Courtney Clenney Pleads Not Guilty to Miami Murder, Once Charged in Vegas Fight

Posted on: September 1, 2022, 09:49h. 

Last updated on: September 1, 2022, 12:01h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More

Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

Social media celebrity Courtney Clenney entered a not guilty plea Wednesday for the murder of her boyfriend at their Miami apartment. The couple had a tumultuous two-year relationship that includes an assault at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.

Clenney, 26, now faces a second-degree murder charge for the April 3 Florida stabbing of Christian “Toby” Obumseli, 27. She was arrested on Aug. 10 and has been extradited from Hawaii to Florida to stand trial.

On Wednesday, Clenney’s attorney, Frank Prieto, entered the plea for her in Florida Circuit Court. She was not present for the hearing before Judge Diana Vizcaino.

Prieto claimed Clenney was acting in self-defense in the stabbing. He has said the legal team will “mount a vigorous defense in her favor,” the Daily Mail reported.

In her version of events, Obumseli grabbed her throat and pushed her up against a wall. In response, she allegedly threw a kitchen knife from 10 feet away at Obumseli. It seriously wounded him in the chest. He later died.

Clenney remains at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami. She is being held without bail.

Autopsy Gives Another Story

An autopsy disputes her version of events, authorities said. Obumseli’s family also grew impatient with the progress of the investigation and prosecution. Jeff Obumseli, the brother of the victim, employed an attorney to reportedly pressure prosecutors to arrest her.

Following the stabbing, Clenney left Florida for Hawaii. She was on the Pacific islands to get inpatient treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and drug abuse, Prieto has revealed.

Las Vegas Assault Details

Clenney was charged in Las Vegas with domestic battery in July 2021, when the couple was staying at The Cosmopolitan, KLAS, a local TV station, reported. The charge was later dropped.

She allegedly tossed a glass at Obumseli’s head on July 27 after the two got into a dispute. Clenney also admitted to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) that she had pushed Obumseli, the report said. But Obumseli allegedly grabbed her by the hair and put his fist up to her neck, KLAS said.

Prieto has called Obumseli “an abuser,” the New York Post reported. “He would manipulate and abuse Courtney in private when he thought nobody was around,” Prieto said.

Prieto is a former Florida prosecutor who now largely represents criminal defendants in Florida.

Clenney is well-known among social media followers. She has two million followers on Instagram, and also appears on OnlyFans. She also uses the name Courtney Tailor on social media.

Options for Domestic Violence

Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle has acknowledged the couple had a tumultuous relationship. But she said options were available to them.

The violent and toxic 2-year relationship of these individuals did not have to end in tragedy with Christian’s murder as a victim of domestic violence,” Fernandez Rundle said in a Facebook post.

There are counseling options for domestic abuse victims. One is the National Domestic Violence Hotline.