WEBVTT - Where is Laura? | EP 11 0:00:01.760 --> 0:00:04.920 Over the past year, Laura's found herself in quite the bind. 0:00:05.680 --> 0:00:09.400 She's facing a complicated patchwork of consequences and it can 0:00:09.440 --> 0:00:12.760 be hard to follow. That's because we're talking about cases 0:00:12.800 --> 0:00:17.800 across two states, Arizona and California. We're talking about multiple 0:00:17.800 --> 0:00:23.760 different court systems, civil courts, family courts, and now criminal courts. 0:00:24.480 --> 0:00:27.040 So I want to regroup and give you an overview 0:00:27.200 --> 0:00:31.200 of what Laura's up against. In June twenty twenty four, 0:00:31.800 --> 0:00:35.280 Clayton won his family court case against Laura. That's a 0:00:35.280 --> 0:00:39.600 civil court judgment. Along with her judgment, Judge Mata ordered 0:00:39.640 --> 0:00:43.080 Laura to pay Clayton's legal fees, a number that after 0:00:43.200 --> 0:00:48.520 Laura's failed appeals, is nearing two hundred thousand dollars. Then 0:00:49.080 --> 0:00:53.120 seven months later, in January twenty twenty five, the police 0:00:53.200 --> 0:00:56.240 raided Laura's family home in Arizona to serve a search warrant. 0:00:57.080 --> 0:01:00.720 By that summer, she was indicted in Arizona on seven 0:01:00.800 --> 0:01:05.160 felony charges. That's the criminal system, you know, the one 0:01:05.160 --> 0:01:08.160 that sentences people to prison. Here's Clayton. 0:01:08.760 --> 0:01:11.200 I hope for justice to be served, and to me, 0:01:11.760 --> 0:01:15.080 what that looks like is her going to prison no 0:01:15.120 --> 0:01:18.759 matter what she's faced. Up until this point, she has 0:01:18.760 --> 0:01:23.200 not once said you know what, I'm sorry. 0:01:23.280 --> 0:01:27.679 Even after seven felony charges, Lauras still decided to renew 0:01:27.680 --> 0:01:32.160 her domestic violence restraining order against Mike Marriccini. This one 0:01:32.600 --> 0:01:36.080 in the San Francisco court system. It's a civil case, 0:01:36.480 --> 0:01:39.360 but for Mike it's a legal battle. He's been fighting 0:01:39.440 --> 0:01:43.480 for almost ten years. And while she battled Mike and court, 0:01:43.920 --> 0:01:47.560 the prosecutors in Arizona weren't quite done with her yet. 0:01:47.960 --> 0:01:49.880 Their investigation had uncovered more. 0:01:51.480 --> 0:01:55.680 What we know is coming down the pipeline is bigger 0:01:55.720 --> 0:01:58.720 than anything she could ever imagine, and bigger than any 0:01:58.840 --> 0:02:01.040 of us could ever imagine. 0:02:03.560 --> 0:02:07.120 I'm Stephanie Young and this is love trapped. 0:02:28.560 --> 0:02:29.240 Taty. 0:02:35.320 --> 0:02:37.680 At the end of the last episode we left off, 0:02:37.720 --> 0:02:41.400 in San Francisco, Laura Owens filed to renew her domestic 0:02:41.480 --> 0:02:46.040 violence restraining order against Mike Marriuccini, But this time Mike 0:02:46.080 --> 0:02:49.080 had secured legal counsel and was ready to fight back. 0:02:50.160 --> 0:02:53.720 The evidentiary hearing was slated for October twenty twenty five, 0:02:54.320 --> 0:02:56.000 and I flew to San Francisco to be in the 0:02:56.040 --> 0:02:59.040 courtroom the night before the hearing was set to start, 0:02:59.480 --> 0:03:03.959 someone in Laura's camp emailed Mike's attorney, Omar Serrato. Omar 0:03:04.000 --> 0:03:07.160 and Mike thought Laura was agreeing to drop the DVRO renewal, 0:03:07.880 --> 0:03:11.200 but twelve minutes later they found out that wasn't the case. 0:03:11.720 --> 0:03:12.440 Here's Omar. 0:03:13.000 --> 0:03:15.560 There was like that surreal moment where you have all 0:03:15.600 --> 0:03:18.720 this adrenaline and then it's over, but the adrenaline's still 0:03:18.760 --> 0:03:22.120 there and you're trying to like calm down. Mike is crying, 0:03:22.160 --> 0:03:25.000 and he's like raising his arms and triumphant hugs all around, 0:03:25.360 --> 0:03:28.800 and then I get this mysterious email come through my phone. 