OnlyFans Star Said It Was Self-Defense, Evidence Says Otherwise | Courtney Clenney Case

Now part of the Darkcast Network. Welcome to Indie Podcasts with a Dark side. This case starts out with a quote, baby, I’m so sorry. Those were the words on a 911 call placed at 4:57pm on April 3, 2022, from a high rise apartment in Miami, Florida.

Courtney Clenney was on the line crying and yelling for help while her boyfriend Christian Tobechukwu “Toby” Obumseli lay on the floor with a stab wound. In the background, Christian can be heard saying, quote, I can’t feel my arm, while Courtney tells dispatchers, quote, please, my boyfriend is dying of a stab wound.

What she didn’t say during that call was that she was the one who stabbed him. Welcome, lambs. Welcome to Love and Murder, Heartbreak to Homicide, your weekly true crime podcast telling you cases of relationships that turn to murder. I am, um, your host, Ky, and today I’m bringing you a case that is literally how I describe the podcast every week. A relationship that turned to murder. This case would turn into one built on recordings, conflicting stories, and a relationship that had already been unraveling long before this moment. But before we get into it, if you want more cases, deeper breakdowns, and the conversations I don’t always put out on the public feed, then join me over in the LaM Fam on our patreon patreon.com/loveandmurder that’s where you’ll find bonus episodes, the after shows, case files, and the unfiltered Ky Rants that I don’t put out for the public. Patreon.com/loveandmurder it’s also how we keep this podcast listener funded while continuing to amplify victims voices one more time. Patreon.com/loveandmurder now, without further ado, let’s get back to this case of love and murder. Courtney was born on April 21, 1996 in Midland, Texas, before her family moved to Austin when she was seven. Driven by a desire for fame and fortune inspired by Kim Kardashian, she eventually moved to Los Angeles to pursue a, uh, career as a social media influencer and actress, appearing in films like Boyhood and Everybody Wants Some. While she initially struggled financially, even working at a strip club in Austin, which her parents disapproved of, she eventually found, uh, massive success on OnlyFans under the name Courtney Taylor. By 2021, she was raking in a staggering $1.8 million a year from the site, amassing, uh, millions of followers. Her brand was sex appeal and spectacle. Her life, for better or worse, was content. Christian was quieter Than this. Courtney and 27 year old Christian met in November 2020. At the time, Christian was working as a cryptocurrency trader, though his cousin later reported that they’d met during a, quote, very financially vulnerable stage of his life because he had been laid off during the pandemic. His family and friends described him as a kind man who loved fiercely and traveled often with Courtney to support her career, even acting as her manager at times. However, those close to the couple and their neighbors tell a story of a, ah, deeply, quote, toxic and stormy two year relationship. In Austin, neighbors complained of loud, aggressive disputes, with one resident even reporting that a painting was thrown onto his balcony during one of their fights. The violence wasn’t just verbal. In July 2021, Courtney was arrested in Las Vegas for domestic battery after Christian told police that she threw a glass at him. A fellow OnlyFans creator, Patricia Kratuek, I think that’s how you say the name, said that she witnessed the couple on a content trip in the summer of 2021. She said that Christian provided Courtney with drugs, which would set off a, ah, quote with different personality in her.

After moving into a luxury apartment at 1 Paragio in Miami, Florida in early 2022, the building staff actually moved to evict them because of the constant domestic disturbance complaints. Surveillance footage from February 2022 even showed

Courtney viciously attacking Christian in an elevator,

slapping him and pulling his hair while he tried to fend her off.

I actually have, um, stills of that

encounter in the Patreon, as well as video and police body cam footage and more information about this case.

Patreon.com/loveandmurder you can actually get this starting at the $3 a month tier and above.

Around that same time, Christian sent a text message where he wrote, quote, is love going to kill me?

After claiming that Courtney had previously slapped him, spat on him and even stabbed him. The days leading up to the killing were equally as chaotic. On April 1, 2022, two days before the stabbing, Christian moved back into the apartment after a brief breakup.

Then on April 2, police were called out again.

