Love Trapped - Guilty | BONUS

Episode Date: September 3, 2026

On August 28, 2026, Laura Owens pled guilty to four felony counts in her criminal case in Arizona. In this special bonus episode, you’ll hear exclusive reporting from the courthouse on the day Laura pled guilty. Plus, Mike and Danielle Marraccini share some good news.   For exclusive content, follow us on Instagram @glasspodcasts. If you would like to reach out to the Love Trapped team or have a similar story to share, email us at [e-mail]. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. I am talking to a felon right now with face tattoos, and I cannot decide if I like him or not. That was a caller from my podcast, Therapy Gecko, where I speak with anonymous callers about their problems, relationships, and anything else in the depths of their mind. It all happens on my show, Therapy Gecko.

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than it has in the past. I was really happy to see Eager back to what she looked like a couple of years ago when she was winning dominantly. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On Friday, August 28th, Laura Owens appeared at the Maricopa County Superior Courthouse for a settlement conference in her criminal case.

The question was, would she plead guilty, or would her case go to trial? Finally, we got an answer. How do you plead to count one fraudulent schemes and arvices, a class two non-dangerous felony, committed honor about May 17, 2023 through an including June 10th of 2024. Guilty or not guilty? Guilty. Laura pled guilty to four felony counts.

Two class two felonies of fraudulent schemes and artifices, one class four felony of perjury, and one class four felony of taking the identity of another. And how do you plead to count? 10 taking the identity of another, guilty or not guilty? Guilty. After months of uncertainty and delays, the most surprising thing we could have heard was Laura admitting guilt, not once, but four times. Is everything that was said on the record true and correct?

Yes, Your Honor. Court finds defense plea is knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily made. There's a factual basis for each count in the plea. The plea is accepted and entered a record. I'm Stephanie Young, and this is a special bonus episode of Love Trapped. I'm going to walk you through what went down in Arizona on Friday, August 28th. I was there in person for the whole thing. So let's start at the beginning.

Before the hearing started, I ran into Clayton, Greg Woodnick, and Reality Steve outside the courthouse. None of us had any idea if Laura was going to. to take the plea deal or not. Clayton hadn't been given advance notice. Like we said in the last episode, Clayton believed she'd take this to the bitter end and bring this case to trial. The courtroom doors opened early, so I made my way inside to find a seat. Here's Woodnick. The hearing was scheduled to start at 2.30, and we went a little bit early, anticipating that the county attorney was going to want to talk to Clayton about the status of things. And there was a short meeting with the county attorney privately before the hearing. After we met with the county

attorney and the investigator, Clayton and I walked into the courtroom, anticipating that the hearing was going to start at 2.30. It was delayed, not super uncommon, but this court runs on time, so I was wondering what was going on, and it dawned on me at that point that I hadn't seen Laura. Usually at these hearings, we bummed into Laura and her mother or father in the hallway. That's always awkward in any case, not just this one. But I hadn't seen them. So we were wondering where she was. I took a seat in the fourth row, directly behind Clayton. There was a strict no cell phone policy inside the courtroom. That means all the interview tape your hearing happened after the fact. The hearing was supposed to begin at 2.30. But 2.30 came and went. Laura wasn't in

the room yet. Everyone began looking around anxiously. We were all wondering what was going on and if the hearing would start. The prosecutor kept coming in and out of the courtroom and having quiet conversations with Woodnick and Clayton in the front row. I was sitting next to reality, Steve, and he overheard some of what was said. I started hearing some things and rumblings that a plea deal was probably going to happen, but Laura was waffling.

She was sick. Throwing up, we were hearing terms like, I couldn't see Woodnick or Clayton's faces, but I knew something big was about to happen. The county attorney let us know that Laura had signed the plea agreement, which is great, and it was a huge sigh of relief, Stephanie, because this was a big deal. She'd acknowledged in writing that she had committed these crimes. But a signed plea agreement doesn't do any good unless it's put on their record in the courtroom. and there was a comment made that she was having challenges or struggling to come into the courtroom and address what she had signed apparently on the record with the judge.

I overheard a snippet of this conversation. The prosecutor saying Laura was about to sign the plea deal, but I still didn't believe that it was about to happen. Laura hadn't come into the courtroom yet, and the tensions were rising. So we waited some more, and eventually it felt like maybe 15 minutes, later, she came in very quickly and had a seat at the table with her attorney, Christian Luters, and within a few seconds, the judge came in and the hearing began. This is CR 2025-007-905-state versus Laura Owens.

