EXCLUSIVE: 'Affluenza teen lived in his OWN mansion': Drunk-driver let off for killing four in crash had 'wild parties at home given to him by millionaire father where he lived unsupervised'

  • Ethan Couch, 16, would invite strangers back to the huge Burleson, Texas, where he lived alone, according to a friend
  • He would allegedly boast of his drinking and how he could obtain drugs for his shocked guests - who were often strangers
  • Couch was drunk and high when he plowed into a broken down car, taking four lives and injuring more in June last year
  • He had faced 20 years behind bars but walked away with 10 years probation last week
  • This was because State District Judge Jean Boyd agreed his upbringing had given him 'freedoms' he couldn't deal with
  • Boyd agreed said she didn't think he could get adequate therapy in jail

By Will Payne In Fort Worth, Texas

PUBLISHED: 22:10 EST, 15 December 2013 | UPDATED: 04:48 EST, 16 December 2013


The drunk driving teen who killed four people but was spared jail because he was too rich to know any better, regularly had wild, booze-fuelled parties in his OWN mansion, claims one of the troubled teenager's friends.

Ethan Couch, 16, was three times over the limit and high on Valium when he mounted a curb in Burleson, Texas earlier this year and plowed into a broken down car, taking four lives and injuring more.

And MailOnline can reveal the horror crash happened just a few hundred yards from a sprawling property where Couch boasted he was allowed to live alone and unsupervised.

Left alone to live in luxury: This is the mansion on Burleson Retta Rd. in Burleson, Texas that Ethan Couch hosted wild parties at

Left alone to live in luxury: This is the mansion on Burleson Retta Rd. in Burleson, Texas that Ethan Couch hosted wild parties at

Spared: Ethan Couch was sentenced to 10-years probation rather than 20-years in jail after he killed 4 people in a DUI incident in June

Spared: Ethan Couch was sentenced to 10-years probation rather than 20-years in jail after he killed 4 people in a DUI incident in June

Affluent: This is the Burleson address where Ethan Couch apparently lived alone - gifted to him by his father, Frederick Couch, after he went through a difficult divorce with his wife Tonya

Affluent: This is the Burleson address where Ethan Couch apparently lived alone - gifted to him by his father, Frederick Couch, after he went through a difficult divorce with his wife Tonya

His father Frederick Couch is a wealthy businessman, who owns a metal works, Cleburne Sheet Metal, with an estimated yearly turnover of $15 million and around 30 staff.

After a difficult divorce from Ethan’s mother Tonya, he apparently gave his son the huge single story property.

Couch was also allegedly given his own car when he was just 13 and was driving a powerful truck owned by his dad’s company on the night of the accident.

 

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And now MailOnline can reveal the true extent of his wealthy existence, which ultimately led to the deaths of Youth pastor Brian Jennings, mother and daughter Hollie and Shelby Boyles and 24-year-old Breanna Mitchell.

Teenager Anthony Lamanna was invited to a party at ‘Couch’s house’ just three days before the accident. He had never met the teenager before and was stunned by what he saw.

Father and mother: This is Frederick Couch (left) who owns a metal works, Cleburne Sheet Metal, that has an estimated yearly turnover of $15 million and around 30 staff
Tonya Couch is pictured here in an administrative picture from Cleburne Sheet Metal

Father and mother before the divorce: Frederick Couch (left) who owns a metal works, Cleburne Sheet Metal, that has an estimated yearly turnover of $15 million and around 30 staff is seen in a picture from a company brochure while (right) is his ex-wife Tonya

A cross is all the remains of the crash site: Ethan Couch, 16, was driving under the influence when he killed 4 in a crash that occurred a short distance from his father's house on Burleson Retta Rd. in Burleson, Texas

A cross is all the remains of the crash site: Ethan Couch, 16, was driving under the influence when he killed 4 in a crash that occurred a short distance from his father's house on Burleson Retta Rd. in Burleson, Texas

He said: ‘Ethan lived in this big place with a long winding drive way that went all the way round to his back yard, which had a large pool in it.

‘When we arrived, the first thing he did was jump in the pool, with his clothes on, rip his shirt off then start downing a big bottle of vodka.

Shocked witness: Anthony Lamanna (pictured) was present for one of Ethan Couch's wild parties where he witnessed evidence of drug taking and saw Couch consume large amounts of alcohol

Shocked witness: Anthony Lamanna (pictured) was present for one of Ethan Couch's wild parties where he witnessed evidence of drug taking and saw Couch consume large amounts of alcohol

‘He was really knocking it back, he must have drunk about six or seven shots in one go. That set the tone and from then on he was just boasting and trying to impress us about how much he drank and how much he partied.

