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'Affluenza' teen Ethan Couch, now 20, set to be released from Tarrant County Jail

His attorneys used the now-famous "affluenza" defense, claiming Couch didn't know the difference between right and wrong because of his wealthy upbringing.
Credit: WFAA
Ethan Couch made his first appearance in adult court on April 13, 2016.

FORT WORTH, Texas -- The "affluenza" teen, Ethan Couch, now 20, is set to become a free man in a few weeks after serving his two-year sentence for violating the terms of the probation he received for his drunken driving crash in June 2013 that killed four people.

Couch will be released from the Tarrant County Jail on April 2, according to Tarrant County Sheriff's Office spokesman David McClelland.

Couch became known as the “affluenza” teen after a witness at his original trial used the term in describing that Couch didn’t know right from wrong as a result of his wealthy upbringing.

On June 15, 2013, Couch and passengers in his Ford F-350 pickup were speeding down Burleson-Retta Road when he crashed into a group of people trying to help a stranded motorist.

After his conviction in juvenile court he was given probation that included orders to abstain from alcohol use. But in December 2015 a video surfaced of someone thought to be him playing a drinking game at a party. His probation officer asked him to come in, but Couch didn't respond or appear at a scheduled meeting.

Instead, he fled Fort Worth with his mother, Tonya Couch, before the pair were located months later in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

He was taken into custody in February 2016 and brought back to Fort Worth.

Read more from our media partners at the Star-Telegram

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