Time set for a settlement conference. Can I get appearances, please? Good afternoon, Ed Lyder on behalf of State. Afternoon, Judge, Christian Luters, in behalf of Laura Owens, who's present with me at the defense table. So, Ms. Owens, I've been handed a plea agreement. The indication, you want to resolve your case by pleading guilty to count one, fraudulent schemes and artis is a class two non-dangerous felony, count six, perjury, a class four non-dangerous felony, count nine, fraudulent schemes and artis of class two non-dangerous, and then count ten, taking my identity of another, a class four felony, non-dangerous. Is that what you want to do today?

Yes, Your Honor. So I'm just going to ask you some questions, make sure I understand what you're doing. Have you taken any drugs, alcohol, or medication the last 24 hours? No, Your Honor. What's the last grade in school that you have finished or? completed? I have my bachelor's in college. Okay. So you read and understand English, correct? Yes. Has anybody forced you or threatened you in any way to make you plead guilty? No. Has anybody promised you or anything regarding your sentence that's not written in your plea agreement to get you to plead guilty?

No. Because Laura is pleading guilty to felonies, it will impact her civil rights. She won't be able to vote, serve as a juror, hold public office, or possess a firearm. The judge then moved on to discuss her plea agreement with the state. Okay, so let's talk about your agreements with the state. As to count one, which is a class two following, there are no agreements as to sentencing. If you are placed on probation, it will be supervised probation. As to counts six, nine, and ten, you'll be placed on supervised probation, no contact with the victims. The state will dismiss counts two through five, seven and eight, and eleven through fourteen. Is that your understanding of your agreement with the state?

Yes, Your Honor. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Laura agreed to plead guilty to four of her 14 felony counts. For three of these counts, she faces supervised probation, which may still carry mandatory jail time. Sentencing for the final felony count remains open to the judge's discretion at sentencing. That carries a potential penalty ranging from supervised probation to up to 12.5 years in prison. In exchange for her guilty plea, the state agreed to dismiss the remaining 10 charges. From there, the judge handled a few more administrative details, informing Laura she was officially giving up her right to a trial and couldn't appeal the guilty plea.

In order to take advantage of the plea agreement, you've got to waive your trial rights because you're not having a trial since you're entering into a plea of guilty. I'm going to cover those rights with you. You'll be giving up the presumption of innocence. You'll be giving up the right to remain silent. you'll be giving up the right to have a jury determine guilt and aggravating factors. You'll be giving up the right to confront and cross-examine the witnesses who are called to testify against you. You'll be giving up the right to present evidence in your defense.

It'll be giving up the right to testify yourself and you'll be giving up the right to file a direct appeal, but you would have the right to file a petition for post-conviction relief. Do you understand all those rights? Yes, Your Honor. And you want to waive those rights so you can take advantage of this plea agreement. Yes, Your Honor. Then, we got to the part where Laura had to respond to each charge. As I looked around the courtroom, everyone seemed to be stunned.

Her mother, Jan Black, was sitting across the aisle on the other side of the courtroom. But I could see her face. She was completely deadpan and emotionless, watching her daughter plead guilty. How do you plead to count one fraudulent schemes and arvices, a class two non-dangerous felony, guilty or not guilty? Guilty. How do you plead to count six perjury, a class four non-dangerous felony, guilty or not guilty. Guilty.

How do you plead to count nine, fraudulent schemes and artis is a class two non-dangerous felony? Guilty or not guilty? Guilty. And how do you plead to count 10, taking the identity of another, guilty or not guilty? Guilty. Laura admitted guilt on four felony charges. There was a charge for every listed victim.

Then she had to provide a factual basis for each count. That means she had to admit the facts of what happened so the judge could confirm that a crime was actually committed. Laura's attorney read them on her behalf. Factual basis, please. Your Honor, as count one, honor about May 17, 2023 and through June 10th, 2024, within Maricopa County in this court's jurisdiction, Laura Michelle Owens, pursuant to a scheme or artifices to defraud,

knowingly did obtain a benefit from Clayton Ray Eckhart by means of fraudulent pretenses, representation, promises, or material omissions. As to count six, within Maricopa County, this court's jurisdiction, Honor about June 10th, 2024. Lorne Michelle Owens in regard to a material issue and believing it to be false, did make a false sworn statement to wit, claiming that's me showing my pregnant stomach.

