Speaker 1: Hey, everyone, Before we start this episode, I want to
Speaker 1: let you know that this one includes some graphic descriptions
Speaker 1: of pregnancy loss as well as allegations of sexual assault.
Speaker 1: On June tenth, twenty twenty four, the Laura Owens and
Speaker 1: Clayton Eckered paternity case finally went to trial. This was
Speaker 1: the definitive legal showdown everyone had been waiting for. But
Speaker 1: before Clayton's attorney, Greg Woodennick could even walk into the courtroom,
Speaker 1: he was met with a surprise.
Speaker 2: We walked into the courthouse and my team was walking
Speaker 2: through security. I turned to my right and kind of
Speaker 2: right up next to me is Laura's attorney and he
Speaker 2: says something to the extent is we need to talk now.
Speaker 3: I'm calling the police now.
Speaker 1: At first, Woodnick didn't understand what was going on. It
Speaker 1: appeared that Laura's attorney was calling the police.
Speaker 2: I felt my blood pressure racing that he was suggesting
Speaker 2: he was calling the police in a courthouse.
Speaker 1: There were plenty of police and security guards already present.
Speaker 1: It was a courthouse, but today seemed to be different.
Speaker 1: Maybe it's because their trial involved a high profile person,
Speaker 1: or maybe something else was going on. Wouldn'tick watched in
Speaker 1: confusion as Laura's attorney began to unravel right in front
Speaker 1: of him.
Speaker 2: He was like running back and forth, like I remember
Speaker 2: seeing him go from the security station towards the courtroom,
Speaker 2: and it was kind of frantic, and we were just
Speaker 2: like standing there, like, what the fuck this is weird?
Speaker 1: Wouodnick stepped away from his team to investigate. It turned
Speaker 1: out Laura had a problem with someone who'd been subpoena
Speaker 1: to testify.
Speaker 2: If I recall correctly, her attorney said, I'm not sure
Speaker 2: if she's even going to go into the courtroom because
Speaker 2: she's so scared, and I think that he'd called.
Speaker 1: Nine one one said she was too scared to enter
Speaker 1: the courtroom. She had a protective order against both Clayton
Speaker 1: and Greg Gillespie, who were already there, but her panic
Speaker 1: on the morning of the trial was about someone else,
Speaker 1: another man. She had a restraining order against someone she'd
Speaker 1: known for years before Clayton or Greg.
Speaker 2: I was confused, I said, what the hell are you
Speaker 2: talking about. They are subpoena. Judge Manta already granted their
Speaker 2: permission to testify.
Speaker 1: Maybe Laura didn't actually expect this man to show up,
Speaker 1: but would Nick had subpoenaed him for a reason.
Speaker 2: I think Laura had a problem with anyone coming in
Speaker 2: and sharing the fact that there were multiple prior victims
Speaker 2: who had very similar situations.
Speaker 3: Happened to him.
Speaker 2: I think she's doing everything she could to avoid the
Speaker 2: court hearing testimony from these individuals.
Speaker 1: I'm Stephanie Young and this is love trapped there.
Speaker 4: No, you'd better believe.
Speaker 5: I'll be razy ho the hellas if you Emverver Heaver.
Speaker 6: Trastic.
Speaker 1: On the morning of Clayton's paternity trial, Laura claimed she
Speaker 1: was too scared of one of the witnesses to go
Speaker 1: into the courtroom. She had her attorney called nine to
Speaker 1: one one, but after a quick meeting in the judge's chambers,
Speaker 1: it was decided that the trial would move ahead. The
Speaker 1: energy in the courthouse was tense. Clayton felt it as
Speaker 1: soon as he arrived.
Speaker 7: I had been to this court a couple times because
Speaker 7: Laura would bring me there for prior hearings, and this
Speaker 7: time I'd drive in and there's arm guards like right
Speaker 7: when I'm driving in, and then I get out of
Speaker 7: my car and I see a couple more of them,
Speaker 7: and I'm thinking, what is going on? Like this feels
Speaker 7: too high profile.
Speaker 1: That morning, the parking lot was buzzing. Many of the
Speaker 1: online detectives who'd been following every twist of this case
Speaker 1: had descended upon the courthouse in Phoenix, Arizona.
Speaker 7: Well as far as people that had been covering the case.
Speaker 7: There was Dave Neo, there was Megan Fox. There was
Speaker 7: probably fifty people that were part of the Justice for Clayton.
Speaker 8: Community that were there.
Speaker 7: And that's when it hit me that I was like, Wow,
Speaker 7: I have a tremendous amount of support.
Speaker 1: The virtual community had suddenly become an in person one.
Speaker 1: Many of them had been in the parking lot since
Speaker 1: six am preparing for the trial day. It was basically
Speaker 1: a tailgate. Content creator. Megan Fox is one of the
Speaker 1: many people who flew in.
Speaker 5: We got up very early in the morning, I think
Speaker 5: it started at eight, and we needed be there to
Speaker 5: set up our equipment, the camera and everything in the courtroom.
Speaker 9: Dave beat me there.
Speaker 1: He was already there. Dave Neil was the unofficial leader
Speaker 1: of Clayton's supporters. He'd been following the story since the beginning.
Speaker 1: I knew I needed to be there to see this
Speaker 1: thing to the finish line.
Speaker 8: It wasn't a question.
Speaker 1: On the day of the trial, Dave set up a
Speaker 1: tent in the parking lot where he had a live
Speaker 1: stream feed going giving commentary and analysis. He also brought
Speaker 1: a media sprinter van. The whole scene had a major
Speaker 1: sporting event, Vibe. Dave was joined by his old friend
Speaker 1: Reality Steve, who'd also been covering the story since the beginning.
Speaker 10: It was something that had consumed a lot of my
Speaker 10: time from September of twenty twenty three on.
Speaker 8: Went out there to support Dave because he was the
Speaker 8: champion of all this.
Speaker 1: The court only allowed one camera to livestream the trial.
Speaker 1: A few months earlier, content creator Lauren Nighty had put
Speaker 1: her name on the list.
Speaker 10: I was wondering how people get access to stream court cases,
Speaker 10: so I just went to the website basically on Mayracopa
Speaker 10: County for the Family Court, and there was a form
Speaker 10: you could fill out basically to stream it, and so
Speaker 10: I put in my information. But I wasn't expecting anything.
Speaker 1: Lauren had no idea that by filling out that form,
Speaker 1: she was about to become the eyes and ears for
Speaker 1: the entire online community. It was a role she took seriously.
Speaker 1: She was personally offended by Laura's alleged lies and wanted
Speaker 1: everyone to know the truth.
Speaker 10: I wanted people to be able to see what their
Speaker 10: tax dollars were being used for, why this was such
Speaker 10: a big deal, and everyone who had blamed Clayton or said,
Speaker 10: why don't you just shut up about this? You've already
Speaker 10: got people to know that she lied. I wanted them
Speaker 10: to see the extent of it. I wanted them to
Speaker 10: see that in real time and to understand the gravity
Speaker 10: of what this woman is willing to do, the lengths
Speaker 10: that she's willing to go to, and the way she's
Speaker 10: willing to guilt people and confuse their emotions in order
Speaker 10: to get away with what she's doing. And so the
Speaker 10: court reached out to me and they said, would you
Speaker 10: like to stream it? And I said yeah, because I
Speaker 10: was going to be there anyways.
