From Model to Alleged Murderer — Who Is Courtney Clenney?

On the surface, it seemed like Courtney Clenney had a pretty good life. With over 2 million followers on Instagram and a robust fanbase on OnlyFans, she basically had it made. On top of that, Courtney had recently moved in with her longtime boyfriend, Christian Toby Obumseli. The couple lived in Miami, Fla., a city known for its wild times.

To the casual observer, everything was falling into place for the 26-year-old. So how did she go from OnlyFans model to alleged murderer? Who is Courtney Clenney? Here's what we know.

On Aug. 10, 2022, it was reported by the Hawai‘i Police Department that Courtney Clenney was arrested for the April 2022 murder of her boyfriend, 27-year-old Christian Toby Obumseli. The OnlyFans model was "held at the Hawai’i Police Department‘s East Hawai’i Detention Center pending her initial court appearance in Hilo District Court."

According to Rolling Stone, Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales attributed the four-month gap between Obumseli's murder and Clenney's arrest to a desire to properly build their case against her. "You only get one shot and you wanna get everything right," he told the outlet.

Evidently Clenney was in rehab for PTSD and substance abuse when the arrest was made, which shocked her attorney, Frank Prieto.

Prieto insists that when Clenney stabbed her boyfriend, it was in self-defense. "Obumseli attacked her and choked her that evening; Courtney had no choice but to meet force with force," he told Rolling Stone via email. He went on to say, "We have cooperated with the investigation from the beginning. We have always offered to self-surrender if charges were filed in an effort to begin the legal process of clearing her of the charges." Clenney was extradited to Miami in August 2022.

A judge denied Clenney's bond in a December 2022 hearing after prosecutors argued the money she earned from her OnlyFans account made her a flight risk, per CBS News. In 2020 and 2021 combined, Clenney made nearly $3 million. In all likelihood a good chunk of that will go to her legal team as Clenney has been charged with "second-degree murder with a deadly weapon in the stabbing death of Christian Toby Obumseli," and has plead not guilty. She is currently awaiting trial.

Sources told Local 10 News in Miami that "57-year-old Deborah Clenney and 60-year-old Kim Clenney were arrested just after 2:30 p.m. Tuesday [Jan. 30, 2024] and are being held on an out-of-state felony warrant." CBS News obtained a statement released by Kim and Deborah's attorneys that said they "believe the Clenney family has been targeted with some trumped-up charges to discredit them in the press and make their lives miserable." Courtney has also been included in the arrest warrant affidavit.

Per the warrant, Courtney, Kim, and Deborah are charged with "one count of unauthorized access of a computer, computer system, or electronic device of Christian Obumseli." TMZ was the first to report that Courtney's father allegedly found Obumseli's laptop while cleaning out the apartment and did not hand it over to police. Apparently Courtney then gave her father the password, but he only found crypto exchange on the hard drive. At that time, Kim gave it to Courtney's attorneys.

The couple was arrested in Texas but it remains unclear if they too will be moved to Miami. Larry Handfield, one of the attorneys representing Obumseli's family, told NBC 6 South Florida on their behalf that "[w]e believe it's incriminating evidence and it goes to the cover up which my family has always believed that Mr. Obumseli was the victim in this case."

Per Rolling Stone, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle rolled out an alarming amount of appalling evidence against Clenney. They're alleging that Obumseli was a victim of domestic violence that stretched back as far as the beginning of his relationship with Clenney in November 2020.

Fernandez Rundle produced surveillance footage of an argument between Clenney and Obumseli in the elevator of their apartment building mere weeks before his death. In it, Clenney can be seen leaping onto Obumseli while he tries to fend her off, at one point putting her in a headlock.

Regarding Obumseli's stab wound, Fernandez Rundle said the state medical examiner "found that wound was caused by a downward stroke into Obumseli’s chest, contradicting Clenney’s claim that she’d thrown the knife at Obumseli from about 10 feet away" in an effort to protect herself.

Clenney claimed Obumseli had pushed her against a wall, choking her, but the prosecutor revealed there were no marks on Clenney that would indicate this happened.