‘He also boasted getting big amounts of marijuana delivered to his house.

'That could have been made up.

‘There were only about five people there because it was some kind of pre-party for what happened three nights later. He basically wanted to impress people in the days before so they would come to the main event.

‘He kept saying that he lived in the place alone and could do whatever he wanted.

‘There was no furniture accept for a big couch, a wide screen TV and his X Box. It definitely looked like the kind of place a teenager would live in.

‘Ethan was just playing drinking games by himself and boasting. No one else was even drinking. I hated it there and wanted to get out as soon as we could.

‘Ethan was the kind of person who would pick on people to try and make himself look big and feel better. I really didn’t like him. I could tell he was bad news and we got out of there after about an hour.’

Killed: Hollie Boyles, 52, and her daughter, Shelby Boyles, 21, were helping out the driver of a broken down SUV when they were struck and killed by Couch's out-of-control pickup

Killed: Hollie Boyles, 52, and her daughter, Shelby Boyles, 21, were helping out the driver of a broken down SUV when they were struck and killed by Couch's out-of-control pickup

Breanna Mitchell, 24, of Lillian
Brian Jennings, 41; the SUV driver,

Victims: Breanna Mitchell,  and Brian Jennings, 41, were both killed in the horrific crash

On the night of the fatal crash – which also left passenger Sergio Molina paralysed – Couch had stolen beer from a local Wal-Mart.

Anthony says he did something very similar the night he visited the mansion. He explained ‘Earlier in the evening he had picked us up in that same red pick-up that he crashed three nights later.

‘He had been boasting that he was a thief and on the way to his house he stopped off at a shop in Burleson and him and a friend stole some beers.

Before: Sergio had dreams of playing professional soccer before the accident

Before: Sergio had dreams of playing professional soccer before the accident

‘One went in the front and passed beers to the other one who was standing by the fire escape. The alarm was going off and we just drove away. He didn’t care’

Anthony added: ‘There are a lot of similarities to what happened three nights later and it really makes you think. I feel really bad for Sergio. I know him and he was a good kid, he wasn’t out partying all the time like Ethan.

‘I know he wouldn’t have been happy getting in the truck with Ethan if he was drunk.’

The fatal accident occurred around 11:45pm on June 15. Couch and a group his friends got into a red Ford F350 pick-up and were speeding at 70 mph in a 40 mph zone when the truck left the road.

As it careered out of control, it clipped a broken down SUV, throwing the owner and four good Samaritans, who were trying to help, 60 yards in the air, killing them on impact.

Trial notes claim the cocky teenager said 'I'm Ethan Couch, I'll get you out of this,' to one of his passengers at the scene.

It was revealed soon after that his blood-alcohol level was 0.24 - three times the adult limit, though minors aren't allowed any alcohol in their system - and that he was also on the prescription drug Valium when he started the chain reaction of crashes. The impact flung the four people 50 to 60 yards, authorities reported.

In court a top defense attorney hired by the Couch family argued that the teen was not responsible for his actions. A psychologist called by the defense, Dr Gary Miller, blamed his behavior on his parents, claiming they gave him whatever he wanted including 'freedoms no young person should have'.

The MailOnline contacted Ethan's parents Tonya and Frederick and the family attorney but they had not replied at the time of publication.

Forever changed: Sergio Molina, now 16, was in a coma following the June accident but now has been transferred home as his family grapples with how to adjust to his now-permanent paralysis

Forever changed: Sergio Molina, now 16, was in a coma following the June accident but now has been transferred home as his family grapples with how to adjust to his now-permanent paralysis

Heartbreaking: Sergio now must be cared for by his mother Maria Lemus (left) and older brother Alex (right) around the clock and they have already accrued $1million in medical bills
Heartbreaking: Sergio now must be cared for by his mother Maria Lemus (left) and older brother Alex (right) around the clock and they have already accrued $1million in medical bills

Heartbreaking: Sergio now must be cared for by his mother Maria Lemus (left) and older brother Alex (right) around the clock and they have already accrued $1million in medical bills

Expensive: Alex Lemus (left) had to quit his job to help care for his brother and the family has already accrued more than a million dollars in medical bills over the past six months

Expensive: Alex Lemus (left) had to quit his job to help care for his brother and the family has already accrued more than a million dollars in medical bills over the past six months

Dr Miller called Couch a product of 'affluenza,' where his family felt their wealth bought privilege and there was no rational link between behavior and consequences.

State District Judge Jean Boyd appeared to agree with the defense and gave him ten years’ probation and counseling at a 'country club'-style treatment center- with a pricetag of $450,000 in  Newport Beach, California, paid for by his father.

