transcript

Speaker 1:
[00:05] Hey, it's Stephani, back with a bonus episode. In episode six, we heard some of Laura's taped deposition. It was recorded in March of 2024, and it hasn't been made public before now. So we wanted to share some more of the jaw-dropping moments from the deposition that didn't make it into the last episode.

Speaker 2:
[00:27] It begins video number one in the video deposition of Laura Michelle Owens.

Speaker 1:
[00:32] I want to start at the very beginning, because I think it's telling. Remember, two years before this recording, Laura emailed a judge, accusing Clayton's lawyer, Greg Woodnick, of conspiring to have her raped. In the end, nothing came of that allegation. No police report, no investigation, nothing. When Woodnick sat down to tape Laura's deposition in Clayton's case, he was strikingly patient, thorough and kind. He spends five minutes making sure she understands the deposition process and her rights.

Speaker 3:
[01:06] Laura, we're here for your deposition. And before I start in with questions, I want to make sure you understand the rules of depositions here in Arizona. I'm going to do my best to speak slowly so that our sweet court reporter can transcribe all the words I'm saying. If I go too fast, she'll probably correct me and slow me down. She'll do the same for you. I'll ask you a question and I expect you to answer the question. I will do my best not to talk over you. And I would ask that you do the same to not talk over me. This is a deposition, which means it's my opportunity as counsel for Mr. Echard to ask you questions and you're under oath. It's like a judicial proceeding. You're expected to testify truthfully. I am not smart enough to ask tricky questions. I'm going to ask real basic questions and ask for basic answers. We're going to be covering some sensitive material today. And none of the words that I'm going to be using bother me, but they may bother you. I will do my best to get through those questions quickly and efficiently. I will also take breaks along the way for bathroom and whatnot. There's a bathroom here. There's one upstairs. There are bagels and water if you need it. Doesn't look like you grabbed a water bottle. We can bring you one. I want you to be comfortable. Let us know what you need. If you need a break, just let me know. And we'll do a quick five minute break. We're scheduled for four hours. My hope is that we get done much quicker. But a lot of that will depend on our process today and how quickly this goes. I want to share with you that I'm going to be asking you questions that may involve the need for you to exercise your Fifth Amendment right. I put this on the record because you always have a right to not answer my question. I'm assuming your attorney told you about this. You could always say to a question that I'm asking you, I'm not answering that based on my Fifth Amendment right, however you want to word it. If that happens a lot during the deposition, you and I can come to a little routine where you go plead the Fifth, and I'll just move on to the next question. I assure you, and Corey will make sure I do this, I will not badger you about the question you plead the Fifth to. I will move on to the next question. If you choose to plead the Fifth, I just literally will finish my question so I make a clear record, and then I'll move on to the next issue. It is not a situation where I'm gonna nag you about the question you did not answer. But you always have the right to plead the Fifth, and I will respect that as I think the court will as well. Let's get into it. Laura, can you give me the full spelling of your name?

Speaker 4:
[03:28] Yes, I just had one question about the pleading the Fifth, because we had not discussed that before. I should know what the Fifth means exactly.

Speaker 3:
[03:38] Yes, and actually I'm thanking you, because you did exactly what you were supposed to do. You asked a question, because you didn't understand my comment. So I thank you for that. You have a right to not answer questions on the grounds that it may incriminate you. In any legal proceeding, and Corey will correct me if I'm wrong, you don't have to answer questions. This is what people do when they're worried about criminal consequences for the answers to their questions. You don't have to. This is just a civil proceeding, but even if it were a criminal proceeding, the way the law works is you don't have to answer any question that's incriminating to you. So you can plead the fifth. There may be consequences in family court to deal with. Corey can explain that to you offline. But if I were to ask a question, and you felt that the answer to that question could cause you criminal consequence, all you have to do, and Corey can confirm this, is say Greg or Mr. Woodnick, please call me Greg. I'm going to go ahead and plead the fifth. I will stop, and I will move on to the next question. Does that answer your question?

Speaker 1:
[04:32] Woodnick starts by asking some basic questions. They go through her revenue streams, her health history, and her medication list.

Speaker 3:
[04:40] I'm going to start off with some exhibits right now. Okay. Actually, before I do that, I got a couple more questions for you. Under oath, is it your testimony that you have never been prescribed the drug Novorel?

Speaker 4:
[04:51] Is there another name for it?

Speaker 3:
[04:53] I'll give you some of the generic names. If you don't recognize the name, just say, I don't recognize it. Have you been prescribed the drug Novorel?

Speaker 4:
[05:00] Not that I recall.

Speaker 3:
[05:02] Ovidrel, O-V-I-D-R-E-L.

Speaker 4:
[05:05] That doesn't sound familiar.

Speaker 3:
[05:07] Pregno, P-R-E-G-N-Y-L.