Come on again in Maricopa County, this court's jurisdiction. Honor between July 1st, 2021 and August 17, 2020, Lord Michelle Owens, again, pursuant to a scheme where arthur to the fraud, knowingly did obtain a benefit from Gregory Gillespie by means of fraudulent pretenses, representation, promises, and material omissions. And finally, I count two.

in America County within this course jurisdiction, honor about August 6th, 2021, Laura Michelle Owens, knowingly did take, purchase, manufacturer, record, possess, or use any personal identifying information or entity identifying information of Stormy Lynn Mitchell without consent with the intent to obtain or use the identity for any unlawful purpose or to cause loss to a person

or with the intent to obtain or continue informed it. Is everything that was said on the record true and correct? Yes, Your Honor. Court finds defense, please, knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily made. factual basis for each count in the plea. The plea is accepted and entered a record. After that, the judge moved on to scheduling the sentencing hearing. I'm good with the 23rd. You're good to 23rd? All right, Mr. Leonard, 23rd?

October 23rd, who works for both victims and the state. You're on. Sentencing was set for October 23rd. That's where we'll find out if Laura will face prison or jail time for her crimes. Anything else from the state? No, we are. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Anything from the defense? No, thank you. Thank you. All right. The hearing only lasted 16 minutes, and I felt like I was holding my breath the whole time. I was told Laura left through a side door. The rest of us filed out into the hallway. Clayton came right up to me and gave me a big hug.

During the proceedings, we'd all been keeping our emotions in check. But when we got outside, they all came rushing in. I started recording. I want to hear in your words what happened. Laura accepted the plea. She took a minute to come in there. We were told that she signed off on the plea, but that she had to walk in and accept the crimes.

And she did. That's a big moment. I want to say, like, Laura, I am proud of you for taking the first step towards accountability. That's genuinely how I feel. I don't want Laura to have a lifetime of suffering. I have become stronger through this. I've become more resilient. I wanted to be held accountable.

We still have a sentence saying I'm still going to look to have her put in prison for some time because I believe that's how you begin the healing process with Laura to make her a better person. But this is a huge step today. She took accountability. And that's something we have not seen since I first met Laura. When did it finally hit you that this was real and that this was like, like over. For me, it's like once she accepted the charges, we then went into a side room and kind of shook hands and thanked the prosecution and talked about next steps. But then when we

walked out of the courtroom and I saw you, yeah, I saw you. I felt like a wave of emotion overcoming. I felt like on the verge of tears because like this really truly is finally feeling like the beginning to the end. We are on the right step towards full justice. And, Obviously, we still need to have sentencing, but it's not lost upon me that her being a convicted felon is huge. Now it's up to me and the prosecutor to look to get jail time or prison time tacked on to that. To me, that's now my responsibility partly, and if it's meant to be, we'll get that outcome. But I was okay with the plea being agreed upon, and we got that. So that's a win.

And I can thank the court for that and say they've done a great job. I got in my car and finally looked at my phone. I had dozens of missed calls and text messages. I thought I was going to drive away, but I was feeling an unexpected rush of emotions myself. So I recorded this voice note. I just left the Maricopa County Superior Courthouse after the settlement conference on August 28, 26,

where Laura Owens accepted a plea deal in her criminal case in Arizona. It was extremely surreal to be in the courtroom. she had to say that she was guilty to all four counts that she pled guilty to. And I have to be honest, after following this case, it was emotional to hear her say that for me. And it's because I've lived all of the moments with these men for the last 15 months of them recounting their stories and telling me what happened. And to see that there was accountability taken today was emotional.

And when Clayton walked out of the courtroom, I was already in the hallway. And I locked eyes with him and immediately gave him a hug and just told him congratulations and that I was proud of him for sticking with this and continuing the fight. And he told me in that moment that that's the first time it kind of sank into him. And he got a little bit emotional. And that was also a really powerful moment for me. I know I haven't followed the story from the very beginning. I started in June of 2025 after his family court case had already been adjudicated.

But I've been in this, immersed in this for the last 15 months, and to see him finally get justice today and all of the other victims listed in this criminal case was extremely impactful. And I am grateful that I was here for that today. The music you love, radio stations, the podcasts everyone's talking about, all in one place. And it's free. I heart radio.

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Middle school is a different world than the one we grew up in. I'm Dr. Joy, and this is David. for Black Girls. We spent real time on it in our surviving middle school run, bringing in a child psychologist and a psychiatrist who's raising two black girls of his own to talk about what's really going on with our kids right now. So it's literally physiological and neurological and psychological and psychological chaos happening all the same time. We got into group chats and gaming, friendships and bullying, and how to tell the difference between healthy monitoring and the kind of surveillance that erodes trust. There's belonging. You could think of belonging as

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I'm Dr. Joy. Listen to Therapy for Black Girls on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. After the hearing, I caught up with Greg Woodnick. He didn't have to be at the courthouse, but he spent almost five years in litigation with Laura. And he's personally invested. So we sat in the front row right next to Clayton. Hearing Laura say the word guilty four times was a little bit surreal. I remember thinking to myself, holy shit, that just happened, and this has been a long road.

