Prosecutors in Miami released new video of an OnlyFans model in a violent altercation in an elevator with her boyfriend, who she is now accused of murdering.
Courtney Clenney, 26, was charged with one count of second-degree murder in the April stabbing of her boyfriend, Christian “Toby” Obumseli, Miami-Dade County State Attorney Kathy Rundle said during a press conference Thursday.
Rundle played a video of Clenney and Obumseli from February at their apartment building that appears to show Clenney hitting the elevator before she starts striking and shoving Obumseli. It's unclear what happened prior to the couple entering the elevator.
Rundle called the couple's relationship "extremely tempestuous and combative," and said the management of the apartment building they lived in was ready to evict Clenney and Obumseli over multiple instances of loud arguments.
According to an arrest affidavit, Clenney kicked Obumseli out of the apartment during the last week of March, but the couple "rekindled their relationship" two days before his death. Investigators wrote in the affidavit arguments began "almost immediately" after he moved back into the apartment.
Investigators say the day of the alleged murder "began peacefully" as the couple played with their dogs in the apartment. Key fob records indicate Obumseli left the apartment at 1:15 p.m., and returned at 4:32 p.m.
However, investigators believe Clenney stabbed Obumseli sometime between him returning to the apartment and 4:57 p.m., according to the arrest affidavit.
Shortly after Obumseli returned to the apartment, neighbors began calling building security to report a disturbance in the couple's unit, the affidavit said. Security called 911 at 4:46 p.m., and 11 minutes later, Clenney called 911 saying Obumseli had suffered a stab wound and requesting help.
“On that call, (Obumseli) can be heard in the background repeatedly saying he is dying and cannot feel his arm,” the warrant stated, adding that Clenney could be heard saying “I’m so sorry, baby.”
According to the affidavit, Clenney made two phone calls to her mother after Obumseli's arrival at the apartment at 4:32 p.m. and before she called 911 at 4:57 p.m. Clenney's mother said in a statement to police she heard her daughter yelling at Obumseli on at least one of the calls.
Clenney told police she grabbed a kitchen knife after Obumseli shoved her against a wall by her throat.
"Then she says he threw her to the ground but allowed her to get up," Rundle said of Clenney’s police interview. "And it was at that point that Clenney went to a kitchen area and got the knife as Christian sort of approached her. She threw the knife at him from a distance that she’s estimated to be about 10 feet."
Rundle said the chief medical examiner who conducted Obumseli's autopsy disagreed that a throw from that distance could cause the injuries found on Obumseli's body. The medical examiner's report found Obumseli's stab wound was caused by "forceful downward thrust."
Investigators wrote in the affidavit there were no injuries on Clenney's body to corroborate her account.
Frank Prieto, an attorney for Clenney, said in a statement his client was acting in self-defense, and accused prosecutors of taking "the easy way out" in charging Clenney.
"Nobody has ever denied that Courtney and her abuser had a tumultuous relationship," Prieto said. "We are confident she will be exonerated, and Courtney will be seen for what she is: a victim of domestic abuse that survived her abuser."
Larry Handfield, a lawyer representing Obumseli’s family, told NBC News Clenney had a “history of being the aggressor” throughout the couple’s relationship.
"What you saw in the elevator was just an isolated glimpse of a pattern of conduct that was demonstrated by the defendant in this case," Handfield said.
The Hawai'i Police Department said in a statement the U.S. Marshals Service arrested Clenney on Wednesday at an "undisclosed location" in Laupahoehoe, on the island of Hawai'i. She will be extradited to Florida, according to police.