Speaker 4:
[05:11] I don't know what that is.

Speaker 3:
[05:14] Prophasi, P-R-O-F-A-S-I.

Speaker 4:
[05:19] No, that doesn't sound familiar. Clomaphene, that doesn't sound familiar. Clomid, that doesn't sound familiar.

Speaker 3:
[05:30] Seraphine, no.

Speaker 1:
[05:33] Woodnick asks her about every little detail, and it becomes clear. Laura has been a patient at a variety of major telehealth companies.

Speaker 4:
[05:42] I think it's called Tia, but I don't remember who, what her name is, TIA. TIA. Oh, yes, Tia, and it's kind of like one medical. I used a service called Capsule.

Speaker 3:
[05:58] Is that a mail service for a pharmacy?

Speaker 4:
[06:00] Kind of, it's like a delivery one.

Speaker 3:
[06:03] Who would prescribe that?

Speaker 4:
[06:05] That's prescribed by an online service.

Speaker 3:
[06:07] What's the name of the online service?

Speaker 4:
[06:09] Health Piper. It's like a self-pay service. It's, they don't accept insurance.

Speaker 3:
[06:17] And let me ask the question better. If you had strep throat or...

Speaker 4:
[06:21] Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[06:22] Who would you go see?

Speaker 4:
[06:25] I would probably see one medical.

Speaker 3:
[06:27] Okay. Who's your OBGYN?

Speaker 4:
[06:30] Um, I would say the doctor I saw, mom doc.

Speaker 3:
[06:36] Okay. So I want to make real, there'll be a real clear on this. We're here because of obviously, as you know, allegations that there's a, some fraud in a pregnancy claim. The only OBGYN that you're stating today under oath, and again, you complete the fifth, is the doc at mom doc. The only OBGYN that I have seen in the past two years.

Speaker 4:
[06:58] That I have seen, yes, I had appointments with others that were canceled and I was accepted into a high risk practice, but I canceled the appointment.

Speaker 3:
[07:06] Hang on for a second, be real clear on this. You understand what an OBGYN is?

Speaker 4:
[07:11] Correct.

Speaker 3:
[07:12] What is that?

Speaker 4:
[07:13] An obstetrician or a gynecologist.

Speaker 3:
[07:15] Or both. In the past 24 months, what is the name of any obstetrician or gynecologist who you have had a medical proceeding or actual appointment with?

Speaker 4:
[07:32] The ones that I stated.

Speaker 3:
[07:34] No. So those are appointments you didn't go to. I want to talk about you actually went in and had a discussion with a doctor in a waiting room or in a patient room.

Speaker 4:
[07:46] Mom doc.

Speaker 3:
[07:47] So mom doc. So you've been inside the office at mom doc.

Speaker 4:
[07:51] Yes.

Speaker 3:
[07:51] You've been inside the exam room at mom doc.

Speaker 4:
[07:53] Yes.

Speaker 3:
[07:53] You've been alone with the doctor and mom doc and maybe a nurse who would go in during a gynecological check-in, whatever.

Speaker 1:
[08:01] Correct.

Speaker 3:
[08:02] That is the only obstetrician or gynecologist for which you have been inside their practice office in the past 24 months.

Speaker 4:
[08:12] I guess as well.

Speaker 3:
[08:14] I mean, it was a banner at the urgent care, correct?

Speaker 1:
[08:18] That was the urgent care appointment where she took an in-office pregnancy test that measured her HCG levels. As you know, that test came back positive. This is something we'll get into in a later episode. Then, when it continued the deposition, moving on to Laura's history of lawsuits.

Speaker 3:
[08:37] I want to talk about litigation that you've been involved in historically. You had, and I'm just going through to make sure I've got them all. You were involved in a civil case, a personal injury case in California?

Speaker 4:
[08:47] Correct.

Speaker 3:
[08:48] You had an order of protection involving Mr. Gillespie, correct?

Speaker 4:
[08:51] Correct.

Speaker 3:
[08:52] Protective order proceeding involving Clayton Echard, correct? Correct. Injunction against harassment related to Clayton Echard? Correct. There's the current paternity action, which is pending before Judge Julie Mata, correct? Correct. Any other litigation that I need to know about?

Speaker 4:
[09:12] Not that I can think of, no.

Speaker 3:
[09:14] Well, you sued Dave Neal, the podcaster?

Speaker 4:
[09:16] I tried to get an injunction against harassment. I didn't sue him.

Speaker 3:
[09:19] You also had a civil name change action that you filed in the middle of this case? Correct.

Speaker 1:
[09:25] In November 2023, Laura filed a petition to change her name.

Speaker 3:
[09:30] Have you ever gone by any other aliases?

Speaker 4:
[09:32] No.

Speaker 3:
[09:33] There was a legal proceeding in which you asked to change your name to a different name. Do you recall what that name was?