And I remember kind of nudging Clayton on the leg. I mean, that was like the moment that it was over. He knew it when he heard it as well. It was a big deal. It was a really big deal. If you remember from our last episode, Woodnick predicted that Laura would take the plea deal. He credits her legal counsel. Listen, I'm so glad she chose to do the right thing and plead guilty.

I tried to think about it in terms of if I were representing Laura, and I am grateful I am not, I think her current attorney has done a great job representing her. I think Christian looters just saved Laura from Laura. And entering this plea agreement gives her an opportunity to not spend a significant amount of time in prison. And someone is committed to their craft of lying as Laura was. It's probably hard to convince them that this is the best outcome for them. Laura may have thought up until that moment that she said guilty four times, that she could go to trial and lie her way out of this.

That didn't happen. And that, I think, was the sigh of relief I had when I heard her to say guilty four times. Knowing what I know about Laura, I asked Woodnick if there was a possibility Laura could change her mind. Can someone backtrack on their guilty plea? People back out of plea agreements.

I don't want to say all the time, but there's a way to get out of the plea agreement. I don't anticipate that's going to happen here. I think Laura got really good legal advice from her attorney. Laura's decision to plead guilty means there will be no trial. We won't see all the evidence the state has been collecting for the past two years. I know there's a lot of people that wanted this trial to go forward. And I think the people wanted the trial to go forward to find out the depths of the fraud

that Laura has committed over these years. And of course, there's a part of me that would have liked to see all of that exposed. I know a lot more than the public does, having been involved in this for a long time. And I can appreciate why people would want that all aired publicly. But I've always thought the right result here was for her to acknowledge her guilt so that people could move on and she could be appropriately consequenced and healing could begin. I've had so many people ask me if I think she's going to get jail time. The truth is, I don't know.

It will be up to the judge at the sentencing hearing on October 23rd. Woodnick plans to be there, and I asked him to make one more prediction about her consequences. I think incarceration is going to be part of her sentence. A lot of it is going to depend on how Laura presents at sentencing. How she approaches her culpability at sentencing is a bigger deal. Really saying she's guilty and fully acknowledging that guilt and what she's going to do to make sure this never happens again is really a conversation for October 23rd. That's when we're going to hear and see what Laura really meant by the words, guilty, guilty, guilty. A lot of the content creators who've

been following this case from the very beginning weren't in attendance. No one knew what to expect. And no one really expected that she'd plead guilty. But reality Steve was there, and I caught up with him after the hearing. I was still an amazement that the word guilty came out of this woman's mouth four times. After three plus years of covering this woman, it was just bizarre to hear the woman admit it. And I hope she sticks by it. I asked Steve if there was anything that I missed that day. One of the things that we were hearing in the courtroom that day, and I didn't hear with my own two ears, but there were rumblings that, quote unquote, Laura just wanted to sign this and move on with her life, which is basically what we've been saying for three years. The only reason people keep

talking about this, which in turn upsets her, is because she kept it going. And so when I heard that, I was like, great. But actions speak louder than words. And if you admit to four, Guilty counts, stand by it, stand on all ten toes and say, yes, this is what I believed, I did wrong, here's why. She doesn't owe us anything. I think all of us that have covered it are still curious as to the whys behind a lot of this stuff. Maybe we'll get it from her someday, maybe we won't. As someone who's been following Clayton since the Rose ceremony from hell,

Steve's been impressed by how Clayton handled the whole situation. When we were standing there and Clayton came out, he gave you a hug and I think you asked him how he felt. I just remember him taking a good probably 10 or 15 seconds before he can answer because I think he was a little emotional about it. And when he finally said like, hey, it's just amazing that this is the first time she's ever taken accountability. This is the step in the right direction. I do not want to see this woman suffer. I want her to be able to have a life and not end up as a statistic, essentially.

And I thought that was really empathetic for a guy who's literally been tortured by this woman for the last three years. It shows you what kind of guy that Clayton is. There were two more people I wanted to talk with to hear the reaction to the news. Mike and Danielle Maruccini. I was not shocked.

I mean, the evidence was overwhelmingly against her. I think it was the only logical choice for her to do was to plead guilty, but I was not shocked that she took it. I was shocked. I was the opposite of Mike. I really thought, one, it was fake news, and I had to double check with a handful of people to figure out that it was real. And two, it felt like a constant.

out to me, frankly, because again, she's doubled down so hard on these narratives for so long. I've had mixed emotions about it because part of me feels relief that she did take accountability. The other part of me is that I want her to face the maximum sentencing. And I don't know what the sentencing is obviously going to be, but when you take a plea, it's usually a much lighter sentence than actually going to trial. The next day, my phone started blowing up. In a group text with Mike and Danielle, they delivered some big news. News Danielle got while away on a quick trip with their daughters.