0:03:30.639 --> 0:03:33.400 In the email, Laura requested a zoom link for the 0:03:33.400 --> 0:03:37.120 next day's hearing, which Omar expected she would need to 0:03:37.120 --> 0:03:39.600 agree to the deal in front of the judge, but 0:03:39.720 --> 0:03:42.360 she also asked for a zoom link for her former 0:03:42.400 --> 0:03:47.120 attorney and nurse practitioner. That didn't make sense. If she 0:03:47.200 --> 0:03:49.800 planned to dismiss the case, why did they need to 0:03:49.800 --> 0:03:50.320 be present. 0:03:50.760 --> 0:03:53.240 Everybody's still in celebration mode, and so I'm like trying 0:03:53.240 --> 0:03:54.880 to sitting on that for five minutes, like what does 0:03:54.920 --> 0:03:58.960 this mean? And then I emailed her, Hey, Laura, my 0:03:59.080 --> 0:04:00.440 understanding was we had agreement. 0:04:00.560 --> 0:04:01.480 Is that's still the case? 0:04:02.360 --> 0:04:05.840 And then like ten minutes later, No, we don't have 0:04:05.880 --> 0:04:09.160 an agreement. That was it just a one liner. And 0:04:09.160 --> 0:04:11.000 then I had to break the news to Mike, Hey, 0:04:11.240 --> 0:04:14.640 is this still one But he took that remarkably well. 0:04:14.640 --> 0:04:15.920 It was like, well, if I get game on, then 0:04:16.320 --> 0:04:17.760 I guess back to the original plan. 0:04:20.920 --> 0:04:24.240 I arrived at the San Francisco Superior Courthouse early on 0:04:24.320 --> 0:04:28.080 Tuesday morning, October twenty first. The hearing was scheduled for 0:04:28.160 --> 0:04:32.479 nine am. It wasn't long before a familiar face joined me. 0:04:32.920 --> 0:04:37.080 Clayton Eckered. He traveled to San Francisco just for this hearing. 0:04:38.680 --> 0:04:40.720 I am in San Francisco for the first time of 0:04:40.760 --> 0:04:44.040 my life. I'm here to support Mike. I'm here because 0:04:44.040 --> 0:04:47.400 he shut up for me, and that was it. No 0:04:47.440 --> 0:04:50.520 matter what happens, no matter what the outcome is, I'm 0:04:50.560 --> 0:04:53.440 here to show Mike that I appreciate him. 0:04:53.839 --> 0:04:54.320 That's it. 0:04:55.200 --> 0:04:56.760 I'm like, I can pause all this shit in my 0:04:56.760 --> 0:04:59.680 life right now, because honestly, this is more important than 0:04:59.720 --> 0:04:59.960 all that. 0:05:02.360 --> 0:05:05.039 When Clayton had his family court trial against Laura the 0:05:05.040 --> 0:05:09.280 previous year, the courthouse in Arizona was filled with his supporters, 0:05:09.800 --> 0:05:14.440 including the content creators who'd been covering his story. Now 0:05:14.560 --> 0:05:19.480 in San Francisco, that same energy surrounded Mike outside the 0:05:19.520 --> 0:05:22.760 courthouse that morning. I ran into journalist Megan Fox. 0:05:23.040 --> 0:05:25.400 So I'm reporting out from in front of the Superior 0:05:25.520 --> 0:05:29.120 Court in California and San Francisco. We're gonna wait for 0:05:29.160 --> 0:05:32.680 Laura Owens to up here by Zoom. We think maybe 0:05:32.800 --> 0:05:34.560 or maybe she's not gonna show up at all. We're 0:05:34.600 --> 0:05:37.160 not sure, but we're gonna go in and find out. 0:05:37.839 --> 0:05:39.320 We're all here. Where is she? 0:05:40.400 --> 0:05:42.240 What do you think is gonna happen today? 0:05:42.520 --> 0:05:45.320 God, it's one of three things. It's gonna get dismissed 0:05:45.320 --> 0:05:49.240 because she doesn't show up. Secondly, it could be continued. 0:05:49.360 --> 0:05:52.200 It's possible she could show up and argue for continuance. 