Speaker 4:
[09:40] Emily Wilson.

Speaker 3:
[09:41] Have you ever gone by the name Emily Wilson other than for purposes of filing the petition for name change?

Speaker 4:
[09:48] No.

Speaker 3:
[09:49] Have you ever signed any document under the name Emily Wilson?

Speaker 4:
[09:53] No.

Speaker 1:
[09:54] Laura wrote that she was being stalked and harassed online. She also said she has an order of protection against three men who were trying to locate her. But less than a month later, Laura withdrew this petition, stating that quote, a YouTube content creator named Dave Neal discovered my name change petition shortly after its filing and chose to share this information with his audience. This dissemination of my intended name change, as well as the reasons why I requested it, have rendered the new name ineffective and therefore unusable due to the public exposure. She also asked for a refund of any fees associated with the name change process. The court denied that request in May of 2024.

Speaker 3:
[10:37] Let's go ahead and take a five minute bathroom break right now.

Speaker 1:
[10:40] Off the record at 8:57 a.m. After the break, Woodnick turns to some exhibits.

Speaker 3:
[10:48] Okay. I'm going to show you what's been marked as exhibit number one, and actually it should be right in front of you. You acknowledge that those are the same ultrasound image?

Speaker 4:
[11:01] Yes.

Speaker 3:
[11:02] And they both have your name on it?

Speaker 4:
[11:04] Yes.

Speaker 3:
[11:04] And they both have your identifying information on them?

Speaker 4:
[11:07] Yes.

Speaker 3:
[11:08] And you're denying they're yours?

Speaker 4:
[11:10] Yes.

Speaker 3:
[11:10] Okay. Let's go on to exhibit number three. Exhibit number three is an Honor Healthcare Scottsdale sonogram dated August 8, 2021.

Speaker 4:
[11:21] That's what it says.

Speaker 3:
[11:23] Is that your sonogram exhibit three?

Speaker 4:
[11:25] No.

Speaker 3:
[11:26] So you're denying that exhibits one, two, and three are your medical records?

Speaker 4:
[11:30] Correct.

Speaker 3:
[11:31] Okay.

Speaker 2:
[11:32] Exhibit number four.

Speaker 3:
[11:37] You acknowledge that you sent that message to Clayton Echard on May 17th, 2023?

Speaker 4:
[11:42] Yes.

Speaker 3:
[11:43] Okay. So that is actually you?

Speaker 4:
[11:45] Yes.

Speaker 1:
[11:45] Okay.

Speaker 3:
[11:45] But the exhibits one, two, and three were not you?

Speaker 1:
[11:48] Correct.

Speaker 2:
[11:48] Okay.

Speaker 3:
[11:51] I'm going to show you exhibit number five.

Speaker 1:
[11:56] It continued on like this for some time, with Laura picking and choosing what were real messages she'd sent. Then Woodnick turned up the heat and asked about the doctor's appointments Laura claimed she'd been to.

Speaker 3:
[12:08] I'm going to be real clear, you testified under oath before Judge Gail Ketsis on November 2nd, 2023, correct?

Speaker 4:
[12:15] Correct.

Speaker 3:
[12:15] And everything you said to Judge Gail Ketsis was truthful?

Speaker 4:
[12:19] That I can recall.

Speaker 3:
[12:20] Okay. You told Judge Gail Ketsis that you had seen Dr. McCool. I'm going to play it for you in a second. I'm just reminding you before I play it. You testified under oath with Judge Gail Ketsis that you were being treated by Dr. McCool, correct?

Speaker 4:
[12:34] Well, technically, I was accepted into his practice. I was still on his timeline.

Speaker 3:
[12:40] You didn't lie? You just misled?

Speaker 4:
[12:45] I don't think that that's a fair way to say it. I mean, he accepts people based on whether or not he could be there for their delivery date. And I was still technically in the system with him.

Speaker 3:
[12:56] How do you know that? You never met him.

Speaker 4:
[12:58] Because I had to speak extensively with his office in order to get accepted.

Speaker 3:
[13:01] What color hair does Dr. McCool have?

Speaker 4:
[13:03] He doesn't have hair as far as I know.

Speaker 3:
[13:04] Have you ever met him?

Speaker 4:
[13:05] No.

Speaker 3:
[13:06] Has he ever touched you, shaken your hand?

Speaker 4:
[13:08] No.

Speaker 2:
[13:08] Sorry.

Speaker 3:
[13:10] But you told Judge Gail Ketsis that you were being treated by Dr. McCool, correct or incorrect?

Speaker 4:
[13:18] Correct. I'm still in his patient portal. It says that I'm one of his patients. So it does still say that in the patient portal.

Speaker 1:
[13:26] Woodnick wanted answers about the ultrasounds she'd sent Clayton.

Speaker 3:
[13:30] Your position is that the ultrasound from July.

