Social media model Courtney Clenney has been charged with second degree murder April death of her boyfriendChristian Toby Obumseli, Miami State’s Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said Thursday. Clenney, 26, was arrested Wednesday in Hawaii on a charge of second-degree murder with a deadly weapon.
In a news conference Tuesday, Rundle described an “extremely tempestuous and combative relationship” between the couple that began in November 2020. According to Clenney’s arrest warrant, there had been “multiple incidents of domestic violence by both parts” during the relationship.
He said the building’s security staff documented “many instances” of heated arguments between the couple after they moved into the apartment in January 2022, adding that tenants up to two floors above the apartment had complained to the building about the noise.
Rundle also showed video from a building elevator in February 2022 that appeared to show Clenney pushing and hitting Obumseli. According to the arrest warrant, she was also charged with domestic assault against Obumseli at a Las Vegas hotel in July 2021.
Rundle said the couple briefly separated when Clenney kicked Obumseli out of her apartment in late March, but he returned on April 1. Police were called to the apartment later that day, and Clenney appeared “intoxicated” at the time, Rundle said.
/ AP
On the day of Obumseli’s death, she left the apartment at 1:15 p.m. and returned at 4:33 p.m. with sandwiches for the couple, Rundle said. Clenney called his mother at 4:43 and talked for six minutes, and called her back at 4:49 and talked for seven minutes, Rundle said. At 4:57, she called 911 to report that Obumseli had been stabbed. During that time, neighbors called the building about a disturbance and security also called 911, Rundle said.
Rundle said Obumseli can be heard saying she was dying and losing feeling in her arm in her 911 call, and Clenney was heard saying “I’m so sorry.” When police arrived, Clenney was cradling Obumseli’s body, according to his arrest warrant. He later died of his injuries in hospital.
Clenney later told police he stabbed Obumseli after he grabbed her by the throat and pushed her against the wall, Rundle said. She allegedly said she ran into the kitchen, grabbed a knife and threw it about 10 meters away.
But Rundle said police found no evidence Clenney had been injured and said the medical examiner disputed his account of the incident, noting Obumseli’s injury was much more consistent with a ” downward attack” with the knife than with such a throw. distance
Rundle said the chief medical examiner for Miami-Dade County determined that Obumseli died from a three-inch-deep stab wound to the chest.
“Christian Obumseli and Courtney Clenney’s violent and toxic two-year relationship did not have to end in tragedy with Christian’s murder as a victim of domestic violence,” Rundle said.
In a recorded phone statement to police documented in the arrest warrant, Clenney’s mother allegedly told authorities that she heard Clenney tell Obumseli to leave and that Clenney said Obumseli was “lying.” Her mother said nothing about her daughter’s attack, the warrant said, and while she allegedly told investigators she had not discussed Obumseli’s death with her daughter, the warrant cited a text message from “mother” at 5:25 pm to defendant’s message. phone that mentioned “self-defense” and told him not to talk to investigators without an attorney.
A lawyer for Obumseli’s family told the news conference that the family “always believed that with a thorough and fair investigation, this day would come true.”
When asked why it took so long to file charges in the April incident, Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales said it was critical to make sure the charge held up in court.
“He just gets shot,” he told reporters. “You want to do well.”
Hawaii County police said in a previous statement that they assisted the U.S. Marshals Service when they arrested Clenney in Laupahoehoe, which is on the Big Island. Officers used an arrest warrant issued by Miami-Dade County, Florida.
Clenney was being held at the East Hawaii Detention Center pending her initial appearance in Hilo District Court on Thursday, police said Wednesday. Rundle said Clenney has yet to appear in court, where he will decide whether to waive or contest extradition to Florida.
Facebook/Christian Toby Obumseli
Clenney goes by the name Courtney Tailor on Instagram and OnlyFans, where she has more than 2 million followers.
His Miami defense attorney, Frank Prieto, told CBS Miami that he was in Hawaii while in rehab for substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder.
“I’m completely shocked, especially since we were cooperating with the investigation and offered to hand her over voluntarily if she was charged,” Prieto said before Thursday’s press conference. “We hope we can clear his name in court.”
Prieto said the two were together for about two years and their relationship was complicated.
“It was clearly a toxic relationship, (they) had their ups and downs and unfortunately it culminated in her death,” he said.
Prieto said Clenney was actively seeking professional help to process the trauma experienced the night of the stabbing.
Obumseli’s family said he was a soft-spoken man and the idea that this was justified is unthinkable, CBS Miami reported.
“We have no reason to believe that this was a case of self-defense. Toby was raised with one, by a very strong family with strong morals, strong values, it didn’t come from that,” said Karen Egbuna, a cousin of Obumseli who also appeared at the press conference.