0:05:52.480 --> 0:05:55.960 And the third option is that we fight it out. 0:05:56.160 --> 0:05:58.680 There's a trial, they're open. 0:05:58.720 --> 0:05:59.240 Should we go in? 0:05:59.440 --> 0:05:59.920 Let's do it. 0:06:07.120 --> 0:06:10.200 We all piled into the small courtroom. I sat next 0:06:10.240 --> 0:06:15.080 to Clayton. Since it's a domestic violence related proceeding, audio 0:06:15.120 --> 0:06:18.120 recording is not allowed in the courtroom, but I took 0:06:18.200 --> 0:06:22.920 plenty of notes, so let me summarize. Laura joins by 0:06:23.000 --> 0:06:27.560 Zoom along with her former attorney David Jingris, although Jingers 0:06:27.560 --> 0:06:30.160 clarified that he was there as a witness, not as 0:06:30.240 --> 0:06:34.000 Laura's counsel, because Laura is the petitioner in this case. 0:06:34.440 --> 0:06:36.400 The judge told her that she needed to be there 0:06:36.440 --> 0:06:40.240 in person, but Laura refutes this and says she thought 0:06:40.240 --> 0:06:43.760 it was only strongly suggested that she be there in person. 0:06:44.520 --> 0:06:46.880 The judge agreed to pick up the hearing the following day, 0:06:47.360 --> 0:06:49.919 but when they did, she said Laura needed to be 0:06:50.000 --> 0:06:53.960 in the courtroom, no exceptions. If she wasn't there, the 0:06:54.040 --> 0:06:57.560 case would be dismissed. Laura said she would try her 0:06:57.600 --> 0:07:01.160 best to be in San Francisco the following day. After that, 0:07:02.000 --> 0:07:05.080 the judge moved on to another case. There were so 0:07:05.200 --> 0:07:08.080 many people there to see what would happen, so much 0:07:08.160 --> 0:07:12.280 anticipation and build up, all to be told come back tomorrow. 0:07:15.560 --> 0:07:18.280 After the hearing, I caught up with Mike Marriccini and 0:07:18.320 --> 0:07:23.320 his wife Danielle. I'm harry you guys, feeling anxious, anxious. 0:07:23.520 --> 0:07:25.920 J just chraates chaos. It's always chaotic. 0:07:26.600 --> 0:07:29.240 There's nothing that's ever just. 0:07:30.440 --> 0:07:35.000 Did you expect the judge to be that hard on her? 0:07:35.240 --> 0:07:35.800 Yes? 0:07:36.440 --> 0:07:40.400 Yeah, I did, because she told Laura she had to 0:07:40.400 --> 0:07:43.560 be here in person, so I'm not surprised by the 0:07:43.640 --> 0:07:44.760 judge playing hardball. 0:07:45.000 --> 0:07:46.200 Are you ready for tomorrow now? 0:07:46.480 --> 0:07:48.040 Yeah, I'm ready. 0:07:48.480 --> 0:07:50.720 I personally don't think she's gonna show up, but I'm ready. 0:07:52.000 --> 0:07:54.560 I asked Mike what it was like to have Clayton there. 0:07:55.040 --> 0:07:57.080 It was great to see Clayton. I told him he 0:07:57.120 --> 0:07:59.680 did not need to come, like, don't waste money on 0:07:59.720 --> 0:08:03.600 a plane ticket, and he said, Mike, you supported me 0:08:04.400 --> 0:08:07.240 for the June tenth hearing, Like this is the least 0:08:07.240 --> 0:08:07.560 I could do. 0:08:07.600 --> 0:08:08.800 I want to be there to support you. 0:08:10.120 --> 0:08:13.200 I joined Clayton, Mike, and Danielle for lunch that afternoon. 0:08:13.920 --> 0:08:16.280 This was my first time finally sitting down with Mike 0:08:16.320 --> 0:08:19.880 and Danielle face to face, and spirits were surprisingly high. 0:08:20.400 --> 0:08:20.960 Here's Mike. 0:08:21.440 --> 0:08:23.160 Going into day two, I was like, Okay, this is 0:08:23.160 --> 0:08:26.320 going to condense the entire trial to one day, but 0:08:26.920 --> 0:08:29.360 we can knock this out. My team still felt very confident, 0:08:29.600 --> 0:08:31.320 which is one day instead of two days, so I 0:08:31.400 --> 0:08:33.200 still felt good going into day two. 0:08:35.559 --> 0:08:39.680 I returned to the San Francisco Superior Courthouse the next morning. Yes, 0:08:40.000 --> 0:08:42.760 I just did this the day before. What I didn't 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:45.080 know at the time is that we'd all be doing 0:08:45.120 --> 0:08:48.679 it again. When I arrived, I found Megan Fox already 0:08:48.720 --> 0:08:53.200 at work live streaming, joined virtually by Dave Neil. The 0:08:53.280 --> 0:08:57.480 question of the day Wouldlaura show up? Because of her 0:08:57.559 --> 0:09:00.840 seven felony indictments, she needs to ask the courts for 0:09:00.880 --> 0:09:03.760 permission to leave the state of Arizona. As far as 0:09:03.760 --> 0:09:07.400 anyone knew, she hadn't done that. That's what Dave and 0:09:07.440 --> 0:09:10.640 Meghan were talking about on that live stream outside the courthouse. 