Laura Owens gets 1 month in jail in fabricated pregnancy cases involving former ‘Bachelor’ star

Laura Michelle Owens, the Scottsdale woman who pleaded guilty to charges stemming from fabricated pregnancy claims involving two men, including former “Bachelor” star Clayton Echard, was sentenced Friday to one month in jail and several years of probation.

Owens pleaded guilty Aug. 28 to two counts of fraudulent schemes and artifices, one count of perjury and one count of taking the identity of another.

Owens was initially charged with 14 felonies. Her plea agreement calls for the remaining 10 counts to be dismissed.

What were the charges against Laura Owens?

The two fraudulent schemes charges stemmed from conduct between May 2023 and June 2024 involving Echard, the Season 26 lead of ABC’s “The Bachelor.”

Prosecutors alleged Owens altered an ultrasound image, faked a pregnancy video and lied under oath during civil paternity proceedings. The family court judge referred the matter for a criminal investigation after Owens dropped her paternity claim and said she had miscarried.

The perjury and identity theft charges involved a separate matter concerning Gregory Gillespie, a man Owens briefly dated in 2021.

The connection between the cases surfaced in part because both men shared the same family law attorney, Scottsdale lawyer Gregg Woodnick.

The case attracted widespread attention because of Echard’s celebrity and an online community that closely followed the court proceedings. The true-crime podcast “Love Trapped” also chronicled the case.

Former ‘Bachelor’ star Clayton Echard condemns Laura Owens

While giving his victim impact statement ahead of Owens’ sentencing, Echard described what she put him and other men through as emotional abuse.

“Laura’s been carrying out these tactics for at least ten years. She’s not sorry. She’s sorry she got caught,” Echard said. “All of the suffering that she has endured has come from her own doing, and it’s her choice. She has chosen her suffering, but she has not extended that privilege to me and the other victims.”

Clayton, who said Owens deserved to go to prison for the damage she caused, said he didn’t want to be in the court system.

“I didn’t want to give up my power at the mercy of the court,” Echard said. “I didn’t get to choose my suffering. This image of fragility that she presents is calculated.”

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