I was actually in Disneyland with my two kids on a rogue best friend trip. And I was laying in our hotel room in the pitch black because my kids were napping. And I got two texts from him that just were Danielle, Danielle in all caps. and a screenshot of the TEDx website, and then below it, the caption said, it's gone. The video is gone. Laura's TEDx video about Mike Maruccini was finally taken down.

I was laying there in the dark, and my daughter was laying next to me. Then I just started crying, like silently because it was such a relief that it's finally gone. I mean, people have, have watched it and told me about it and have said, oh, I don't believe it. But I think in the back of everybody's mind, there was, like, doubt of whether or not it was true or not. And so the moment that I found out, it was just we were ecstatic.

It was unbelievable to see that actually happen. I feel like it was the biggest win to date because this video has been up for years. and it's such a heinous video, and I'm just so angry that TEDx actually kept it up for this long. I felt immense relief when the video was taken down, and I broke down, and I know I say that quite a bit, but it's something where I always felt like people had watched the video before talking with me.

And so now knowing that that isn't the case anymore is truly just such a great feeling. Laura's sentencing in Arizona is currently scheduled for October 23rd. We'll be back with another episode then. In the meantime, Mike and Danielle are still waiting to see if Laura continues to pursue her appeal and her domestic violence restraining order case in California. In light of Laura's guilty plea, I asked Danielle if she thinks Laura will back down from pursuing

her appeal or filing a new DVRO against Mike. I don't think she's actually remorseful is what it comes down to. I think she was caught red-handed in the act, and she was forced into a corner. I don't actually believe that she thinks she was in the wrong. She's trying to do what's in her best interest. And I think that's the worst part of her pleading guilty is because I know she's not sorry.

We've known she's not sorry this whole time while she was filing appeals in California with 14 felonies against her. She didn't care. She's had no mercy on any of us. And now she's asking for mercy, get out of here. Thank you so much for listening. Please be sure to follow Love Trapped on Apple Podcasts, the Iheart Radio app, Spotify,

or wherever you get your podcasts. And please leave us a review. A five-star rating helps others find this show. We're grateful for your support. If you would like to reach out to the Love Trapped team, or have a similar story to share, email us at Lovetrappedpod at gmail.com. That's Lovetrapped, P-O-D at gmail.com. LoveTrapped is a production of Glass Podcasts,

a division of Glass Entertainment Group, in partnership with IHeart Podcasts. This show was executive produced by Nancy Glass, Andrea Gunning, and Ben Federman. Written, produced, and hosted by me, Stephanie Young. Our story editor is Monique Laborde. Producer on this episode is Sydney Gladu. Additional production support from Todd Gans.

Our production manager is Kristen Melchiri. For IHeart podcasts, Ali Perry was our executive producer. Audio editing and mastering by Anna McLean, additional editing support by Tanner Robbins and Matt Delvecchio. This podcast was developed in collaboration with Danny Passman and Lev Abramoff at Crybaby Media. The love-trapped theme is composed by Oliver Baines.

Music library provided by Mib Music. A special thanks to Carrie Lieberman, Will Pearson, Jessica Kreinschek, Ali Cantor, and the entire IHeart podcast team. And for more podcasts from IHeart, visit the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm talking to a felon right now with face tattoos, and I cannot decide if I like him or not. That was a caller from my podcast, Therapy Gecko, where I speak with anonymous callers about their problems, relationships, and anything else in the depths of their mind. It all happens on my show, Therapy Gecko.

So if you're trying to get out of your own head and into someone else's, this is the podcast for you. Listen to Therapy Gecko on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On Big Lives, we take a single cultural icon. People like Jane Fonda, George Michael, Little Richard. And we pull apart the story behind the image. discovering forgotten interviews that changed exactly how we see these giants of our culture. We're here for the messy, the brilliant, the human version of our heroes. I'm Emmanuel Jochi.

I'm Kai Wright. And this is Big Lives. Listen to Big Lives on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. In February of 2024, celebrated illustrator and children's book author Patra Mathers and her husband Michael mailed letters to dozens of friends and family members to let them know they had died. suicide. Dear honeies, this is goodbye. By the time you get to Schleaderbov Petra and I will be dead, next stop, Wonderland. Why did they do it? And what did it do to the people they left behind? Listen to Death of an Artist on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It's the U.S. Open, which means the tennis world is about to lose its mind, and I'm here for

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