Speaker 1: So Lauren set up her camera on Row one. She'd
Speaker 1: be recording everything and live streaming it to thousands of people.
Speaker 1: At eight forty five am, they opened the courtroom doors.
Speaker 1: Immediately the room filled up with people there to support Clayton.
Speaker 7: I think I realized this is more impactful than what
Speaker 7: I would have thought.
Speaker 1: Clayton knew the trial was important, but it was another
Speaker 1: thing to see the room packed with his supporters, people
Speaker 1: who believed him. Laura's side of the room was noticeably sparse.
Speaker 7: It was her mom and her medical expert that was it. Dad,
Speaker 7: wasn't there, sister, wasn't there? No friends? And I think
Speaker 7: that to me also spoke volumes. I know it, did
Speaker 7: I know when we walked into that courtroom and you
Speaker 7: had my side of the courtroom that was packed out,
Speaker 7: that had overflow, and then you had her side which
Speaker 7: ended up being taken over by people that it came
Speaker 7: to support me.
Speaker 1: Clayton felt the gravity of the moment.
Speaker 7: I wasn't nervous because it's bigger than me. So I
Speaker 7: just needed to show up.
Speaker 1: As me, surrounded by a packed room of supporters and spectators.
Speaker 1: The trial that everyone had been waiting for finally got underway.
Speaker 11: This is the time set in FC twenty twenty three
Speaker 11: zero five, two one one four appearances Please beginning first
Speaker 11: with petitioner's counsel.
Speaker 8: Good morning. You are at David Gingers on behalf of
Speaker 8: Laura Owens.
Speaker 1: Just a few months earlier, Laura Owens brought a new
Speaker 1: attorney onto the case, David Jingris, you'll recognize him from
Speaker 1: earlier in our story. He's the lawyer who collaborated with
Speaker 1: Laura on a series of YouTube videos. Laura had gone
Speaker 1: through a few attorneys before she found Jingers. In fact,
Speaker 1: her previous council, the one who was with their outter deposition,
Speaker 1: dropped her as a client. That attorney went on to
Speaker 1: file a notice of candor, a formal truth correction used
Speaker 1: when a lawyer realizes the court has been misled. In it,
Speaker 1: he changed his stance on the truthfulness of Laura's claims
Speaker 1: and formally retracted his statement that Laura had not lied
Speaker 1: to the court. So for the trial on June tenth,
Speaker 1: Laura was joined by her new council, David Jingris as
Speaker 1: for Clayton's team.
Speaker 2: Good morning, Judge kriick Woodnick, come here from Clayton issh
Speaker 2: that also with me is my co counsel Deangerina and
Speaker 2: Isabelle Rannie.
Speaker 11: Each party will be given fifteen minutes, which will take
Speaker 11: a ten minute break roughly halfway through. I allowed ten
Speaker 11: minutes for technical difficulties because they just happened to everybody.
Speaker 1: It was a bench trial, meaning there was no jury.
Speaker 1: It was just the two opposing councils presenting their cases
Speaker 1: to Judge Mada and critically the trial was timed. The
Speaker 1: judge put a two hour limit on the whole proceeding.
Speaker 1: These kind of time limits are standard in Arizona Family Court.
Speaker 1: It forces both sides to present their cases efficiently.
Speaker 3: You'd learned to get to the good stuff.
Speaker 1: Fast, wouldn't it had prepared Clayton to work within the
Speaker 1: time constraints.
Speaker 8: He's like, we are going to have a time limit.
Speaker 7: He's like, you also talk a lot and needed to
Speaker 7: give quick answers, just like snapstap, stap snap.
Speaker 1: With the clock ticking, David Jingers called his first witness
Speaker 1: to the stand.
Speaker 8: You want to call Laura Owens.
Speaker 1: This was her direct examination, her and her attorney's chance
Speaker 1: to tell her side of the story.
Speaker 8: Laura, how are you feeling.
Speaker 4: Nervous?
Speaker 8: Okay, just breathe and we'll get through this really quick. Okay.
Speaker 1: Laura's attorney started with the basic timeline of events, and
Speaker 1: right away Laura made a staggering admission.
Speaker 8: Let me go back to the night of May twentieth.
Speaker 12: In your deposition, you said that Clayton actually had sexual.
Speaker 8: Intercourse with you. Do you recall that, yes, and was
Speaker 8: that true?
Speaker 9: Yes?
Speaker 8: Did you tell him that night that you did not
Speaker 8: want to have sex? Yes? And did he honor that request?
Speaker 1: Now since the beginning, Clayton has told the same story
Speaker 1: about the night of May twentieth. He says that he
Speaker 1: invited her over, they both took an edible, and they
Speaker 1: had consensual oral sex. Six days later, public records show
Speaker 1: that Laura messaged a pregnancy support line looking for planned
Speaker 1: b Laura wrote, quote, this past week, I was consensually
Speaker 1: intimate with a partner, although we did not have intercourse.
Speaker 1: But now, a year later, Laura told the court that
Speaker 1: Clayton raped her.
Speaker 7: I remember when she said it. I just felt this
Speaker 7: massive wave of anger overtake my body. I when her
Speaker 7: clenching my fist and just closing my eyes because at
Speaker 7: that point I just had to diffuse the anger. I
Speaker 7: think I sat there for probably three or four minutes,
Speaker 7: but it was such a dump of adrenaline. I was
Speaker 7: fighting my body in that moment.
Speaker 1: The focus shifted right back to Laura and the pregnancy
Speaker 1: test she took.
Speaker 12: Those three tests, did you do anything at all to
Speaker 12: tamper with the results of those tests?
Speaker 8: Now?
Speaker 12: Did you take any drugs? Hormones or any substance at
Speaker 12: all to affect the outcome. Now, did you use someone
Speaker 12: else's urine to Shane's the outcome?
Speaker 13: No?
Speaker 1: That was the moment Laura went on the record denying
Speaker 1: she had ever altered a pregnancy test during the time
Speaker 1: she claimed to be pregnant with Clayton's babies. Then her attorney,
Speaker 1: David Jingris addressed the contradictions in Laura's deposition had on,
Speaker 1: the most glaring one being that she'd admitted under oath
Speaker 1: to altering a sonogram using Adobe Acrobat.
Speaker 8: Did you have a sonogram done in California?
Speaker 9: Yes?
Speaker 8: I did? And where was that done?
Speaker 4: Planned parenthood?
Speaker 12: And you understand it. I'm sure mister Whitnik will ask
Speaker 12: you about this. Planned parent has not been able to
Speaker 12: verify that you were ever seen there. Do you understand that?
Speaker 4: Yes? Can you explain that, Yes, I went under a
Speaker 4: fake name when I went there?
Speaker 8: Okay, And you had a sonogram done?
Speaker 12: Did you ever present that sonogram as evidence in any
Speaker 12: court proceeding anywhere? No, we have obviously presented in this case.
Speaker 12: But you've admitted already that you changed the name at
Speaker 12: the top or the location. Did you change the name
Speaker 12: at the top of the sonogram of the location.
Speaker 8: Yes, why did you do that?
