Lawyer for Courtney Clenney, accused of murdering BF, claims there is evidence of self-defense
Warning: Graphic content, readers’ discretion advised.
MIAMI, FLORIDA: Attorneys for Only Fans model Courtney Clenney, 26, who fatally stabbed her boyfriend Christian 'Toby' Obumseli, 27, on April 3, 2022, have defended her saying she acted in self-defense. Attorney Frank Prieto, who is representing Clenney along with Sabrina Puglisi, said, “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.”
Puglisi said, "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,” Law&Crime reports.
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What did the video show?
Clenney was captured on a surveillance video hitting Obumseli in the elevator of their Miami apartment building, Fox News reports. The video was first played by the Miami-Dade State Attorney Kathie Fernandez Rundle during a press conference on August 11, 2022, when she declared a second-degree murder charge against Clenney, who war arrested four months after Obumseli's death. In the video, Clenney, who was in a white bra and pajama pants, can be seen attacking Obumseli repeatedly with her fists while Obumseli remained defensive as he pushed her back and hit her several times in response. They continued to fight until the elevator door opened, and Obumseli left the elevator. Clenney attempted to hit him again as she followed him out of the elevator. The video was also posted on Twitter by journalist Rosh Lowe.
Video just released. Showing Courtney Clenney and her boyfriend in elevator. Just over a month later Clenney is now accused of stabbing him to death @WPLGLocal10 pic.twitter.com/weqgKA5vec
— Rosh Lowe (@roshloweWPLG) August 11, 2022
Courtney Clenney's attorney to prove she was a victim of abuse
Now, Puglisi and Prieto have claimed that there are three instances they plan to use at trial to prove Clenney was the victim of abuse, as reported by Law&Crime. “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."
On the other hand, Obumseli’s cousin and attorneys said there were six disturbance calls related to the couple placed between January and March 2022. Attorneys for Obumseli’s family said tenants and others called 911 to report violence and threats and that Clenney was at fault. Released 911 audio heard Clenney saying, "Baby, I'm so sorry' after she allegedly stabbed a knife into his shoulder. She didn't tell the operator that she had stabbed him but cried. While Obumseli can be heard crying loudly, "I can't feel my arm." He was taken to the hospital but he died of his injuries, reports DailyMail.
Obumseli's family said the attack was intentional. Family's attorney, Larry Hadfield said, "It shows her state of mind. She’s saying she’s sorry because she’s realizing what she’s done. She’s not saying, 'I was defending myself.'" While Michael Haggard, who is also representing Obumseli’s family, said, "The forensic evidence is clear that [Obumseli] was not an aggressor in any way and that there’s one aggressor in this case." Commenting on the situation, Karen Egbuna, Obumseli’s cousin, said, "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."