Clayton Echard’s Paternity Trial: What Laura Owens’ Guilty Plea Means
What To Know
- Laura Owens, who falsely accused Bachelor Nation’s Clayton Echard of fathering her twins, has pleaded guilty.
- Her guilty plea resolves both Echard’s and another victim’s cases.
- Clayton Echard expressed relief at Owens’ accountability.
Bachelor Nation got to know Clayton Echard during Michelle Young‘s season of The Bachelorette before earning his own season of The Bachelor. He also later appeared on Netflix’s Perfect Match. While his love story with Susie Evans may not have panned out on-screen, he’s reentered headlines with another woman from his past, Laura Owens.
In 2023, a year after his season of The Bachelor premiered, Clayton first crossed paths with Laura Owens during a one-night stand, which she later claimed resulted in a pregnancy with twins. At the time, she filed a paternity lawsuit against Clayton; however, according to the court documents, which were obtained by People, this would not have been possible as “they never had sexual intercourse.”
Last year, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office revealed that Laura had been indicted on seven charges for making “several inconsistent statements during a paternity hearing.” In the report, the office further revealed, “Owens originally filed a lawsuit seeking child support from Echard, then dropped her claim, alleging she’d had a miscarriage.”
At the time, Laura pleaded not guilty to one count of fraudulent schemes and artifices, one count of forgery, four counts of perjury, and one count of tampering with physical evidence, as listed in the office’s report. The following November, Laura was indicted for a second time, with new charges, after she claimed she pulled the same paternity scheme on another victim.
ABC
Now, per 12 News, “Owens has pleaded guilty to two counts of fraudulent schemes and artifices, one count of taking identity of another, and one count of perjury.” This plea wraps up both Clayton’s and the second victim’s cases. Now, she’s facing up to 12 years in jail, with final sentencing scheduled for October.
So, what does this mean for Clayton? On August 29, Clayton reacted to her plea, explaining, “This is the first time that we’ve seen Laura take any accountability in this matter.” That said, coming out of it, he felt “numb and emotionless,” which caused him to realize “my healing was not contingent upon what occurred yesterday.” He explained, “I’m proud of the man that I’ve become through it all. I’ve already found the silver lining; it doesn’t really matter to me what happens to Laura at this point.”
That said, he’s planning on asking for “harsher sanctions” during her October 23 sentencing. He told his followers, “I don’t want to see Laura rot in prison.” Instead, he hopes to see her “rehabilitate” and “heal” before she is given a “second chance.” He also noted that her victims would get “closure” and their own kind of healing if she is willing to share “why she did what she did.”
At the same time, Clayton also explained that he is “proud” of Laura for finally pleading guilty. He revealed, “Laura has never been able to take an ounce of accountability until yesterday, and it does— that’s not lost upon me how huge that was.” Watch his full video below.
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