Speaker 4: I changed it because mister ACKERD was being threatening towards
Speaker 4: me and I didn't want him to know where I
Speaker 4: had gone and try to track down my providers.
Speaker 1: Laura's attorney then addressed the big question what came of
Speaker 1: her pregnancy.
Speaker 12: After the sonogram in California around July twenty third. Did
Speaker 12: something happen in terms of you passing tissue or anything
Speaker 12: like that?
Speaker 4: Yes?
Speaker 8: Can you explain briefly what happened on July twenty third?
Speaker 4: Yeah, I wasn't having any symptoms at all, but I
Speaker 4: did pass tissue that looked like it could have potentially
Speaker 4: been a miscarriage that I wasn't sure.
Speaker 12: Did you seek any medical care after July twenty third
Speaker 12: after to shoot passed?
Speaker 4: Yes?
Speaker 8: Related to that, Yes, what did you do?
Speaker 4: I texted a hotline for pregnancy and miscarriage questions, and
Speaker 4: I also did an appointment with the telens and doctor
Speaker 4: as well.
Speaker 8: Okay, and what information did they give you?
Speaker 4: With any They told me that I needed to monitor myself,
Speaker 4: but that they felt like unless I had more symptoms,
Speaker 4: I didn't need to worry that it was a miscarriage.
Speaker 1: On November second, Laura had told the judge in Clayton's
Speaker 1: restraining order hearing that she was twenty four weeks pregnant,
Speaker 1: but now she was claiming in court that she had
Speaker 1: a miscarriage. On July twenty third, in the direct examination,
Speaker 1: either Laura or her attorney addressed this massive inconsistency for
Speaker 1: the last time.
Speaker 8: Were you pregnant with Clayton?
Speaker 4: Yes?
Speaker 12: Did you think that you were pregnant with Clayton? Yes,
Speaker 12: you have any reason to think that you weren't when
Speaker 12: you filed this case.
Speaker 13: No.
Speaker 8: Did you lie about being pregnant with Clayton?
Speaker 9: No?
Speaker 8: No further questions John.
Speaker 1: With the direct questioning over the floor belonged to DeAndre
Speaker 1: A Rena for the much anticipated cross examination.
Speaker 9: Good Morning, the songs, Good morning.
Speaker 5: Do you understand that you're currently under oath you must
Speaker 5: testifying truthfully today?
Speaker 14: Correct?
Speaker 9: Correct? And you understand the difference between the truth and the.
Speaker 4: Lie right, obviously?
Speaker 1: Yes, But Clayton's attorney, Greg Woodennick didn't think that was
Speaker 1: so obvious.
Speaker 2: Laura is a tough witness. Laura has her own agenda
Speaker 2: when you ask her questions, and she's got a confidence
Speaker 2: about her, which is interesting because she can confidently answer
Speaker 2: a question with a completely bullshit answer.
Speaker 1: The maternity trial on June tenth was just getting started.
Speaker 1: The courtroom was packed with spectators. Laura was the first
Speaker 1: on the stand, but her direct examination left quite a
Speaker 1: few unanswered questions. Clayton's attorney, Deandra Arena, was eager to
Speaker 1: jump in. DeAndre had cross examined Laura before at Clayton's
Speaker 1: restraining order hearing on November two. In that one, Laura
Speaker 1: admitted under oath to being twenty four weeks pregnant. This
Speaker 1: posed a big problem because now Laura told the court
Speaker 1: she miscarried back in July, both couldn't be true. Before
Speaker 1: Deandra turned up the heat on Laura, she laid the groundwork,
Speaker 1: reminding Laura of what she said in previous hearings.
Speaker 5: You testified that you were one hundred percent pregnant on
Speaker 5: November second, correct, correct, And.
Speaker 9: You testified that you were twenty four weeks pregnant, specifically correct.
Speaker 5: I'd like you to take a look at your exhibit
Speaker 5: A eleven at least Miss Owens disappointment that you attended
Speaker 5: at mom doc on November fourteenth of twenty twenty three,
Speaker 5: was twelve days.
Speaker 9: After I crossed examine, right, correct?
Speaker 5: And during that cross examination I pointed out that you
Speaker 5: had no legitimate medical records to support the pregnancy.
Speaker 14: Right.
Speaker 4: I mean you said that, but I don't agree with it. No.
Speaker 9: At disappointment, Miss Owens, it was confirmed that you were
Speaker 9: not pregnant. Correct.
Speaker 4: Correct.
Speaker 1: DeAndre knew she wasn't going to get a straight answer
Speaker 1: out of Laura, but she could try to catch her
Speaker 1: in a lie. The courtroom fell silent as DeAndre turned
Speaker 1: her attention to Laura's alleged miscarriage. The thing is, the
Speaker 1: medical records didn't match Laura's testimony.
Speaker 5: In your deposition, page one point fifty one, buying twenty four,
Speaker 5: you claim you passed the two sacks, which appeared to
Speaker 5: have a memory, in September or October.
Speaker 4: Correct, Correct, But.
Speaker 5: In the mom doc records you claim you passed to
Speaker 5: two sacks a few weeks after your alleged ultrasound at
Speaker 5: planned parenthood.
Speaker 4: Right, several weeks after?
Speaker 9: Okay, Well you would agree with me.
Speaker 4: There's an inconsistency there, right, right, I wasn't sure what
Speaker 4: the date was.
Speaker 9: No, obg U, I n were qualified medical professional conducted.
Speaker 5: An ultrasound, performed a physical examination or perform a blood
Speaker 5: test to confirm your alleged pregnancy on or before.
Speaker 9: August first of twenty twenty three.
Speaker 5: Right, long, Okay, let's talk about that, because I suspected
Speaker 5: you to answer that this way. You claim that you
Speaker 5: had an alleged ultrasound at Planned Parenthood in Southern California, correct, Correct,
Speaker 5: And you testified during your deposition that the alleged ultrasound
Speaker 5: with Planned Parenthood was in Mission Yeho, California, on July
Speaker 5: seventh and twenty twenty three.
Speaker 11: Right.
Speaker 4: I did say it was there. That's where I was
Speaker 4: staying at the time, in Mission Vieh.
Speaker 5: And while being examined by your attorney, you said that
Speaker 5: you went to Planned Parenthood under a pay thing. Right,
Speaker 5: But you didn't bother to provide our office with the
Speaker 5: alleged names that you went to Time Parenthood under right, Right?
Speaker 9: And you knew that we were seeking.
Speaker 5: Your records from Planned Parenthood specifically because of the alleged
Speaker 5: ultrasound that you had there, right right, So wouldn't it
Speaker 5: have made sense for you to provide our office with
Speaker 5: a copy or.
Speaker 9: The name that you allegedly went to Planned Parenthood?
Speaker 4: Under I felt like the whole purpose of going into
Speaker 4: planned parenthood is to remain anonymous, and that that's one
Speaker 4: of my protections.
Speaker 1: Just to be clear, Laura is testifying that she had
Speaker 1: an ultrasound at a Planned Parenthood in July, which confirmed
Speaker 1: her pregnancy, but in their discovery, would Nick and Deandra
Speaker 1: never received any records from that appointment. Laura says it's
Speaker 1: because she went to Planned Parenthood under an anonymous name,
Speaker 1: but DeAndre doesn't let this go because she's trying to
Speaker 1: establish if there are any medical records at all that
Speaker 1: could prove Laura had an in person ultra sound exam
Speaker 1: with an obgyn.
