Ethan Couch, a now-man dubbed the “affluenza teen” when a Texas judge gave him probation and rehabilitation after killing four people and injuring numerous others during a deadly 2013 DUI crash, is scheduled for release from jail in less than two weeks. Yet, a seemingly unlikely person to reach out to Couch has forgiven him and says Couch is a changed person.
Tim Williams, whose best friend Brian Jennings was one of the four people killed by Couch in 2013 during a DUI crash in Burleson, Texas, said he forgave Couch (pictured left) before he began visiting him in jail, according to the Dallas Morning News. Williams started visiting Couch in jail shortly after his 2016 arrest after the convict was caught hiding out in Mexico. Williams said that although he’ll never forget the way his friend was taken from him, he doesn’t want to hang onto “unforgiveness.”
“I didn’t want unforgiveness hanging on me like a set of heavy chains,” Williams told Dallas Morning News.
“If you imagine building a house with 20,000 bricks, one visit with Ethan might put two or three bricks in the wall.”
“He has expressed some desire to assist others. My impression is he has no wish to go and do the big stuff but rather to say, ‘Hey, kids, don’t do what I did. Don’t think like I thought. Don’t believe you’re going to get away with it’…..I believe he is genuine in what he says.”
“The fact is – he caused my best friend’s wife to be a widow, he caused my best friend’s kids to not have a dad…There is a question of who was Ethan when the crime happened and then the question of who is Ethan today. I think that Ethan is now a young man that has the potential to bring life, to be quote – the good citizen, the good friend, a good man, and maybe someday a good father.”
One of the stipulations of his probation was that Couch to abstain from drinking alcohol. Yet, within a few years of his conviction, a video surfaced, showing someone that appeared to be Couch engaging in a game of “beer pong” with others. As the video quickly gained attention, Couch and his mother, Tonya, snuck away from their Tarrant County home in the middle of the night and fled to Mexico. Within a few weeks, mom and son were caught in Puerto Vallarta, a Mexican resort town in Jalisco.
Upon his return to the U.S. in 2016, Couch was sentenced to serve two years behind bars. He’s now up for release, but the tragic mess he left behind is a stark reminder that he took several lives in what could have been a preventable situation.
Slain victims of the 2013 tragedy include:
- Breanna Mitchell
- Brian Jennings
- Hollie Boyles
- Shelby Boyles
The crash also left numerous people injured, including Sergio Molina, who suffered a permanent brain injury and was paralyzed from the waist down.
Couch is scheduled for release on April 2.
[Feature Photo: Ethan Couch, Sergio Molina via AP/LM Otero]