0:09:11.559 --> 0:09:13.959 So you're waiting for the trial to start. What are 0:09:13.960 --> 0:09:15.640 the odds that Laura shows up? 0:09:16.440 --> 0:09:18.080 Uh, she's not coming. 0:09:18.480 --> 0:09:18.760 Zero. 0:09:19.320 --> 0:09:22.360 She did not file for permission from the prosecutor in 0:09:22.400 --> 0:09:25.400 Maricopa County to come, and she has to do that. 0:09:25.480 --> 0:09:28.400 She can't leave the state without permission from the prosecutor. 0:09:28.760 --> 0:09:32.000 Court was going forward whether or not Laura was here, 0:09:32.040 --> 0:09:34.640 and I did want her to know that we're covering 0:09:34.679 --> 0:09:37.520 this case. Whether she shows up or not, we're all 0:09:37.559 --> 0:09:40.079 going to be here, and I think it's important. We've 0:09:40.120 --> 0:09:43.439 been following this case for how long day? Two years 0:09:43.480 --> 0:09:44.480 now too? 0:09:44.640 --> 0:09:48.199 Yeah, sure, And I actually wanted Laura to be there 0:09:48.200 --> 0:09:50.360 because I wanted Mike to be able to face her 0:09:50.400 --> 0:09:53.640 and come out of victorious. But what's your feeling assuming 0:09:53.720 --> 0:09:56.960 she isn't there, she's going to what just have to 0:09:57.320 --> 0:09:59.800 drop it? Will she then make any excuse that she 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:01.040 I didn't want to drop it. 0:10:01.000 --> 0:10:01.560 But she did. 0:10:02.040 --> 0:10:04.080 She doesn't show up today, I have a feeling that 0:10:04.120 --> 0:10:05.439 the judge will dismiss it. 0:10:05.800 --> 0:10:09.640 With regards to the sort of vibes with Mike and Clayton, 0:10:09.640 --> 0:10:13.120 who was there yesterday? What's is Mike's family there, how 0:10:13.120 --> 0:10:15.000 are they feeling? What's the update with that. 0:10:15.200 --> 0:10:19.080 Mike's wife is here? She is feeling very frustrated. She 0:10:19.160 --> 0:10:23.240 said to me yesterday we have children, real babies at 0:10:23.240 --> 0:10:25.880 home that need us, and she would just rather not 0:10:26.000 --> 0:10:29.800 be here. And Laura's wasting everyone's time. Laura's the one 0:10:29.800 --> 0:10:32.600 who brought this. She needs to show up and fight 0:10:32.679 --> 0:10:36.439 her case. You can't file something and then decide at 0:10:36.440 --> 0:10:38.800 the last minute you don't want it. This is where 0:10:38.800 --> 0:10:41.120 the fight is, Laura. You should have shown up, you 0:10:41.200 --> 0:10:44.600 wanted it. Where's your evidence, she says, she has evidence, 0:10:44.920 --> 0:10:47.280 So come and make your case in front of Judge Gold. 0:10:51.520 --> 0:10:54.120 When we got there that morning, we were all waiting 0:10:54.160 --> 0:10:59.680 in the hallway, Me, Clayton, Mike, Danielle and Mike's legal team. 0:11:00.440 --> 0:11:03.960 Besides us, there were twenty or thirty people packed into 0:11:03.960 --> 0:11:07.960 the hallway. They were strangers to Mike, but told me 0:11:08.000 --> 0:11:11.440 they'd been following Justice for Clayton online and came to 0:11:11.440 --> 0:11:15.040 support Mike in person. And the demographic of supporters was 0:11:15.080 --> 0:11:21.480 surprisingly diverse, young people, older people, men, and women. The 0:11:21.559 --> 0:11:25.199 hearing was supposed to start at nine am, but nine 0:11:25.280 --> 0:11:29.840 am came and went, and the doors didn't open. The 0:11:29.880 --> 0:11:32.920 group started to become tense. No one knew what was 0:11:32.960 --> 0:11:37.520 going on. At around nine thirty am, the bailiff finally 0:11:37.559 --> 0:11:40.439 opened the doors, but only allowed Mike and Omar to 0:11:40.559 --> 0:11:45.840 enter the courtroom. Everyone looked confused. Ten minutes later, Mike 0:11:45.880 --> 0:11:49.960 and Omar came back out. Mike was in tears. He 0:11:50.040 --> 0:11:53.240 went over to Danielle and they left the building. I 0:11:53.320 --> 0:11:56.800 didn't have a chance to speak with them. Later, Mike 0:11:56.840 --> 0:11:59.400 explained what happened in his closed door meeting with the judge. 