Speaker 9: I want you to take a look at Exhibit twenty eight.
Speaker 5: Is this a true and accurate picture of the ultrasound
Speaker 5: you claim your snut plan parenthood in California.
Speaker 9: On July twenty twenty three.
Speaker 5: That looks like it, Yes, and Miss Owens, this ultrasound
Speaker 5: image does not say planned parenthood. It says smil, which
Speaker 5: I'll call smile for purpose of support today.
Speaker 8: Correct.
Speaker 4: Correct?
Speaker 5: And in your deposition you admitted you altered this ultrasound
Speaker 5: picture to say smile instead of planned.
Speaker 9: Parenthood, right, correct?
Speaker 5: And you admitted in your deposition to altering this picture
Speaker 5: on the Adobe Acrobat program.
Speaker 9: At your house right correct.
Speaker 5: During the deposition, you testify that the date listed here
Speaker 5: of July seventh of twenty twenty three was correct and.
Speaker 9: Had it been edited by you, right correct.
Speaker 5: But you later admit that you lied about this July
Speaker 5: seventh ultrasoundate right correct, and you execute an affidavit on
Speaker 5: April sixteenth of.
Speaker 9: Twenty twenty four claiming.
Speaker 5: The date for this already doctored ultrasound was actually July
Speaker 5: second of twenty twenty three, correct correct.
Speaker 9: So I want to get this straight. The sons.
Speaker 5: You initially claimed you had an ultrasound at Planned Parenthood
Speaker 5: on July seventh, which you doctor to say it was
Speaker 5: from Smile right correct. Then the story changes again and
Speaker 5: you claim that the ultrasound image should actually be dated
Speaker 5: July second of twenty twenty three, right correct. So you
Speaker 5: changed the date on the ultrasound from July second to.
Speaker 9: July seventh, correct correct, And you utilize.
Speaker 5: This alter or fake ultrasound to try to convince mister
Speaker 5: Eckert and the court and the media that you were
Speaker 5: pregnant with.
Speaker 9: Mister Eckerds twins.
Speaker 4: This was never submitted to the court.
Speaker 9: You're aware that Planned Parenthood has no record of an
Speaker 9: ultrasound for you.
Speaker 4: Correct, under my real name, yes iMore.
Speaker 5: And again we've established you didn't provide our office with
Speaker 5: the name that you allegedly went to Planned.
Speaker 9: Parenthood under correct.
Speaker 5: Correct, You never attended an aployment of Planned Parenthood in
Speaker 5: this case of Selvison.
Speaker 4: Yes, I did.
Speaker 1: The contradictions in Laura's story are maddening. If Laura had
Speaker 1: actually received an ultrasound at Planned Parenthood in July, those
Speaker 1: records would prove she was pregnant when she said she was,
Speaker 1: But Laura couldn't produce them for the courts, and she
Speaker 1: wouldn't give the courts the fake name she allegedly used
Speaker 1: at Planned Parenthood. The only thing Laura had was the
Speaker 1: ultrasound she admitted to altering on Adobe Acrobat.
Speaker 9: Can you take a little exhibit B twenty nine.
Speaker 5: This is a true and accurate copy of our requests
Speaker 5: in response from Planned Parenthood regarding your record of state
Speaker 5: in April twenty sixth and twenty twenty four correct.
Speaker 4: Correct. I don't believe I've seen this, but I have
Speaker 4: no idea.
Speaker 5: And while you've indicated today that you went to Planned
Speaker 5: Parenthood under a fake name. This letter actually indicates that
Speaker 5: you have scheduled an appointment for July second, but that
Speaker 5: you failed to attend.
Speaker 4: Correct.
Speaker 5: It also indicates that the ultrasound image that you claimed
Speaker 5: was from Planned Parenthood was not from Planned Parenthood because
Speaker 5: it was not consistent with ultrasound images generated by their practice.
Speaker 4: Right, not by the one in mission VIAO correct zones.
Speaker 9: These are yes or no questions.
Speaker 5: This document states that the ultrasound image you have claimed
Speaker 5: is from panned Parenthood is not consistent with ultrasound images
Speaker 5: generated by their practice.
Speaker 4: Right, by that practice, but as they said, I could
Speaker 4: have been seen by another different entity the zones.
Speaker 5: You're well aware that this request covered all of Orange
Speaker 5: County and San Bernardino.
Speaker 4: It didn't cover Los Angeles though.
Speaker 9: So now you're saying you went to Planned Parenthood in
Speaker 9: Los Angeles.
Speaker 5: Yes, so you're telling us you went to Planned Parenthood
Speaker 5: in Los Angeles on the day of trial today?
Speaker 9: Yes, Okay, when did you go to plan Parenthood in
Speaker 9: Los Angeles?
Speaker 4: Exactly when I said I When was that July second?
Speaker 1: You can hear Deandra's frustration. She'd been preparing for this
Speaker 1: cross for months but on the stand, Laura was introducing
Speaker 1: new information, shifting her testimony yet again, like claiming she
Speaker 1: went to Planned Parenthood in Los Angeles, not Mission Viejo.
Speaker 1: That was a convenient correction because Clayton's attorneys hadn't subpoenaed
Speaker 1: records for the Planned parenthoods in Los Angeles. Like we
Speaker 1: said earlier, the trial was timed. They only had two
Speaker 1: hours to get through everything. So Deandra moved on to
Speaker 1: another staggering admission of Laura's.
Speaker 9: I'd like to go back to the two sacks you passed.
Speaker 5: So again in your deposition, you claimed you passed them
Speaker 5: in September or October, right, yes, but then you changed
Speaker 5: the date and claim that you passed these two sacks
Speaker 5: on July twenty third of twenty twenty three, right right,
Speaker 5: And you actually had an appointment schedule with doctor mccapoole,
Speaker 5: who you've claimed is your high risk perionatologist, for July
Speaker 5: twenty fourth of twenty twenty three, right.
Speaker 1: Right, that I canceled dayse prior, a perinatologist specializes in
Speaker 1: fetal medicine. Laura told the court she made an appointment
Speaker 1: with one because she had a history of multiple miscarriages.
Speaker 5: So wouldn't you agree with me that for someone who
Speaker 5: has had miscarriages in the past, and who has an
Speaker 5: alleged high risk pregnancy, it would be prudent to attend
Speaker 5: an in person appointment shortly after passing two sacks.
Speaker 4: Well, that's why I asked the doctors online.
Speaker 9: Well, these are yes or no questions. I see you're
Speaker 9: looking at your attorney, but you were shaking the question
Speaker 9: for me.
Speaker 4: Okay, can you ask the question again?
Speaker 1: Laura seemed flustered. DeAndre knows how to read a witness,
Speaker 1: and she told me she picked up on Laura's physical cues.
Speaker 5: There was a point where I noticed, when I was
Speaker 5: cross examining her that I had completely lost her eye contact,
Speaker 5: and it was very apparent to me that she was
Speaker 5: looking behind me.
