Ethan Couch’s lawyers say that they are investigating whether the 18-year-old arrested in Mexico last month fled there, willingly violating the terms of his probation, or was forced, Reuters reports. “We are examining the facts...to determine whether he was taken voluntarily or involuntarily to Mexico,” attorney Scott Brown said.

The “affluenza” teen is being held in a Mexico immigration detention center. Last month, he was apprehended, with his mother, Tonya Couch, 48, in the resort town of Puerto Vallarto.

The teenager faces charges of violating his probation in the 2013 drunk driving case that left four people dead; his mother, who has been returned to Texas, is accused of hindering apprehension of a felon, a felony charge that carries a potential 10-year prison sentence.

Tarrant County prosecutors want to try Couch, who was 16 at the time of the incident, as an adult. They contend that he was a willing participant in his flight to Mexico. (That certainly seems to be the case.)

According to CNN, an attorney for Tonya Couch, Stephanie Patten, was not aware of the possibility that her son had been taken out of the country against his will. (That is to say: kidnapped by her.) “I haven’t seen any evidence that that happened,” Patten said.

Tarrant County juvenile court Judge Timothy Menikos recently deferredruling on a motion to transfer Couch’s case to adult court, Reuters reports, because Couch’s parents—who are divorced—had not each been properly informed of the proceedings. The next hearing is set for February 19.

Photo via AP Images. Contact the author of this post: brendan.oconnor@gawker.com.