0:12:00.080 --> 0:12:04.800 We walk in and Laura's up on the screen and 0:12:05.640 --> 0:12:07.680 she was in a car, and she's kind of like 0:12:07.800 --> 0:12:10.120 just like a laughing spark on her face, like, Oh, 0:12:10.160 --> 0:12:12.640 I got you guys again. So I immediately sat down 0:12:12.720 --> 0:12:16.080 knowing something was wrong because the judge told her to 0:12:16.120 --> 0:12:18.840 be there in person the day before and she's up 0:12:18.880 --> 0:12:21.000 on the screen. Confidence is can to be with her 0:12:21.240 --> 0:12:24.760 with her smirk, and the judge says, we receive some 0:12:24.880 --> 0:12:29.160 information about an eightya. We are going to be continuing 0:12:29.200 --> 0:12:30.679 the court date, and they use a lot of other 0:12:30.760 --> 0:12:31.679 legal jargon. 0:12:31.400 --> 0:12:36.520 In between an EIGHTYA. Laura filed a formal request for 0:12:36.559 --> 0:12:41.240 accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act. It's a federal 0:12:41.280 --> 0:12:44.480 civil rights law that all courts are obliged to comply with. 0:12:44.840 --> 0:12:49.000 We asked if we could essentially argue this eightya accommodation 0:12:49.320 --> 0:12:51.520 and the judge is like, no, it's already been processed. 0:12:52.040 --> 0:12:54.560 We're going to be pushing court to November fifth. 0:12:55.480 --> 0:12:58.000 In other words, they all thought it would be over, 0:12:58.480 --> 0:13:02.360 but by filing for an EIGHTYA accommodation request, the deadline 0:13:02.400 --> 0:13:04.559 was pushed back by another two weeks. 0:13:05.559 --> 0:13:08.959 I walk out of the courtroom. I'm emotional, I'm crying, 0:13:09.280 --> 0:13:14.040 and I talked with my wife immediately, and I talked 0:13:14.080 --> 0:13:17.160 with Clayton, I think right after that, and Clayton was 0:13:17.200 --> 0:13:19.880 like the first line of defense. He said, she's just 0:13:20.320 --> 0:13:23.120 delaying the inevitable. She knows she's going to lose this. 0:13:24.320 --> 0:13:26.960 You have to stay strong. You cannot give up now, 0:13:27.120 --> 0:13:30.160 You've come too far. And my attorney said the same thing. 0:13:30.200 --> 0:13:32.840 And I was just upset with the court system that 0:13:32.920 --> 0:13:35.520 day and the justice system, said I just want to 0:13:35.520 --> 0:13:37.640 go home and spend time with my family because it's 0:13:37.720 --> 0:13:38.520 what's going to make me. 0:13:38.480 --> 0:13:39.200 Happy right now. 0:13:40.720 --> 0:13:45.400 Later I asked Danielle mary Chini about this moment. Like Mike, 0:13:46.000 --> 0:13:48.400 she'd been expecting this day to finally be the end 0:13:48.480 --> 0:13:50.520 of Laura's domestic violence restraining order. 0:13:51.600 --> 0:13:56.040 It was re traumatizing, quite frankly, and I thought, we're 0:13:56.080 --> 0:13:59.319 going to be let down again, and she's going to 0:13:59.440 --> 0:14:05.760 win again again, and we will have to deal with 0:14:05.960 --> 0:14:10.600 the consequences of a permanent restraining order for the rest 0:14:10.600 --> 0:14:12.559 of our lives. 0:14:14.960 --> 0:14:17.960 After Mike and Danielle left the courthouse that day, I 0:14:18.000 --> 0:14:20.440 sat down with Clayton to process what just happened. 0:14:20.920 --> 0:14:26.400 I'm pissed because I first saw Mike walk out of 0:14:26.440 --> 0:14:30.400 the courtroom and tears in his eyes, and you know 0:14:31.080 --> 0:14:34.600 where those tears are coming from. It's six plus years 0:14:34.680 --> 0:14:38.720 that this man has had to endure, and I feel 0:14:38.720 --> 0:14:41.360 for him because I've went through two years of my 0:14:41.440 --> 0:14:44.520 own and so it is really frustrating because you just want. 0:14:44.400 --> 0:14:45.000 It to be done. 0:14:46.680 --> 0:14:49.520 Clayton knows better than anyone else what it feels like 0:14:50.000 --> 0:14:52.800 to try to prove his innocence against Laura Owens. 