The motion asks a judge to allow jurors to consider text messages, eyewitness testimony and other evidence the defense says supports her claim of self-defense
Credit: Miami-Dade County Corrections
NEED TO KNOW
- OnlyFans model Courtney Clenney is asking a judge to allow a jury to consider text messages and other evidence that her attorneys say support her claim of self-defense
- Clenney’s attorneys say the evidence would help support her planned battered spouse syndrome defense in a new court filing obtained by PEOPLE
- Clenney has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the fatal 2022 stabbing of her boyfriend, Christian Obumseli
As OnlyFans model Courtney Clenney awaits trial in the fatal stabbing of her boyfriend, Christian Obumseli, her attorneys are asking a Florida judge to let jurors hear what they say is evidence supporting her claim that she acted in self-defense.
Clenney’s defense team seeks to introduce text messages, medical records, eyewitness testimony, security reports, police body-camera footage and other evidence they say documents the couple’s relationship and supports her self-defense claim, according to a motion filed on Tuesday, July 7 and obtained by PEOPLE.
The filing asks the court to allow jurors to consider the defense’s account of the relationship before deciding whether the OnlyFans model reasonably believed she was in imminent danger when Obumseli was fatally stabbed on April 3, 2022, the filing states.
In the motion, Clenney’s attorneys argue the evidence paints a broader picture of what they describe as an abusive relationship. The filing argues that jurors should hear testimony from two domestic violence experts alongside text messages and other evidence they contend corroborates Clenney’s version of events.
Credit: Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office
Among the materials referenced in the filing are text message exchanges the defense says followed alleged physical altercations between the couple, as well as records and other documentation that attorneys argue help illustrate the nature of the relationship and support Clenney’s account.
The motion also cites testimony the defense expects to present from witnesses who claim to have observed interactions between the couple or saw Clenney with visible injuries.
Judge Andrea Ricker Woodson has not yet ruled on the motion.
The request comes more than four years after Obumseli’s death inside the Miami condominium he shared with Clenney.
Police responded to the couple’s apartment the day before Obumseli’s death after Clenney told officers she had ended the relationship and wanted him to leave the residence. Officers left after determining Obumseli was a legal resident of the condominium and had not committed an apparent crime, as PEOPLE previously reported.
The following day, Obumseli was fatally stabbed with a kitchen knife inside the couple’s apartment. Clenney told investigators she threw the knife in self-defense.
Prosecutors have disputed her account, citing the Miami-Dade medical examiner’s conclusion that the fatal wound was inconsistent with her description of what happened.
Clenney was arrested four months later at a rehabilitation facility in Hawaii and charged with second-degree murder. She has pleaded not guilty.
Credit: Christian Obumseli/Instagram
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In a previous statement to PEOPLE, Clenney’s attorney, Sabrina Puglisi, described the relationship as “unhealthy” and “marked by aggressive conduct from both parties,” while maintaining that Clenney was the victim of domestic violence.
Attorneys representing Obumseli’s family have rejected the self-defense claim, maintaining that the evidence does not support that theory and that Obumseli was the victim of domestic violence.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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