Since the April 3, 2022 stabbing death of her boyfriend, Courtney Clenney’s defense attorneys have claimed she was the victim of abuse, not the abuser, and they have now revealed to Law & Crime bits of their evidence which they claim proves their case.
Clenney, a 26-year-old former OnlyFans model, is accused of murdering her boyfriend, Christian Obumseli, on that April night, prosecutors say. She claimed that Christian choked her and pushed her against the wall 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, CBS added. Clenney has pleaded not guilty to a charge of second-degree murder with a deadly weapon.
The prosecution and defense agree both parties partook in toxic behavior during their time together, but that is where the agreements end, Law & Crime states.
Disputing the prosecutor’s claims that Clenney was the abusive party of a tumultuous two-year-relationship with Christian, defense attorneys Frank Prieto and Sabrina Puglisi claim she was the victim at the hands of her boyfriend, Law & Crime says. The attorneys say they have three incidents they plan on showing in court to prove it.
“The first is in Las Vegas in 2021 where she actually called security and the interview of the security officer by police. And you can see it in the body camera of the police officer, he says he overheard her saying get your hands off me, and when they got up to the room clumps of her hair were on the ground,” Puglisi told Law & Crime.
Prieto added that the time it took detectives to arrest Clenney is a massive indicator of the truth, Law & Crime says.
“I think that the fact that the detective in this matter did not arrest her for four months while they investigated the case. It’s very telling,” he said.
Another video, released by the Miami-Dade County State Attorney’s Office upon charging Clenney, shows Clenney and Christian in the elevator of their luxury condo building in the heat of an argument, Law & Crime explains. Clenney is shown hitting her boyfriend as he tries to defend himself.
“What the media has portrayed is a snapshot in time. If you actually look at the first few seconds of that video, which is cut off in most news media cycles…what you see is actually she does not want him to come into the elevator to go upstairs. There is only one key Fob in order to be able to get up into this apartment,” Puglisi told Law & Crime.
Other audio and video clips recorded by Christian contain Clenney hurling racial slurs and insults at him mere months before his death, the Daily Mail previously reported.
Yet body cam footage from April 1, 2022, shows Clenney asking police for a restraining order against Christian after an altercation in the lobby of their building, NBC revealed.
Clenney will face a civil lawsuit upon the conclusion of the criminal trial, as Christian’s father, Chio Obumseli, has filed a wrongful death suit against her, the homeowner’s association, the company that manages the building where they lived, and the security company, accusing all parties of negligence, Law & Crime reported in April 2023. Clenney’s attorneys claim the lawsuit is nothing more than a “money grab.”
At a press conference, Christian’s cousin, Karen Egbuna, said the loss is unfathomable.
“We’ve lost so much just beyond Toby. My aunt has never been the same. She is marked with a sadness and anger and grief that will likely never go away,” Egbuna said.
Law & Crime adds that a status conference is set for July, but no trial date has been set yet.
Comments / 10