0:14:53.200 --> 0:14:56.200 Laura thinks she's one today. I don't see that at 0:14:56.200 --> 0:15:00.480 all as a win. This is another unification of all 0:15:00.520 --> 0:15:03.480 of us to be together and to further be driven 0:15:03.600 --> 0:15:07.040 to see this through. Like all she did was light 0:15:07.120 --> 0:15:09.480 a fire. And if you think that we're all just 0:15:09.520 --> 0:15:11.880 going to go, oh and we lost, and we're gonna 0:15:11.880 --> 0:15:14.520 all like, no, I have a renewed sense of fire. 0:15:15.360 --> 0:15:17.560 I know everyone that's here has a renewed sense of fire. 0:15:17.640 --> 0:15:19.080 And we are winning. 0:15:20.080 --> 0:15:23.640 Clayton was determined to see this thing through. He'd recently 0:15:23.680 --> 0:15:26.320 gotten a phone call from one of the state investigators 0:15:26.360 --> 0:15:31.840 in Arizona. The criminal case against Laura Owens wasn't finished yet. 0:15:33.080 --> 0:15:36.960 He had called me and said, look, what Laura doesn't 0:15:37.000 --> 0:15:40.680 realize is what we've found out about her and the 0:15:40.720 --> 0:15:44.320 things that we have uncovered. The paternity scandal is the 0:15:44.440 --> 0:15:45.320 least of her worries. 0:15:57.920 --> 0:16:01.520 In October twenty twenty five, Mike Marriccini and his legal 0:16:01.520 --> 0:16:05.240 team prepared for an evidentiary hearing on Laura's domestic violence 0:16:05.280 --> 0:16:08.320 restraining order renewal. This had nothing to do with her 0:16:08.360 --> 0:16:12.280 criminal case in Arizona. She'd been charged with multiple felonies 0:16:12.320 --> 0:16:16.520 five months prior, but the DVRO renewal was an entirely 0:16:16.560 --> 0:16:21.280 separate legal matter in another state. After a dramatic back 0:16:21.320 --> 0:16:24.480 and forth in their first scheduled hearing, Laura filed a 0:16:24.520 --> 0:16:29.440 disability accommodation request with the San Francisco Superior Court, citing 0:16:29.440 --> 0:16:32.760 the Americans with Disabilities Act. It's the kind of filing 0:16:32.800 --> 0:16:37.479 the courts are obligated to take seriously. Here's Mike's attorney, Omarcerato. 0:16:38.080 --> 0:16:43.640 Nobody was expecting an ADA request to supersede everything, but 0:16:43.680 --> 0:16:46.560 it does in California. You don't fuck with ADA law. 0:16:47.640 --> 0:16:50.320 Mike needs to win this on the merits. He cannot 0:16:50.360 --> 0:16:54.040 have this lost on an EIGHTA violation. 0:16:54.640 --> 0:16:58.479 And it pushed the DVRO hearing date back by two weeks. 0:16:58.920 --> 0:17:01.640 You might be wondering what disability Laura claimed to have. 0:17:02.440 --> 0:17:04.399 We weren't privy to what she said in the closed 0:17:04.440 --> 0:17:07.560 door meeting with the judge, but Laura submitted a filing 0:17:07.560 --> 0:17:11.320 to the court explaining her medical situation. I've had a 0:17:11.400 --> 0:17:12.520 voice actor read from it. 0:17:14.119 --> 0:17:18.240 Attached as exhibit A is a letter dated October seventeenth, 0:17:18.320 --> 0:17:22.400 twenty twenty five, from doctor Colleen Green, a medical provider 0:17:22.440 --> 0:17:26.639 I have been seeing since September twenty twenty four. Doctor 0:17:26.720 --> 0:17:30.440 Green states that participating in the hearing next week quote 0:17:30.680 --> 0:17:34.280 would be life threatening for her end quote because of 0:17:34.320 --> 0:17:39.639 the combined psychiatric and physical decline. This new evidence unavailable 0:17:39.640 --> 0:17:43.679 when the court previously ruled, directly REBTs any assumption that 0:17:43.800 --> 0:17:47.760 I am capable of safely participating in a contested proceeding 0:17:47.840 --> 0:17:51.679 at this time. In addition to doctor Green's findings, my 0:17:51.800 --> 0:17:57.000 other treating medical providers have diagnosed extreme anorexia following a 0:17:57.040 --> 0:18:03.080 fifty pound weight loss accompanied by gastro intestinal bleeding following 0:18:03.160 --> 0:18:07.480 multiple episodes of vomiting blood. My treating physicians advised that 0:18:07.760 --> 0:18:13.280 urgent gastro intestinal testing and specialist evaluation were medically necessary. 