Speaker 4:
[13:37] Correct.

Speaker 3:
[13:38] Says that you're pregnant with twins.

Speaker 4:
[13:39] Correct.

Speaker 3:
[13:40] Okay.

Speaker 4:
[13:40] And then. And that is confirmed by another provider.

Speaker 3:
[13:42] Hang on. We're getting there. Okay. And show me in the labs where the fetuses were gendered.

Speaker 4:
[13:52] Well, I had asked a provider online what they thought, and for whatever reason they said they thought it looked like a boy and a girl. I don't understand. Again, it was the provider who was.

Speaker 3:
[14:03] Who is the provider who told you that exhibit number nine was a male and female fetus?

Speaker 4:
[14:13] It was whatever service I got the pills from. I had provided them with this ultrasound image. I'm sure I have it in my records.

Speaker 3:
[14:20] I need that. So how can you get that to me?

Speaker 4:
[14:22] I can. I will be able to find it. I can find it. I will get it to you.

Speaker 3:
[14:27] Can I ask a question?

Speaker 4:
[14:28] Correct.

Speaker 3:
[14:29] Did you, to get the abortion pills?

Speaker 4:
[14:32] Yes.

Speaker 3:
[14:34] You had to provide information to the online abortion portal.

Speaker 4:
[14:38] I wasn't really a portal. It was like a texting service.

Speaker 3:
[14:41] Okay. What did you send them?

Speaker 4:
[14:45] I sent them like the test from Banner, and I sent them this, because I was wanting to know if I needed to take more, if it was going to be twins.

Speaker 3:
[14:54] Okay, for a sec. So let's talk about that. The image that you sent to that service, okay, how did you send it to them?

Speaker 4:
[15:01] Text. As far as I recall, it could have been uploading to something. I had gone, I had looked at a few.

Speaker 3:
[15:07] So you have no problem sharing the name of that service.

Speaker 4:
[15:10] I don't.

Speaker 3:
[15:10] And the image that you sent to them, was it the one that you altered, or was it the original?

Speaker 4:
[15:16] Are you talking about the part that was altered at the top?

Speaker 3:
[15:19] You know what I'm talking about. You changed a medical record, and you're not a physician, correct?

Speaker 4:
[15:24] I changed the top, but it was my image.

Speaker 3:
[15:26] Did you send this service the altered version of Exhibit 9, or the original version of Exhibit 9?

Speaker 4:
[15:36] I believe I just sent them, I don't know, I sent them the ultrasound. I'm honestly not sure.

Speaker 1:
[15:42] Near the end of the deposition, Woodnick asks her about a doctor's appointment she said she'd been to in October. And Laura reveals, This was another video appointment, not an in-person exam.

Speaker 3:
[15:55] Wait, hang on for a second. October 17, 2023 was a video appointment?

Speaker 4:
[16:00] Um, yes.

Speaker 3:
[16:02] Okay, so when you say here, so this appointment says that she's treating, that you're being treated for a traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, depression, ADHD, and it says, they discuss your meds during pregnancy, you're getting care with an epileptic clinic today, and it says, you're currently 22 weeks pregnant with a boy and girl. Correct. So that was from your self-reporting through the video portal, correct?

Speaker 4:
[16:29] That was, yes.

Speaker 3:
[16:30] So we can agree that Stephani Chen did not examine you physically?

Speaker 4:
[16:35] Well, she saw me physically on a video. I think I was very noticeably pregnant.

Speaker 3:
[16:40] I mean, so we can agree that she didn't examine you physically. And also she's a nurse, but she didn't examine you physically.

Speaker 4:
[16:51] Well, I mean, she didn't know, but she saw what my stomach looked like.

Speaker 3:
[16:54] Right. And you understand that there's been allegations that you were wearing a prosthetic stomach.

Speaker 4:
[16:58] I'm aware of the allegations, yes.

Speaker 3:
[17:00] Okay, we're going to talk about that in a little bit.

Speaker 2:
[17:02] Yes.

Speaker 1:
[17:03] They never do return to the allegations that Laura was wearing a prosthetic stomach. But at the end of the deposition, Woodnick asks her this question.

Speaker 3:
[17:11] Are you familiar with the word pseudocysis? What is it?

Speaker 4:
[17:16] I've seen it on Reddit about thinking you're pregnant.

Speaker 3:
[17:21] Have you researched it at all, like WebMD, that sort of thing?

Speaker 4:
[17:24] Absolutely not. I just saw it on there because people have accused me of that when I have medical proof of each. So I'm not concerned.

Speaker 2:
[17:34] And. Anything else for the record before we close? This will mark the end of video number one. This deposition has concluded.

Speaker 1:
[17:50] We are off the record at 1134 a.m. Thank you so much for listening. And stay tuned for new episodes and bonus content on the Love Trapped feed.