Speaker 1: The vibe in the room shifted when people realized Laura
Speaker 1: wasn't even looking at the person questioning her. Instead, she
Speaker 1: was focused on her attorney, David Jingras, who appeared to
Speaker 1: be making gestures from the sidelines. DeAndre decided to continue
Speaker 1: her cross examination because she couldn't afford to lose any
Speaker 1: more time. Instead of stopping the clock, she just moved positions.
Speaker 5: Okay, I'm going to stand here because it seems like
Speaker 5: you're looking at mister Gingris quite a bit for guidance.
Speaker 4: No, I don't need it. I don't need guidance from
Speaker 4: my attorney. I know how to answer the questions.
Speaker 1: DeAndre had a whole stack of documents and exhibits she
Speaker 1: wanted to get to. Given the time limitations, she had
Speaker 1: to decide on the spot which wants to focus on.
Speaker 1: One of these exhibits was an hCG test Laura claimed
Speaker 1: to have taken at a doctor's office. hCG is a
Speaker 1: hormone your body produces during pregnancy. Anything above twenty five
Speaker 1: indicates a pregnancy, and as a typical pregnancy progresses, hCG
Speaker 1: levels can rise to over two hundred thousand.
Speaker 9: You doctored this particular test twice, Miss Owen's correct.
Speaker 4: I doctored the test once.
Speaker 3: Okay?
Speaker 14: When was that?
Speaker 4: When I tried to send it to Dave Neil to
Speaker 4: get him to stop creating harassing videos at me?
Speaker 1: Let me explain. Months earlier, Laura had sent content creator
Speaker 1: Dave Neil a copy of her hCG test in an
Speaker 1: attempt to prove to him that she was actually pregnant.
Speaker 1: It looked like it came from a doctor's office. The
Speaker 1: thing is Dave had already seen a copy of this
Speaker 1: same hCG test. It was publicly available on Laura's attorney's blog.
Speaker 1: But the test Dave had a copy of had a
Speaker 1: wildly different hCG level. The two tests had the same
Speaker 1: date on them, October sixteenth, twenty twenty three. Dave sent
Speaker 1: the copy of the test he'd received to Clayton's attorneys.
Speaker 9: And what amounts did you doctor the hCG level.
Speaker 4: Two for that particular I it was like one hundred
Speaker 4: and two thousand, I believe.
Speaker 1: Here, Laura starts to get tripped up on her own story.
Speaker 1: She admits to altering the test and sending it to Dave,
Speaker 1: but she doesn't remember if she photoshopped the level to
Speaker 1: be one hundred and two thousand or one hundred thirty
Speaker 1: one thousand, nine hundred two.
Speaker 5: The sounds you'll recognize this as a books like the
Speaker 5: same test from October sixteenth, but it has an hCG
Speaker 5: level different than what you just syndicated, And it says
Speaker 5: one hundred and thirty one thousand and nine oh two.
Speaker 9: Okay, yes, that's so. You've also doctored this test.
Speaker 4: No, I didn't know what the number was that I
Speaker 4: had made it.
Speaker 5: To as of October seventeenth, twenty twenty three, when you received.
Speaker 9: This test result, you had reason to believe you were not.
Speaker 4: Pregnant, right, Yes, after doing some research?
Speaker 5: Yes, okay, But then you proceeded to lionder oath at
Speaker 5: hearings before this court on October twenty fourth, October twenty fifth,
Speaker 5: and November second.
Speaker 9: Correct, that's not correct.
Speaker 5: No, Instead of telling the truth, you tampered with this
Speaker 5: hCG test to increase the level and offer that as
Speaker 5: support for a.
Speaker 4: Pregnancy to a content creator, not to the court.
Speaker 1: On the stand, Laura's credibility was crumbling.
Speaker 5: During the November second hearing, you denied that the DNA
Speaker 5: test results came back with little tobield DNA right.
Speaker 9: What During the November second hearing, I.
Speaker 4: Said that the test the question is on.
Speaker 1: One of Deandre's next questions was a real simple one.
Speaker 1: Had Laura been seen in person by a doctor during
Speaker 1: this alleged pregnancy.
Speaker 5: You also testify on November second unequivocally that your obdyns
Speaker 5: were doctor McCool and doctor Hagley.
Speaker 9: Right right.
Speaker 5: In fact, you went so far as to state that
Speaker 5: your main obd yn is the Perry and atologist, doctor
Speaker 5: McCool right.
Speaker 4: Correct.
Speaker 5: You further testified on November second you had last seen
Speaker 5: doctor Higgley on last Friday, right right.
Speaker 9: You lied to the court when you need those statements.
Speaker 4: I had the appointment scheduled, which you guys have no questions,
Speaker 4: I know, but they It needs to be answered, correct,
Speaker 4: It needs to be answered. I had an appointment scheduled
Speaker 4: with him that I did not attend. But I did
Speaker 4: have an appointment scheduled.
Speaker 5: Okay, So when you say you were seen by a doctor,
Speaker 5: that's not the same as having an appointment scheduled.
Speaker 3: Correct.
Speaker 9: Correct, So we would agree that.
Speaker 5: You were dishonest when you said you were physically seen
Speaker 5: by doctor Higgley the friday before the November second hearing.
Speaker 4: Correct. That's a very minor thing.
Speaker 1: You can hear the courtroom's audible reaction.
Speaker 4: Yeah, really, it's always yeah. I mean, if this is good,
Speaker 4: I am not comfortable if this if the JFC crew
Speaker 4: is going to be having reactions.
Speaker 1: Honestly, JFC stands for Justice for Clayton. It's a term
Speaker 1: that kind of became a calling card for the online detectives.
Speaker 1: Laura often refers to anyone who questions her as part
Speaker 1: of JFC, but on that day in court, the truth
Speaker 1: was Laura got caught in her own lies.
Speaker 7: DeAndre asked her about the medical fraud, and Laura says,
Speaker 7: what was just a little bit? And that's when you
Speaker 7: heard everyone just growing like, oh my god.
Speaker 8: I even did.
Speaker 7: I was like, oh my gosh, like a little bit
Speaker 7: of medical fraud, like as if we can downplay that.
Speaker 1: Deandrew remembers this moment well. She felt Maura's answer very telling.
Speaker 5: I think that response gave insight into how she views
Speaker 5: things and perhaps why we were in that situation, why
Speaker 5: the trial was happening.
Speaker 1: Judge Mata stepped in to address the interruption.
Speaker 9: Okay, I'm going to.
Speaker 11: Stop the clock at this time. Counsel, you ask questions, ma'am,
Speaker 11: you answer the questions. I could ask the gallery to
Speaker 11: please keep your you know, think I'm still talking, man,
Speaker 11: keep your comments to a minimum, or you will be
Speaker 11: asked to leave.
Speaker 9: Go ahead.
Speaker 5: Counsel Miss owns you've never been seen by doctor McCool
Speaker 5: or doctor Higley for any medical appointment.
Speaker 14: Correct.
Speaker 5: Correct, and the records from doctor mccool's office indicate that
Speaker 5: you made four appointments that.
Speaker 9: You never attended.
Speaker 5: Correct, correct, And the records from doctor Higgley's office that
Speaker 5: we obtained indicate that they have no records for you
Speaker 5: from August twenty twenty through the present.
Speaker 4: Right, I'm sorry, you said, doctor Higley or doctor McCool.
Speaker 4: I'm can I like take a minute, you know?