MailOnline also spoke to injured passenger Sergio Molina’s best friend Michael Lane. Michael, 17 was in court to watch Couch escape prison and he says the teen’s, spoilt, hard-partying reputation was well known.

He also recounted evidence he heard in court that claimed Couch had actually been driving on the wrong side of the road before the fatal collision, playing a terrifying game of chicken.

He said: ‘I was in court for the whole trial which was really tough. I don’t know Ethan, but I had heard what he was like. I’d heard he loved partying and drinking, that his parents were really rich and that he had his own house.

‘In court they said that when Ethan started driving, he was going really fast and all the others in the back were telling him to slow down,' claimed the teen.

'So to show off, he swerved into the wrong side of the road and started going even faster.

Scene: 911 callers described cars everywhere and kids' lying in ditches'

Scene: 911 callers described cars everywhere and kids' lying in ditches' after the June 15 smash

Injured: Two young men who were sitting in Jennings' truck were injured
Injured: Two young men who were sitting in Jennings' truck were injured

Injured: Sergio Molina (left) and Soliman Mohmand (right) were two of  was seriously injured. They were both riding in Couch's truck when the cash occurred

‘A truck was coming in the other direction and at the very last minute he swerved back onto the right side, but he went too far and mounted the curb. That’s when he hit the other car.

‘Apparently at the point of impact his foot was still hard down on the accelerator.’

Sergio Molina’s family have launched a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the Couch family and their company Cleburne Sheet Metal LLC. They have referenced two previous drinking violations committed by Couch prior to the crash in legal documents.

In one he was apparently caught drinking, while parked in a vehicle with an underage girl. That incident happened just months before the crash.

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Judge Jean Boyd is facing calls to be removed from her position after she handed out a remarkably lenient sentence of 10 years probation to Ethan Couch who killed four people while on a drunken joyride

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Instead of prison, Couch is set to spend time at the swanky Newport Academy male residential rehabilitation center in California with his parents footing the bill

The decision not to send Couch to jail has sent shock waves around the nation, with many claiming he was only spared because of his family’s wealth.

Judge Jean Boyd has faced intense criticism and there have been calls for her to step down. Earlier today MailOnline reported that Judge Boyle has not always been so lenient when it comes to youth offenders.

Last year Judge Boyd sentenced a 14-year old African American boy to prison for ten years for killing one person with a powerful punch. The teenage suspect’s name was never made public since he was prosecuted as a juvenile.

Boyd is expected to retire next year, but a petition has been launched at change.org demanding that Texas Governor Rick Perry remove her from the bench immediately.

'This sentence is a slap in the face [of] the families of those who were killed. He's sent to California to a spa-type center while the families of the victims get to go to a cemetery,' wrote a supporter of the petition, Stephen Pyka of Texas.

'This is another disgusting display of the wealthy trying to change the rules when they break them. This judge should be removed for aiding a murderer,' noted another supporter, Nina Eagle of Appomattox, Virgina.

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The parents are also responsible the fed needs to look in to this case

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Not a mansion. It is ridiculous that he lived there alone but that is not a large mansion. Seriously DM?

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His parents are going to get destroyed in civil court.

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ok there is something really wrong with Texas. A woman was sentence to 70 YEARS IN PRISON for stealing Christmas decoration from a neighbors house but this little boy kills 4 people and get 10 YEARS PROBATION. Maybe the Judges in both cases should be let go. This is ridiclous. I think the sentences should be switch around. He deserve 70 YEARS IN PRISON and she deserve 10 YEARS PROBATIONS. If i was Sergio parents i would sue Couch parents for a lifetime of medical care.

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Liberal judges are destroying the American justice system. If the young punk is going to jail - which is where he belongs for no less than thirty years - you simply put the deranged parents who created this monster in jail for that amount of time. Simple!

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Here's some therapy- they a chain gang and if parents are truly responsible they should join him.

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Bring back public flogging.

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Hear!! Hear!! bring back "drawing and quartering" --- look it up if you don't know what it is.

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Well we know where a lot of that family's money was going, to buy Alfred E Newman some friends, let's face it without the mansion, the booze and the cash, this kids would have had a different story written about him. I can't wait to see that smug look wiped off his face when mommy and daddy lose their shirts because of this pathetic little twerp.

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Texas justice: he with the biggest wallet wins. This judge needs to be removed.

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Drunks who drive aggressively should lose their driving licence for life. These rich people's kids ride round in huge tanks so the other driver gets the damage in a crash. 21 and under should not be allowed to drive big vehicles until they've proved they are safe on the road.

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