MIAMI (Court TV) — A woman admitted to killing her boyfriend in court on Monday, but left open the possibility of trying to profit from the crime through future book, film or media deals.
Courtney Clenney pleads guilty in court. (Court TV)
Courtney Clenney, 30, had initially faced a charge of second-degree murder in the death of Christian Obumseli, 27, who was stabbed to death in the couple’s apartment on April 3, 2022. Clenney, who was a popular model on the website OnlyFans under the name “Courtney Tailor” in the months before her arrest, pleaded not guilty and claimed that she used the knife to defend herself from an attack by the victim.
On Monday, prosecutors introduced an amended complaint charging Clenney with one count of manslaughter with a deadly weapon — a first-degree felony typically punishable by up to 30 years in prison. Clenney immediately pleaded guilty to the charge as part of an agreement with the state that stipulated a sentence of six years in prison followed by five years of probation.
The proffer read into the record as part of the agreement stated that Clenney and Obumseli began dating in 2021. “Their relationship is defined by the parties as being extremely tempestuous and combative, as both have been involved in numerous domestic violence incidents,” Judge Andrea Wolfson read into the record. The couple moved into their Miami apartment in January 2022; by the time Obumseli was killed, the complex had already begun eviction proceedings after receiving complaints from security and other residents about the couple’s behavior.
Obumseli suffered a single stab wound to the chest, which the medical examiner said penetrated 8 cm into the victim’s body, puncturing his right subclavian artery. At a previous hearing, Clenney’s attorneys claimed that the defendant threw the knife out of fear.
In a statement read on her behalf, Obumseli’s mother said that she learned her son had died from a phone call on April 4, 2022, asking her to give consent for his eyes to be donated. “I had just talked to him the day before, and had no knowledge that he had been killed,” she said. “Today closes a legal chapter, but it certainly doesn’t close our grief. No sentence, no plea, can bring back my son to me. My only hope is to carry his memory forward and to continue healing as a family. My prayer is that after today, Christian will not simply be remembered by the public as a name connected to a criminal case.”
Larry Handfield, the attorney representing Obumseli’s family, spoke on their behalf at Monday’s hearing. “As a family, we still cannot get past the fact that Christian was stabbed while you remained on the phone with your mom. You then called downstairs to security, and then your third and final call — which should have been your first call — was to 911,” he said. “In the meantime, you offered no lifesaving measures to try to save Christian’s life. To us, that is inhumane.”
Laws in Florida and other states, known as “Son of Sam” laws, seek to prevent convicted killers from profiting from their crimes. Named after the infamous serial killer David Berkowitz, who was called “Son of Sam” during his killing spree in the 1970s, the laws direct any profits from the work to be given to the victims’ families.
Assistant State Attorney Shawn Abuhoff said in court that while the plea agreement contains no provisions preventing Clenney from profiting from her story, his office planned to work with Florida’s attorney general to initiate financial proceedings should she do so. Clenney’s attorney, Frank Prieto, immediately fired back, saying the statutes are unconstitutional and he would fight on his client’s behalf.
The court credited Clenney with the four years she had already served at the Miami-Dade Corrections Center.