Speaker 8: Can we have just a five minute recess?
Speaker 9: Sure at this time?
Speaker 8: No, go ahead?
Speaker 11: What we're gonna say, counsel.
Speaker 9: I'm just concerned about our times and strength, that's all
Speaker 9: your owners.
Speaker 11: Well, we've factored in a ten minute breaks. So what
Speaker 11: we'll do is we'll take it now and then when
Speaker 11: we come back, there will be no further break. So
Speaker 11: that's just something for the parties to keep in mind,
Speaker 11: all right.
Speaker 1: Right, as things were falling up heart, the court hit
Speaker 1: a pause. Once they resumed, Deandra didn't miss a beat.
Speaker 1: She picked up the questioning exactly where she left off.
Speaker 1: Had Laura actually attended the doctor's appointments she claimed she had,
Speaker 1: and were there any records to prove it?
Speaker 5: I want you to take a look at what's our
Speaker 5: exhibit seventeen, page one ten. This is a picture you
Speaker 5: took of a portion of a page from banner correct?
Speaker 9: Correct? Where's the rest of the document? Miss owns?
Speaker 4: Clayton had it.
Speaker 5: I'm asking you where is the rest of the document
Speaker 5: in this particular exhibit.
Speaker 4: I don't know, but there's nothing I was trying to
Speaker 4: hide from it. Clayton got the entire thing.
Speaker 9: Zones.
Speaker 5: You recognize you've been accused of faking records in this case, right, yes,
Speaker 5: and you expect the court to accept a picture of
Speaker 5: a portion of an alleged record.
Speaker 4: You guys got the results yourselves, so either yes or
Speaker 4: no question. That's not fair.
Speaker 5: Opportunity to conduct redirect examination and you can elaborate.
Speaker 4: Then you guys know that you have the results of
Speaker 4: this that show the same thing. So I wasn't hiding
Speaker 4: anything here. That's not fair.
Speaker 9: I have to move on. So i'd asked if the
Speaker 9: court find this is nonresponsive.
Speaker 11: Corbel designator does non responsive.
Speaker 5: For someone who's been involved in court cases NonStop since
Speaker 5: at least twenty sixteen, You.
Speaker 4: Know what, that's not accurate. I have not been involved NonStop.
Speaker 11: Since it's not the clock for a moment, and I'm
Speaker 11: going to remind the Parties Council you ask a question, Maam,
Speaker 11: you answer the question, otherwise we move into a different
Speaker 11: area that I don't think anyone wants to go into.
Speaker 14: Council reversum.
Speaker 5: Miz Owen's you have been involved in court cases since
Speaker 5: at least twenty sixteen?
Speaker 14: Correct?
Speaker 4: NonStop? Or are you saying since twenty sixteen? Can you
Speaker 4: just rephrase the question?
Speaker 9: Answered the question as I've asked it.
Speaker 5: You've been involved in court cases since twenty sixteen.
Speaker 1: No, okay, DeAndre I wanted to ask Laura about her
Speaker 1: case with Greg Gillespie, but her time was almost up.
Speaker 1: She concluded with a final, very memorable question.
Speaker 9: Zon's I want to give you one more opportunity. The
Speaker 9: media is here.
Speaker 5: You know that this case has gone viral. You have
Speaker 5: an opportunity right now to come clean and start fresh.
Speaker 5: So I'm going to ask you one final time. You
Speaker 5: were never pregnant? By Clayton Eckerd Correct.
Speaker 1: Clayton's attorney ended her cross examination of Laura Owens with
Speaker 1: a jaw dropping question.
Speaker 9: When I asked that.
Speaker 5: Question at the end, like I really wanted to give
Speaker 5: her the chance to do the right thing. Frankly, it
Speaker 5: might have been a waste of a cross examination.
Speaker 8: Question.
Speaker 5: Because I knew how she was going to most like
Speaker 5: the answer, I still wanted to give her a chance
Speaker 5: to see.
Speaker 9: So I'm going to ask you one final time. You
Speaker 9: were never pregnant by Clayton Eckert correct.
Speaker 4: That is absolutely incorrect.
Speaker 1: With Laura's testimony concluded, the trial shifted to a battle
Speaker 1: of the experts. Each side got to present expert witnesses.
Speaker 1: Laura's attorney started by calling retired OBGYN doctor Michael Medschill.
Speaker 12: Mister Eckert has said that he doesn't believe that a
Speaker 12: pregnancy was possible here because there was no intercourse. Do
Speaker 12: you have an opinion about that regarding general, not regarding
Speaker 12: him or her, but in general.
Speaker 13: Well, it's said that men are like basketball players. They
Speaker 13: dribble before they shoot. They also dribble afterwards. And if
Speaker 13: you are rubbing genitalia together, it is possible.
Speaker 8: To get pregnant.
Speaker 1: As you can imagine, this dribble before you shoot moment
Speaker 1: became instantly iconic in the online community. Clayton's side called
Speaker 1: doctor Samantha Deanes, a former associate medical director at Planned Parenthood.
Speaker 1: She was there to answer one question, in particular, could
Speaker 1: someone be seen by a doctor at Planned Parenthood anonymously.
Speaker 8: Laura claimed it was anonymous and from Planned Parenthood any
Speaker 8: thoughts about that.
Speaker 15: Patients cannot be seen anonymously at Planned Parenthood. Having been
Speaker 15: a former medical director of Planed Parenthood PPFA, which is
Speaker 15: our national guidelines, require identification at the time of a
Speaker 15: visit to confirm the identity of the patient.
Speaker 9: The patient can't be seen anonymously.
Speaker 1: After expert witnesses, it was finally time for Clayton to
Speaker 1: take the stand. You've heard him tell his side of
Speaker 1: the story in this podcast, but this was his chance
Speaker 1: to say it under oath. Despite the pressure of the courtroom,
Speaker 1: Clayton's story remained consistent.
Speaker 8: I'm going to be lightning fast. State your name to
Speaker 8: the court Clayton.
Speaker 1: Record, wouldn't Itck had prepared him well. Clayton was uncharacteristically concise.
Speaker 8: How did you meet Laura?
Speaker 7: Laura targeted me on LinkedIn. She asked to do real estate.
Speaker 7: We ended up exchanging contact NFL. She became flirtatious, sent
Speaker 7: me a provocative photo. I told her to come over
Speaker 7: and then we saw Holmes the next day.
Speaker 8: Did you have sex with Laura? Absolutely not. I've said
Speaker 8: time and time again she performed oral on me twice.
Speaker 5: That's it.
Speaker 14: Have you heard two other versions about what happened?
Speaker 7: Absolutely many versions. She's claimed that she was raped by
Speaker 7: Miche also claims I was too high to remember what
Speaker 7: happened that day.
Speaker 2: I'm going to repeat what you just said. She claimed
Speaker 2: you were she was raped by you and that you
Speaker 2: were too high to remember.
Speaker 8: That's correct.
Speaker 14: Were you too high to remember?
Speaker 8: Well, that's incorrect. I remember every single thing from that night.
Speaker 8: Did you rape her?
Speaker 9: I did not.
Speaker 1: Then wouldn't it ask Clayton to describe some graphic details
Speaker 1: from the night of May twentieth.