0:18:14.000 --> 0:18:17.640 I was referred for a specialist consultation scheduled for October 0:18:17.680 --> 0:18:20.879 twenty second, which was the earliest available date for the 0:18:20.920 --> 0:18:25.720 required procedures. The overlap with the hearing date is entirely unavoidable, 0:18:25.960 --> 0:18:29.399 as the appointment was made immediately upon referral for a 0:18:29.520 --> 0:18:34.600 very serious condition. Postponing this appointment could delay essential diagnostics 0:18:34.640 --> 0:18:38.880 for several weeks and significantly increase the risk of further bleeding, 0:18:39.240 --> 0:18:42.400 worsening anemia, and medical destabilization. 0:18:44.880 --> 0:18:48.680 Translation, the earliest day the doctor could perform a procedure 0:18:48.880 --> 0:18:52.520 for a life threatening medical emergency was the very day 0:18:52.520 --> 0:18:57.400 of trial, October twenty second. The judge issued a continuance, 0:18:58.000 --> 0:19:01.040 meaning come back in two weeks and we'll do this again. 0:19:02.080 --> 0:19:06.000 So I left San Francisco and flew home. A week later, 0:19:06.640 --> 0:19:10.119 my phone started blowing up. It was news about Laura. 0:19:10.840 --> 0:19:14.439 Journalist Megan Fox was doing a YouTube live when she 0:19:14.520 --> 0:19:15.800 saw a comment pop up. 0:19:17.000 --> 0:19:21.119 I'm reading my comments and I see just one little 0:19:21.160 --> 0:19:22.800 sentence that says. 0:19:22.640 --> 0:19:23.680 She was at a horse show. 0:19:24.960 --> 0:19:29.600 Megan decided to investigate. It turns out there was an 0:19:29.600 --> 0:19:34.280 equestrian competition happening in Arizona that very week, the Scottsdale 0:19:34.359 --> 0:19:35.120 Fall Classic. 0:19:35.840 --> 0:19:38.760 I go to the website, the Scottsdale Fall Classic. The 0:19:38.800 --> 0:19:43.040 website and I go immediately I'm looking for the awards. 0:19:43.359 --> 0:19:44.400 I type in her name. 0:19:44.680 --> 0:19:49.200 Sure, shit, there she is winning awards after she was 0:19:49.200 --> 0:19:50.800 supposed to be in court. And she said she was 0:19:50.800 --> 0:19:53.320 bleeding internally and needed a blood transfusion. 0:19:53.400 --> 0:19:59.399 Excuse me, Megan in the online community even uncovered footage 0:19:59.400 --> 0:20:02.680 of Laura Owen competing. 0:20:01.640 --> 0:20:03.760 Low Chillers Low and el Hutter. 0:20:07.480 --> 0:20:09.879 With Laura Owens the odd. 0:20:13.080 --> 0:20:16.639 Laura earned three first place finishes and won one hundred 0:20:16.680 --> 0:20:19.960 and fifty dollars. There's a photo of her on her horse. 0:20:20.600 --> 0:20:23.280 She has a huge smile on her face and she's 0:20:23.359 --> 0:20:27.879 draped in a championship ribbon. When the online community saw this, 0:20:28.520 --> 0:20:32.040 they flew off the handle. Dave Neil made this video 0:20:32.080 --> 0:20:32.520 about it. 0:20:33.680 --> 0:20:37.840 She was actually caught by some of our audience members 0:20:38.320 --> 0:20:42.280 competing in a horse race this weekend. Why is this interesting, Well, 0:20:42.280 --> 0:20:46.320 it's interesting because Laura claims she suffers from PTSD and 0:20:46.480 --> 0:20:49.280 extreme inorexia and all these other issues, which may or 0:20:49.280 --> 0:20:51.240 may not be true. I don't know, but if you're 0:20:51.280 --> 0:20:54.080 really sick, shouldn't you not be on a horse competing? 