While she remains in custody awaiting the trial in which she is accused of stabbing her boyfriend to death, Courtney Clenney now also faces a lawsuit filed by Christian Obumseli’s family, according to court documents obtained by Law and Crime.
The lawsuit, filed on March 17, 2023, names Chio Obumseli as the plaintiff and “soon to be appointed as the Personal Representative for the Estate of Christian Obumseli.” The Daily Star says that Chio is Christian’s father.
Clenney, a 26-year-old former OnlyFans and Instagram model, claims that Christian choked her and pushed her against the wall on the night of April 3, 2022, before she threw a kitchen knife at him, saying it landed in his chest, CBS previously reported. However, a medical examiner has since determined the wound was inconsistent with a throw, and more consistent with a downward thrust of a knife.
Clenney pleaded not guilty to the murder, claiming she threw the knife in self-defense, CBS says.
Yet the Obumseli family’s lawsuit names Clenney, One Paraiso Condominium Association Inc.(the owners of the building where Clenney and Christian lived at the time), two property management companies, and Allied Universal Security Services, stating the stabbing happened with “foreseeable warning” and all defendants had time and means to prevent Christian’s death from happening, according to the documents.
His family seeks money “for damages in excess of $50,000,” the documents say, and for “the past and future mental pain and suffering of decedent Christian Obumseli’s survivors.”
The lawsuit was updated on April 14 to state that Clenney is liable for covering Christian’s funeral and medical costs, Rolling Stone reported.
The lawsuit says that while Clenney is allegedly responsible for Christian’s death, the other defendants failed to maintain proper staffing, security, supervision, and in general failed to deter the possibility of the couple’s known tumultuous relationship to escalate.
“Criminals could carry out physical assaults within the subject premises without fear of being caught, discovered, or prosecuted,” the documents say of the defendants, adding that “an atmosphere was created at subject premises that facilitated the commission of crimes against persons.”
Each defendant, the documents continue, owed it to their residents to “exercise reasonable and ordinary care to keep and maintain subject building in a reasonably safe condition,” but failed to take such precautions despite being “in a superior position” to do just that.
Against Clenney, the complaints are the same, though the documents state that she “owed a duty to decedent Christian Obumseli of reasonable care.”
The amendment to the filing on April 14 claims that Clenney, on the day of Christian’s death, “intentionally touched, struck, made contact with, and/or stabbed Christian Obumseli against his will. As a result of Defendant Courtney Clenney’s intentional actions, Christian Obumseli died.”
A prior Rolling Stone investigation unearthed evidence that despite Clenney’s claims that Christian was the abuser in the relationship, it may have been Clenney in that role. In an interview with the Obumseli family’s lawyer, Michael Haggard, he told Rolling Stone that Clenney threatened Obumseli in the weeks leading up to his death.
“We’ve got over 10 witnesses, not only from this building, from adjacent buildings, that are like, this woman is absolutely screaming at the top of her lungs, every curse word you can think [of], threatening this guy,” Haggard said.
Haggard added that neighbors of the couple didn’t report seeing Christian act aggressively, Rolling Stone states.
“All the witnesses say that he was under control. That he was just trying to calm her down, he’s trying to give her a second chance,” Haggard continued.
In a surveillance video released by the State Attorney, Christian and Clenney are in the elevator in their building when Clenney begins hitting and shoving him, according to the Rolling Stone. Christian recorded their arguments, during which she hurled racial slurs and insults at him.
Haggard shared police phone call records, which revealed that law enforcement was called to the luxury condo eight times: five times for a disturbance, twice for an “information report,” and once for a “conduct investigation,” according to Rolling Stone.
“Each time, she’s absolutely hysterical, screaming, doing everything,” Haggard said.
Clenney’s defense attorney, Frank Prieto, told Rolling Stone that the truth about Clenney’s life with Obumseli will be revealed.
“The evidence in both the criminal and civil case will show that Courtney’s actions were taken to defend herself from an imminent attack by Obumseli. Courtney is a survivor of domestic violence,” Prieto said.
“Courtney will defend this civil matter as vigorously as the pending criminal case,” Prieto also told TMZ, adding that Clenney has no assets with which to pay for Christian’s funeral and medical costs.
A previous Daily Mail report revealed that Clenney raked in over $3 million from her OnlyFans account since 2020, which has since been closed. Prieto said with that account closed, she has nothing, Local10 stated.
“The evidence was clear that she has no money left in her bank accounts. Part of it was used to purchase a home and her OnlyFans contract was canceled immediately back in April,” Prieto said at the time.
“She obviously had assets,” Haggard remarked to Rolling Stone. “We fully anticipate she’s going to try to fraudulently move those assets.”
Prieto told TMZ that the Obumseli family sued the businesses in order to get what he called a “huge payout” from the insurance policies, Rolling Stone reports.
Haggard shot back at the accusation, and replied that the lawsuit is about justice, not money.
“Losing your child is the worst thing that can happen to any human being. They would do anything to go back to the day before and [have] this never happen and him come back to Texas. This is about justice, and he should probably concentrate on justice rather than making comments like that toward the victim’s family,” Haggard said.
Clenney is due back in court on May 9, according to ABC News, and has been charged with second-degree murder with a deadly weapon.
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