Speaker 8: You stated that she had gave you oral sex twice
Speaker 8: that evening. Is that correct? That's correct?
Speaker 14: Where did you complete off both times? What happened the
Speaker 14: second time?
Speaker 8: She ran straight to the bathroom?
Speaker 13: What?
Speaker 1: Nick says The reason he asked this question is because
Speaker 1: he always found it to be a suspicious detail in
Speaker 1: Clayton's story. He told me he's never ruled out a
Speaker 1: kind of spit maneuver. It was a possible way Laura
Speaker 1: could have been pregnated herself while she was in the bathroom,
Speaker 1: which is not to suggest he believes Laura was actually pregnant,
Speaker 1: but just that he believes anything is possible.
Speaker 14: Were your fluids ever down there, as Laura has claimed?
Speaker 13: No?
Speaker 8: What happened the next days?
Speaker 7: The next day we went and saw houses. I told
Speaker 7: her that I crossed the professional boundary. I told her
Speaker 7: that that was a one time thing. It would not
Speaker 7: happen again. She became very agitated at that point, was
Speaker 7: crying and asked for me to give her a chance.
Speaker 2: Well, hang on for a second. She came over to
Speaker 2: your house. She gave you oral sex twice. The next
Speaker 2: day you told her you weren't interested in her.
Speaker 8: That's correct, I rejected her. Yes, and then four days later?
Speaker 8: What happened?
Speaker 7: Four days later she started making claims that she could
Speaker 7: possibly be pregnant, But a.
Speaker 8: Hang on, did your penis ever go insider accidentally, inadvertently
Speaker 8: or anything like that?
Speaker 13: No.
Speaker 1: Wood Nick also took a minute to acknowledge the reason
Speaker 1: the courtroom was so packed.
Speaker 8: You're a public figure, You're the bachelor, and that's why
Speaker 8: everyone's watching today.
Speaker 14: Are you embarrassed to say who you've had sex with? Clayton?
Speaker 8: I think I'm the last person to lie about who
Speaker 8: I've been intimate with.
Speaker 1: This is a reference to the Rose ceremony from Hell
Speaker 1: on the Bachelor when he told two women he'd had
Speaker 1: sex with both of them while they were both standing
Speaker 1: in front of him with cameras rolling. Clayton certainly wasn't
Speaker 1: afraid to go on the record about his sex life.
Speaker 8: Did you have penile vaginal sex whatsoever with Laura Lewis? No?
Speaker 8: Absolutely not. Has that been your story since day one?
Speaker 8: My story. My story's been consistent since day one. I'm
Speaker 8: going to show you exhibit number three. Did Laura start
Speaker 8: communicating with you more after she said she thought she
Speaker 8: was pregnant at four days? Yes, NonStop.
Speaker 7: She sent me over five hundred emails and text messages,
Speaker 7: thirteen different phone numbers.
Speaker 14: Thirteen phone numbers.
Speaker 8: How many messages? Over five hundred.
Speaker 1: Many of those emails and messages were admitted as evidence,
Speaker 1: wouldn't it directed Clayton's attention to one email in particular,
Speaker 1: and it's one you've.
Speaker 8: Heard before, specifically Exhibit number seven. I think you stated
Speaker 8: that it was a true and accurate copy. I think
Speaker 8: the caption says the final opportunity to consider abortion. Do
Speaker 8: you remember getting this from Laura? Yes. Further down in
Speaker 8: that email, Clayton and this will get awkward. But further down.
Speaker 8: In that email on July first, which was weeks after
Speaker 8: the alleged encounter, Laura references her tight vagina.
Speaker 14: Why is that both uncomfortable and relevant to the court.
Speaker 7: Today Because she's stating that if I would have felt
Speaker 7: how tight her vagina was, I might change my mind,
Speaker 7: which is her stating that I never penetrator.
Speaker 8: We never had penetrated sex.
Speaker 14: Wait.
Speaker 8: The exhibit that the court just received has Laura saying
Speaker 8: that her vagina was tight, as if you hadn't been
Speaker 8: in there before. That is correct, Well, had you been
Speaker 8: in there before?
Speaker 3: Not?
Speaker 13: No?
Speaker 8: All right?
Speaker 14: She also sent you communications in exhibit number.
Speaker 8: Seven talking about wanting to have sex with you during
Speaker 8: a week, a trial week. What was that about.
Speaker 7: Yeah, she said that she would be the safest person
Speaker 7: to have sex with us since she was already pregnant.
Speaker 8: We hang on for a second. She told you she
Speaker 8: wanted to have sex with you because she was already pregnant.
Speaker 8: That's correct. How did you feel when you read that email? Clayton,
Speaker 8: I'm being sick to my stomach. All of this has
Speaker 8: made me sick.
Speaker 1: Clayton sped through his testimony in twelve minutes. By contrast,
Speaker 1: Laura's had taken almost an hour. Her attorney already used
Speaker 1: his allotted time for questioning, so there wasn't a cross examination.
Speaker 1: After Clayton's testimony, the trial was over.
Speaker 7: I felt like I had just basically ran for two
Speaker 7: hours straight, full sprints. I was running on adrenaline the
Speaker 7: entire time that I was in the courtroom, because for me,
Speaker 7: it was we're either going to get the outcome we
Speaker 7: want or we're going to be silenced. My fear was
Speaker 7: what happens if a judge just says, you know what,
Speaker 7: let's just drop it all and just move on.
Speaker 1: Before the trial adjourned, Judge Mada told the courtroom what
Speaker 1: to expect next.
Speaker 11: So at this time, what the court's going to do is,
Speaker 11: I'll take this under advisement. What that means is I'm
Speaker 11: going to go back. I'm going to review the notes.
Speaker 11: But I said today, I'm going to review the evidence
Speaker 11: that was admitted to the court, and then everyone will
Speaker 11: receive my order.
Speaker 1: In writing, Arizona law gives a judge up to sixty
Speaker 1: days to give their ruling. Now, the record was closed
Speaker 1: and Clayton was stuck in a holding pattern. His attorneys
Speaker 1: were cautiously optimistic.
Speaker 3: We definitely felt the trial went well.
Speaker 2: But listen, I have lost trials that I have thought
Speaker 2: I was going to win, and I have won trials
Speaker 2: that I thought I had lost.
Speaker 3: With a bench trial where the judge is acting as
Speaker 3: the judge and jury, you just never know.
Speaker 1: A week later, Judge Mada released her ruling. It's nineteen
Speaker 1: pages long and incredibly thorough. We've had a voice actor
Speaker 1: read some of the judge's decision.
Speaker 6: The court finds that petitioner Laura Owens acted unreasonably when
Speaker 6: she initiated litigation without basis or merit, without an authentic
Speaker 6: ultrasound sonogram, physical examination, and in conjunction with a belief
Speaker 6: she passed tissue in July twenty twenty three. The court
Speaker 6: finds the underlying petition premature at best, at worst fraudulent,
Speaker 6: and made to incite communication, a relationship, or both with
Speaker 6: the respondent, Clayton Eckert.
Speaker 1: In other words, Clayton won the judge granted his petition
Speaker 1: for non paternity.
Speaker 7: I felt relief whenever Judge Mada made that ruling, because
Speaker 7: that's all I wanted. I knew my truth the entire
Speaker 7: time that I was fighting her, but I needed a
Speaker 7: legal document unfortunately, like it doesn't matter what I believe
Speaker 7: my truth to be, I need something to corroborate my
Speaker 7: story and.
