thinking of anything I did well that I’d end up listing ‘Made a cup of tea.’ But over time, focusing on things I’d done well helped me rebuild my confidence.”
In 2016, Sandberg wrote that she plans to “write down three joyful moments each day.”
“I want to choose life and meaning over death and tragedy and live Option B as best I can,” Sandberg wrote, referring to a June Facebook post in which she pledged to do the best without Option A, her late husband Dave Goldberg.
“So I will try to focus on finding joy in the mundane and the profound—joy in the small things that make my children smile, joy in the moments of friendship that might otherwise pass by unnoticed, joy in the ability to appreciate the gift of life in a way I never did before,” Sandberg wroteSandberg also encouraged others, particularly women, to form their own "Lean In Circles" in the New Year.
"My 'Lean In Circle' will help me stick to my resolution and I will help them stick to theirs," she wrote. "Together, we are stronger than we are individually. And because of them, I know I am never aloneSandberg also encouraged others, particularly women, to form their own "Lean In Circles" in the New Year.
"My 'Lean In Circle' will help me stick to my resolution and I will help them stick to theirs," she wrote. "Together, we are stronger than we are individually. And because of them, I know I am never aloneThe death of an elite college swimmer has drawn attention to a dangerous condition called "shallow water blackout," which can threaten even the most skilled swimmers.
Tate Ramsden, 21, died this week while doing laps at a YMCA in Sarasota, Florida, according to a police report. Despite being a member of the Dartmouth swim team, Ramsden had to be pulled from the pool by lifeguards who attempted to save his life.
The student had already swum 4,000 yards when he attempted to swim four additional laps without taking a single breath, police said. Competitive swimmers train to take a minimal number of breaths in order to swim faster.“When my husband, Dave, passed away last spring, my whole notion of plans crumpled,” Sandberg wrote on Facebook. “I stopped trying to meditate, but my connection to this group of friends was one of the things that helped pull me through.”
“They checked in daily. Even though they live across the country, they showed up early and often,” she wrote of her girlfriends. “They did not just hold me as I cried—they cried with me. One day when I was feeling particularly alone and down, a card from one of them arrived in the mail. It said, ‘One day she woke up and understood we’re all in this together.’ It has hung above my desk ever since.”
Sandberg, who also shared the card and photos of her childhood friends in the post, wrote that she believes everyone, especially women, “needs this kind of help and connection.”The Facebook leader said it was a friend, University of Pennsylvania professor Adam Grant, who inspired her New Year’s resolution for 2016.
“When I first lost Dave, I felt overwhelmed with just getting through each day,” Sandberg wrote. “My friend @Adam Grantsuggested that every night before bed I write down three things I did well that day. I tried to do this, although some days I had such a hard time thinking of anything I did well that I’d end up listing ‘Made a cup of tea.’ But over time, focusing on things I’d done well helped me rebuild my confidence.”
In 2016, Sandberg wrote that she plans to “write down three joyful moments each day.”“I want to choose life and meaning over death and tragedy and live Option B as best I can,” Sandberg wrote, referring to a June Facebook post in which she pledged to do the best without Option A, her late husband Dave Goldberg.
“So I will try to focus on finding joy in the mundane and the profound—joy in the small things that make my children smile, joy in the moments of friendship that might otherwise pass by unnoticed, joy in the ability to appreciate the gift of life in a way I never did before,” Sandberg wrote.
Sandberg also encouraged others, particularly women, to form their own "Lean In Circles" in the New Year.
"My 'Lean In Circle' will help me stick to my resolution and I will help them stick to theirs," she wrote. "Together, we are stronger than we are individually. And because of them, I know I am never alone."
