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Florida OnlyFans model accused of killing boyfriend to stay jailed until trial

Courtney Clenney must remain behind bars until she’s tried for the April 3 slaying of Christian Obumseli at their luxury Miami apartment, a judge said.
 
Instagram model Courtney Clenney is accused of fatally stabbing her boyfriend, Christian “Toby” Obumseli, on April 3 in Miami. She is charged with murder but has said she acted in self-defense.
Instagram model Courtney Clenney is accused of fatally stabbing her boyfriend, Christian “Toby” Obumseli, on April 3 in Miami. She is charged with murder but has said she acted in self-defense. [ Instagram and Facebook via Miami Herald ]
Published Dec. 9, 2022|Updated Dec. 9, 2022

MIAMI — The OnlyFans model accused of killing her boyfriend in Miami won’t be getting out of jail to await trial.

A Miami-Dade judge on Thursday ruled that Courtney Clenney must remain behind bars as she awaits trial for the killing of Christian Obumseli on April 3 inside their luxury Edgewater apartment. Clenney, 27, is charged with second-degree murder with a deadly weapon in a case that has attracted worldwide media attention.

The judge notified attorneys hours before Thursday morning’s hearing. In court, Clenney — wearing a red jail jumpsuit reserved for high-profile inmates — appeared emotional as her attorneys delivered her the news, dabbing her eyes with tissue.

OnlyFans model Courtney Clenney reacts after Judge Laura Shearon Cruz denied Clenney bond and said she must remain behind bars as she awaits trial for the killing of Christian Obumseli on April 3 inside their luxury Edgewater apartment. The hearing took place at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building in Miami on Thursday.
OnlyFans model Courtney Clenney reacts after Judge Laura Shearon Cruz denied Clenney bond and said she must remain behind bars as she awaits trial for the killing of Christian Obumseli on April 3 inside their luxury Edgewater apartment. The hearing took place at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building in Miami on Thursday. [ PEDRO PORTAL | El Nuevo Herald ]

In her order, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Laura Shearon Cruz sided with prosecutors who had argued that Clenney made millions on the U.K.-based adult webcam site, and could earn a living overseas if she fled the country. She wrote that Clenney, of Texas, “has no ties to Florida and ample means to leave the country were she to choose to do so. The Defendant has substantial funds at her disposal and the ability to make more outside of the jurisdiction of the United States.”

Shearon Cruz also pointed out that Clenney has a history of violating court orders of supervision in other cases outside of Florida.

“The Court does not agree that placing defendant on house arrest with her parents in Texas is an appropriate form of release in this case,” she wrote.

Defense attorneys Frank Prieto and Sabrina Puglisi said they will consider an appeal, and took exception to the judge’s description of her finances. Her savings were used to buy a home and pay legal fees, Prieto told the judge and reporters after the hearing.

“She has no money left in her bank accounts,” Prieto said.

OnlyFans model Courtney Clenney talks to her lawyer Frank Prieto during a detention hearing in her murder case.
OnlyFans model Courtney Clenney talks to her lawyer Frank Prieto during a detention hearing in her murder case. [ PEDRO PORTAL | El Nuevo Herald ]

The hearing was attended by relatives of Obumseli, who flew in from Texas. Their Miami attorney, Larry Handfield, said the family was gratified and looks forward to Clenney’s trial.

“They were very happy, crying,” he told The Miami Herald on Thursday morning. “They feel a sense of justice.”

Clenney has never denied she fatally stabbed Obumseli, who was unarmed, during a heated argument. But her defense attorneys have insisted that she was the true victim of domestic abuse, and was protecting herself from Obumseli that night.

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The ruling came weeks after prosecutors, during a two-day detention hearing, argued that Clenney was the true aggressor. Miami-Dade’s Medical Examiner testified that the wound penetrated deeply enough that it had to be an up-close stabbing, not her throwing the knife as she told police.

OnlyFans model Courtney Clenney is seen during a Nov. 15 detention hearing where prosecutors laid out their evidence in detail. She is accused of killing her boyfriend, Christian Obumsel, on April 3 in Miami.
OnlyFans model Courtney Clenney is seen during a Nov. 15 detention hearing where prosecutors laid out their evidence in detail. She is accused of killing her boyfriend, Christian Obumsel, on April 3 in Miami. [ PEDRO PORTAL | El Nuevo Herald ]

Judge Shearon Cruz agreed, writing in her order that the “defendant’s version of how victim’s stab wound occurred is not supported by the evidence.”

The state also argued that the fatal stabbing capped months of physical and verbal abuse heaped on Obumseli.

Prosecutors pointed to a series of suspected attacks by Clenney on Obumseli in the year or so before the killing. One resulted in her arrest in Las Vegas for battery. Several others — including two stabbings of Obumseli — were chronicled in a series of text messages released by the state.

Related: ‘Is love going to kill me?’ Slain boyfriend’s texts reveal other stabbings by OnlyFans model

Several audio recordings made by Obumseli revealed Clenney’s unhinged screaming at her boyfriend; on one occasion, she used a racial slur against him.

Clenney’s defense attorneys argued the recordings, texts and other evidence were cherry-picked and provided “a one-sided snapshot in time. It’s not the whole story.”

On Thursday, Puglisi stressed Clenney was not the aggressor and is still suffering from trauma associated with her abuse.

“There is no question she is a victim of domestic violence,” Puglisi said.