Speaker 4: I got that.
Speaker 7: So when I got it, it was just basically like
Speaker 7: the weight I lifted and I could take a sigh relief.
Speaker 8: I'm like, Okay, I won, But.
Speaker 1: Judge Mata didn't stop at the non paternity ruling.
Speaker 6: The court further finds the petition was filed for an
Speaker 6: improper purpose, such as to harass the other party, to
Speaker 6: cause an unnecessary delay, or to increase the cost of
Speaker 6: litigation to the other party. On the day of the trial,
Speaker 6: she testified that she anonymously sought care at a planned
Speaker 6: parenthood in Los Angeles. This undoubtedly caused respondent to incur
Speaker 6: substantial legal fees attempting to locate records that may or
Speaker 6: may not exist in Los Angeles but now appear to
Speaker 6: have never existed in Mission Baho. Additionally, petitioner acknowledged she
Speaker 6: altered hCG test results an ultrasound and sonogram. The court
Speaker 6: finds petitioner provided false testimony as to the viability of
Speaker 6: the pregnancy in all three cases addressed in the procedural history.
Speaker 6: Laura Owens knowingly presented a false claim, knowingly violated a
Speaker 6: court order compelling disclosure or discovery such that an award
Speaker 6: of attorney fees and costs is appropriate.
Speaker 1: Laura was ordered by the courts to pay Clayton's legal
Speaker 1: fees and costs. It's a hefty bill, and at the
Speaker 1: time I'm recording this, Laura still hasn't paid it. It's
Speaker 1: a steep consequence for her actions, but there's a chance
Speaker 1: it wouldn't be the only consequence she'd have to face.
Speaker 6: It is further ordered the court, having determined that Laura
Speaker 6: Owens has a pattern of similar, if not identical behavior
Speaker 6: and court involvement, referring this matter to the Maricopa County
Speaker 6: Attorney's Office for a view of Laura Owens's.
Speaker 1: Actions, judgemudiabls Leap Laura's behavior warranted a criminal investigation. Wood
Speaker 1: Nick was floored.
Speaker 2: You don't see that often, but you also don't see
Speaker 2: people like Laura Owen's abusing the court system the way
Speaker 2: she did.
Speaker 1: Referrals to the County attorney are not a common outcome
Speaker 1: and family court. They are a rare consequence for those
Speaker 1: who pushed the judicial system past its breaking point.
Speaker 2: And I think Judge Mata was rightfully concerned with what happened,
Speaker 2: rightfully troubled that someone would come to court and continue
Speaker 2: with what was so obviously a lie. I think Laura
Speaker 2: did herself absolutely no favor with the changing of the
Speaker 2: planned parenthood testing location on the stand when someone is
Speaker 2: willing to do that and waste the time of the court,
Speaker 2: the resources of the court.
Speaker 3: And it wasn't just Judge Matta's courtroom.
Speaker 2: Remember I think there were two or three prior judges
Speaker 2: just in Arizona who had dealt with Laura. There was
Speaker 2: one or two commissioners on the protective order matters, plus
Speaker 2: Judge Matta's time, plus judicial staff time, plus clerk time,
Speaker 2: plus security time dealing with it, and I think Judge
Speaker 2: Manta said, you know what you deserve to have this
Speaker 2: matter referred to the County attorney. Remember, Judge Matta didn't
Speaker 2: decide to charge Laura Ball. Judge Matta did was say,
Speaker 2: you know, someone ought to take a look at what
Speaker 2: happened and do a deeper dive here to see if
Speaker 2: there's criminal ramifications. But she did was say, hey, look,
Speaker 2: County Attorney's office, you all need to look at this.
Speaker 1: The county attorney took her recommendation and started digging, and
Speaker 1: what they would find could finally bring Laura's actions to
Speaker 1: a stop.
Speaker 2: I think it's extremely rare for people to go the
Speaker 2: distance that Laura did. Lye say what you want about
Speaker 2: Laura Owens, but she was all in. I think as
Speaker 2: I say this, she is still all in on her.
Speaker 1: Hi, there's one more moment from the trial that you
Speaker 1: haven't heard yet.
Speaker 5: Between twenty fourteen and the present, you have alleged that
Speaker 5: you were pregnant by four different men, correct, Correct, And
Speaker 5: all four of those men told you one way or
Speaker 5: another that they believe you fabricated those pregnancies.
Speaker 10: Right.
Speaker 4: The first was not so specific about that, and three
Speaker 4: of them are here today, right. Correct.
Speaker 1: Remember at the beginning of the episode, when Woodnick arrived
Speaker 1: in court to find Laura's lawyer panicking and pulling nine
Speaker 1: to one one.
Speaker 2: Her attorney said, I'm not sure if she's even going
Speaker 2: to go into the courtroom because she's so scared.
Speaker 1: The person she was scared of a witness. Wouldnick had
Speaker 1: subpoena someone who didn't have a chance to take the stand.
Speaker 8: My name is Mike Perriccini. I dated Laura from March
Speaker 8: twenty sixteen through summer of twenty seventeen.
Speaker 1: On the next episode of Love Trapped, I.
Speaker 12: Remember in total, she had told me she had two
Speaker 12: pregnancies and six abortion attempts were made.
Speaker 8: I don't know how this is possible, he says to me.
Speaker 8: I promise I will get you out of this relationship.
Speaker 13: No way.
Speaker 8: Her mom is gaslighting me right now about her daughter
Speaker 8: having cancer.
Speaker 16: Thank you so much for listening.
Speaker 1: Please be sure to follow Love Trapped on Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts,
Speaker 1: and please leave us a review. A five star rating
Speaker 1: helps others find this show. We're grateful for your support.
Speaker 1: If you would like to reach out to the Love
Speaker 1: Trapped team, email us at Love Trapped pod at gmail
Speaker 1: dot com. That's Love Trapped Pod at gmail dot com.
Speaker 1: Love Trapped is a production of Glass Podcasts, a division
Speaker 1: of Glass Entertainment Group, in partnership with iHeart Podcasts. This
Speaker 1: show was executive produced by Nancy Glass, Andrea Gunning and
Speaker 1: Ben Fetterman, written, produced, and hosted by me Stephanie Young.
Speaker 1: Our story editor is Monique La Board producer on this
Speaker 1: episode is Sidney Gladou additional production support from Todd Gans.
Speaker 1: Our production manager is Kristin Melchiri. For iHeart Podcasts, Ali
Speaker 1: Perry was our executive producer. Audio editing and mass by
Speaker 1: Anna McLain, additional editing support by Tanner Robbins and Matt Delvecchio.
Speaker 1: A special thank you to our voice actor Kerrie Hartman.
Speaker 1: This podcast was developed in collaboration with Danny Passman and
Speaker 1: Lev Abramoff at Crybaby Media. The Love Trapped theme is
Speaker 1: composed by Oliver Bains. Music library provided by Mybe Music.
Speaker 1: A special thanks to Carrie Lieberman, Will Pearson, Jessica Crincheck,
Speaker 1: Ali Canter and the entire iHeart podcast team. And for
Speaker 1: more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcasts