The past six months have been especially harrowing for Bay Area radio legend Ronn Owens.
The 79-year-old retired KGO 810 talk-radio host continues to deal with cancer, Parkinson’s disease and other illnesses. And, on Sunday, he explained on Facebook that he’s still facing dire money troubles since moving to Scottsdale, Arizona, in 2021. He’s humbly asked fans again to donate to a GoFundMe campaign, which “remains a crucial source of support” as he deals with “recent health and financial challenges.”
But as some fans know, Owens also has become mired in the criminal justice system in Maricopa County, Arizona, due to his beloved daughter Laura Owens. His Scottsdale, Arizona, home was raided by police in January, and his daughter, 35, was indicted in May on seven felony counts of fraud, forgery and perjury, related to her controversial claims that “Bachelor” star Clayton Echard impregnated her with twins in 2023.
In his Facebook post, Owens steered clear of mentioning his daughter’s paternity case against Echard, even as it has made national headlines and become a YouTube-fueled cause célèbre. Laura Owens, a podcaster, blogger and equestrian has pleaded not guilty to the charges and vowed to defend herself “fully and relentlessly, through every step of this process.”
But a “Justice for Clayton” community of online content creators, independent journalists and Reddit sleuths have been on her case, portraying her as a “Fatal Attraction”-like figure. They have published a paper trail of public records that they say shows her alleged, nefarious attempts to ensnare Echard and at least two other “victims of Laura Owens” with pregnancy claims, protracted court cases and restraining orders. Both Echard and the “JFC” community, moreover, have accused Owens and his wife, former KCBS reporter Jan Black, of enabling their daughter’s behavior.
In his Facebook post, Owens told his 10,000 followers that “the messages, memories, and kindness you’ve shared with me have been a profound source of strength.” The acclaimed radio personality previously said it was embarrassing to ask people for help in such a public way. The GoFundMe account has raised $125,000 since it was originally launched in early January.
Unfortunately for Owens, the timing of his new Facebook post has renewed questions among his daughter’s critics about whether the GoFundMe is “a scam,” designed to raise money for her criminal defense attorney and other expenses.
In a January interview with this news organization, Laura Owens declined to say who started the GoFundMe campaign because she said she didn’t want the person to be harassed by “the online cult.” On Monday, Laura Owens, her father and her mother declined to comment on her case, citing her pending criminal charges.
However, Laura Owens previously said that none of the money from the GoFundMe campaign is going toward her legal expenses. She also lamented how the paternity case and the online criticism has impacted her parents, saying in January: “I see how upset it makes them and I worry about them. I especially worry about my dad, with all the health issues that he’s had.”
For their part, Owens and Black, longtime figures of Bay Area legacy media, have watched in disbelief as content creators, representing a new media paradigm, have jumped on their daughter’s story in order to cash in, they say. In mid-January, Owens and Black insisted she had been pregnant and described the “unfairness” of her ordeal. As parents, they also said her situation has been “the most difficult thing” they’ve ever dealt with – even more than Owens being told at one point that he had six months to live.
Owens moreover expressed pride in his daughter standing up to “cyberbullies,” which included her once threatening to file a nine-figure harassment and defamation lawsuit against one YouTuber, Dave Neal. Owens told this news organization: “Laura is easily 10 times better at it than I am. I couldn’t have done it. I would have folded.”
In late January, the Owens’ Scottsdale property was raided by police looking for evidence that Laura Owens had committed fraud and perjury. A Scottsdale police report, obtained and published online by YouTubers, described how a “frail” Owens was in bed when officers arrived just before 7 a.m. and needed help with his walker so that he could join Black in the living room while police searched their daughter’s “casita” at the back of their property. During the search, Laura at first refused to open her door for police, but then was “erratic” by complaining about the early hour, claiming they were not the real police and stating that she had been unreasonably assaulted by them
This saga for the Owens family began in May 2023 when Laura Owens contacted Echard about buying property for real estate investment in the Scottsdale area. In interviews and in court documents, Echard said he launched a career as a realtor, following his stints as a contestant on “The Bachelorette” in 2021 and as the problematic star of Season 26 of “The Bachelor” in 2022.
After looking at property, Laura Owens and Echard had a one-night stand on May 20, 2023 — which he said only involved oral sex, not sexual intercourse. The reality TV star said he told her he did not want to pursue a relationship and became concerned that she falsely claimed being pregnant in order to stay close to him.
But Laura Owens has described how their encounter involved contact that could lead to a pregnancy. After she filed her petition, Echard accused her of fabricating medical documents. His lawyers also alleged that Owens threatened to take her claims to the press. She eventually did, telling her story anonymously to The Sun tabloid newspaper in order to force the “Bachelor” star to “take responsibility,” as she and her mother said.
Owens revealed in late December 2023 that she learned she had miscarried sometime earlier and withdrew her suit, but Echard’s attorneys alleged she had been lying all along and wanted compensation.
Following a June 2024 hearing, Maricopa County Judge Julie Mata sided with Echard. She issued a scathing ruling against Laura Owens, saying her paternity suit was a “case of serial fabrications,” including court testimony about being 24 weeks pregnant with a “high-risk pregnancy.” Mata said Laura Owens failed to produce an authentic ultrasound or evidence that she had undergone a physical examination. She ordered her to pay Echard $149,000 in attorneys fees and forwarded the case to prosecutors. The indictment similarly alleged that she faked a sonogram and gave false testimony in depositions and court hearings.
In a press release she posted on Medium following her indictment, Laura Owens said that Maricopa County District Attorney Rachel Mitchell was influenced by the “international letter-writing campaign” launched against her by the JFC community. She said the indictment failed to mention that she provided evidence of a positive hCG pregnancy hormone blood and urine test from a licensed medical provider and that she took a positive, home pregnancy test in the presence of Echard.
In other Medium essays and a TEDx talk, Laura Owens wrote about being physically abused by one ex-boyfriend and coerced into having an abortion by another. She also said she was diagnosed with depression, anxiety, PTSD, and ADHD and, finally, with autism at the age of 34.
“Each label explained a part of what I was feeling, but it never felt like the complete picture,” Laura Owens wrote. “It wasn’t until I was diagnosed with autism that everything started to make sense. Suddenly, there was a name for the way I experienced the world.”
But since her arraignment, Laura Owens’ Medium blogs have been taken down. In a statement, her attorney, Joshua Kolsrud, said his client would no longer comment publicly about her case, given that she faces “significant felony charges, which carry mandatory prison time if convicted.”
Kolsrud, a former prosecutor, also said he respected the Justice for Clayton community and its work on this case. However, he warned against “mob justice” and said it is “equally critical to allow the justice system to function.” He hoped that the community’s energy and “passion for justice” could be channeled in a way that supports a “fair and peaceful outcome” for Laura Owens.
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