0:20:55.359 --> 0:20:58.880 It was so brazen. When I interviewed Dave, I asked 0:20:58.960 --> 0:21:01.040 him what he made of Laura in the horse show. 0:21:01.640 --> 0:21:03.800 I think she just lives on the day to day. 0:21:04.440 --> 0:21:07.280 She's like, let's just get through this court thing and 0:21:07.280 --> 0:21:09.840 then tomorrow will jump horses, and she doesn't even try 0:21:09.840 --> 0:21:10.320 to hide it. 0:21:11.400 --> 0:21:14.480 You can imagine how offensive this was to Mike Marraccini 0:21:14.520 --> 0:21:17.960 and his wife, Danielle. They'd spent thousands of dollars to 0:21:17.960 --> 0:21:20.959 go to San Francisco for the hearing, booking hotels and 0:21:21.080 --> 0:21:24.520 arranging overnight childcare for their two daughters, only to have 0:21:24.600 --> 0:21:27.880 Laura file the EIGHTYA request and push the date back 0:21:27.920 --> 0:21:31.760 another two weeks. Danielle Marraccini was livid. 0:21:32.440 --> 0:21:38.840 I can't even put into words the level of anger. 0:21:39.720 --> 0:21:42.800 I try to steer clear of those emotions because they 0:21:42.840 --> 0:21:47.120 will rot you from the inside out. But seeing her 0:21:48.240 --> 0:21:52.360 in those videos, I felt like she was just laughing 0:21:52.400 --> 0:21:57.520 in my face, like haha, fuck you, Like she was 0:21:57.600 --> 0:22:01.240 making a mockery of my pain and my husband's pain. 0:22:02.400 --> 0:22:04.280 She thinks that she can keep getting away with it 0:22:04.320 --> 0:22:06.840 and there's no repercussions, and she also thinks we're all 0:22:06.880 --> 0:22:08.919 too stupid to find out like the actual truth. 0:22:13.760 --> 0:22:16.280 A week later, Mike was due back at the San 0:22:16.320 --> 0:22:20.120 Francisco Superior Courthouse. I boarded a flight to meet him there. 0:22:20.800 --> 0:22:24.800 It felt like deja vus once again. Laura was ordered 0:22:24.800 --> 0:22:27.840 to be there in person if she didn't show it 0:22:27.960 --> 0:22:30.800 might finally be the end of her restraining order against Mike. 0:22:33.000 --> 0:22:36.320 When I arrived in San Francisco, the chaos had already begun. 0:22:37.280 --> 0:22:40.080 Here's Rachel Warrez, one of Mike's attorneys. 0:22:40.400 --> 0:22:43.119 I was literally in an uber on the way to 0:22:43.160 --> 0:22:47.480 the airport. The emails between Laura and the court started 0:22:47.720 --> 0:22:50.320 going rapid fire, and Laura started sending emails saying I 0:22:50.359 --> 0:22:54.640 am not coming. I called Omar from the uber and said, 0:22:54.680 --> 0:22:58.040 should I just turn around and not come? There was 0:22:58.359 --> 0:23:02.080 this chaos. That's what she does, She creates chaos. 0:23:02.720 --> 0:23:06.600 Earlier that day, the court emailed both parties. They said 0:23:06.600 --> 0:23:09.200 there was a high likelihood that a court reporter would 0:23:09.240 --> 0:23:10.679 not be available for their hearing. 0:23:11.320 --> 0:23:14.359 Unfortunately, we've been dealing with a court reporter shortage in 0:23:14.400 --> 0:23:18.959 a lot of the state courts in California for many years. 0:23:19.240 --> 0:23:20.800 It's really a resource issue. 0:23:22.119 --> 0:23:24.199 Laura tried to make this into a bigger deal than 0:23:24.200 --> 0:23:27.760 it was. Mike's team retained and paid for a court reporter, 0:23:28.200 --> 0:23:29.199 and the court approved it. 0:23:30.000 --> 0:23:31.600 The court just said, I just want to make it 0:23:31.640 --> 0:23:34.600 clear that the judge has not continued this. We're going 0:23:34.680 --> 0:23:35.560 forward as planned. 0:23:37.000 --> 0:23:39.119 It looked like the next morning there would be a 0:23:39.160 --> 0:23:43.720 hearing no matter what. That night they prepared for every 0:23:43.760 --> 0:23:46.639 possible scenario. Here's Mike's attorney, Rachel. 0:23:46.960 --> 0:23:48.840 We kind of tried to keep it a low key night, 0:23:49.400 --> 0:23:52.440 not do too much trio prep. But again we went 0:23:52.600 --> 0:23:58.840