Left: Courtney Clenney shown in an exhibit played in court (Law&Crime Network). Right: Clenney and Christian Obumseli (Instagram).
A yearslong legal saga in the Sunshine State has all but drawn to a close as attorneys for the one-time OnlyFans model accused of killing her boyfriend have reached a plea deal with prosecutors in Miami.
Courtney Clenney, 30, also known online as Courtney Tailor, stands accused of murder in the second degree over the stabbing death of Christian Tobechukwu "Toby" Obumseli, 27, a cryptocurrency trader with whom she lived in a luxury penthouse apartment. Clenney has long maintained she stabbed Obumseli in self-defense.
On Friday afternoon, weeks ahead of her scheduled trial, one of Clenney's attorneys, Sabrina Puglisi, told Court TV that the defense and the state had reached an agreement to resolve the case.
How, exactly, that resolution will be effectuated is currently unclear.
"The terms of the agreement are not final until accepted by the Court," a statement prepared by the Prieto Law Firm and Puglisi Carames Law that was obtained by Law&Crime reads.
The defense offered a broad-strokes recitation of the case up to now.
"Ms. Clenney, 30, has been in custody since August 2022 in connection with the April 3, 2022 death of Christian Obumseli at the Miami apartment she rented," the statement goes on. "We will reserve further comment on the specific terms until they are placed on the record before the Court on August 10, 2026. The firm asks that the public and the media allow the legal process to conclude and refrain from speculation until the agreement is formally presented."
In a separate comment to Law&Crime, Puglisi said the plea deal "just happened" on Friday afternoon. The defense attorney went on to say the formal plea hearing and subsequent sentencing will both occur on Aug. 10 and that "both families will be in attendance."
When asked about the major development in the high-profile case, the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office told Law&Crime, "This is an open criminal case and it would be inappropriate to comment."
If the parties adhere to the above schedule, the pretrial process will have lasted exactly four years, four months, and one week.
The case has traveled a long-and-winding road over that time period.
While the defendant never disputed that she was responsible for the victim's blade-inflicted injuries, prosecutors said it was a "forced downward thrust" that sliced open an artery near Obumseli's heart, while Clenney allegedly first told police she had thrown the knife at her boyfriend when he was 10 feet away.
Meanwhile, Clenney's lawyers poured the foundation of a self-defense claim immediately after she was arrested in Laupahoehoe, Hawaii in August 2022. She was extradited back to Florida that same month.
"We are completely shocked at Courtney's arrest based upon the clear evidence of self defense in this matter," defense attorney Frank Prieto told Law&Crime. "Obumseli attacked her and choked her that evening; Courtney had no choice but to meet force with force."
In October 2022, police-worn body camera footage was released from the night of the slaying where Clenney is heard telling officers that Obumseli had been "stalking" her. At one point in the video, she says, "I want a restraining order against Christian Obumseli."
November 2022 was a busy month in the case.
First, recordings were released, and they purported to show Clenney frequently berating Obumseli. Those recordings are said to have been made by the slain man using a hidden cellphone. Then, a series of images were released showing bruises all over Clenney's body. After that, the judge overseeing the case excluded recordings of private conversations between the star-crossed couple. The momentous month ended with a contentious bond hearing that included the defendant's parents. The court ultimately left Clenney behind bars.
As the case dragged on, and more and more evidence trickled out, Clenney's defense attorneys reiterated the self-defense claim.
In early 2024, Clenney's parents were arrested in Austin, Texas, on out-of-state felony warrants for computer crimes. Prosecutors similarly leveled the new allegation against Clenney, claiming the trio committed the crime of unauthorized or excessive computer access.
The charges related to a laptop that belonged to Obumseli, the warrants allege. Clenney allegedly helped her parents access the computer, with the aid of her attorneys, by way of a group chat in which the elder Clenneys and four attorneys participated.
In July 2024, the computer crimes case was dropped.
Clenney's trial was slated to begin in April of this year. Early that month, the trial was pushed back to begin sometime this summer, presumably in August, on a joint motion to continue the trial.
In July, the defense filed a motion that said Clenney intended to take the stand in her own defense "regarding numerous specific instances of violent and abusive conduct." Attached to the defense motion was a copy of a 2020 misdemeanor arrest warrant for Obumseli on charges of cruelty to nonlivestock animals which was issued in Austin.
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