Body cam footage shows Courtney appearing intoxicated and upset in the lobby, begging officers for a restraining order and describing Christian as stalking her and sleeping in her elevator room. That same day, Courtney sent an email to build in management, downplaying a physical altercation that security claimed to have seen, insisting Christian had not charged at her and that there was, quote, nothing physical whatsoever. Despite all of that, by the next day, April 3, they were back together in the apartment. After two phone calls to her mother, Deborah Clenney, between 4:43pm and 4:49pm during which time Debra reportedly heard shouting. Courtney stabbed Christian in the chest with a kitchen knife. When police arrived, they found Courtney covered in blood and cradling Christian’s head on the floor. He was rushed to the hospital, but died from a single 3 inch deep wound that punctured his heart and a major artery. Now I also have stills and video from the body cam footage of this incident. So as soon as police came out after she called them. So all of that, I have stills and footage, footage in the Patreon. During her initial statements, Courtney admitted that she stabbed him, but claimed it was self defense. She told investigators that Christian had been choking her and she responded by throwing a kitchen knife at him from about 10ft away.

And she threw it so hard and so expertly that it went through his rib cage and right into his heart. Unfortunately for her, the investigation quickly began to poke holes in that story. The Miami Dade medical examiner, uh, Dr. Kenneth Hutchins, reported that the wound was not consistent with a thrown knife. Instead, he described it as a, quote, forceful downward thrust. He said that the wound was 4.4 cm in length with sutures and showed, uh, no contusion or abrasions around the entry point, suggesting a clean, sharp force injury. Investigators also began reviewing evidence from Christian’s phone, which gave them a closer look at the relationship leading up to the stabbing. Apparently while Courtney and Christian were arguing, he secretly recorded every one of them and it painted Courtney as the primary aggressor. In those recordings, she can be heard yelling and using racial slurs and telling him to man up.

In one clip, sounds of physical violence can be heard, followed by Christian saying, quote, stop hitting me. In one of those secret recordings, Courtney is heard screaming after she jumped out of their car to physically hit a motorist in another vehicle during a traffic dispute. And then she berated Christian for telling her that she should apologize to the man. Other recordings captured her saying things like, shut up and let me effing slap you and decide if you’re done gaslighting me. In August 2022, Courtney was arrested at a rehab facility in Hawaii, where she was reportedly being treated for substance abuse and ptsd. She was extradited to Florida and charged with second degree murder with a deadly weapon. She has remained behind bars without bond ever since, with judges repeatedly ruling she’s a flight risk due to her millions of dollars in earnings and the fact that she and her parents have the financial means to facilitate an Escape. Prosecutors pointed to these recordings as evidence that Courtney was the aggressor in the relationship. But the defense pushed back on that, arguing that the recordings were, quote, one sided, cherry picked and taken out of context. They claim Christian would mentally manipulate and provoke Kourtney until she reached a break in point, specifically so he could report her outbursts and use it against her later. Which to be fair, I have actually experienced this happening to me, so this could be believable. But then again, there are recordings of her jumping out of a car and berating a passenger or a driver, another driver, and I don’t think it was Christian who provoked that.

So. Mhm.

It could totally be that she was the aggressor and he was recording it to protect himself, or it could be a little of both, or it could be that, you know what the defense said the prosecutor’s case rests on the medical evidence and the recordings of Courtney’s outburst to prove that she was the abuser in the relationship. They brought forth that Courtney had previously stabbed Christian in the leg and sliced his lip with a blade during earlier disputes. Then my question goes to Christian, why did you stay there? You had every opportunity to get out. I mean, before this happened, you were out. Why did you keep coming back? And again, not victim blaming. I’m simply trying to understand. I don’t understand this. Detective Jermaine Briseno testified that while he initially considered a self defense claim, fresh evidence led him to conclude that Christian was always the one trying to calm situations down and that Courtney was, quote, unable to control herself and hurt him.

After Courtney’s arrest, prosecutors clarified that she cleared $1.8 million, $1,806,003 in 2021 and uh, $966,692 in 2020. Investigators also looked into her financial activities and they found that more than $1.1 million had been transferred to her father, Kim Clenney, shortly after the stabbing. Prosecutors argued that this could have been an attempt to move or hide assets. Kim said that he managed some of Courtney’s finances and said that he had a finance degree and worked as a professional financial advisor for the last 15 years.

He also testified that Courtney had wired large sums of money out of her own accounts and into his accounts beginning May 12, 2022, just nine days after the stabbing. These transfers included amounts such as $121,000, $1,013,000 and $50,000. These transfers left her account with only a few thousand dollars and that she had about $375,000 in equity in a new home. That’s when Kim said that some of that money was used to purchase a new home located on a peaceful cul de sac in Austin, Texas. The defense, led by attorneys Frank Prieto and Sabrina Puglisi, maintains that Courtney was a victim of domestic violence acting in self defense.

Attorney Puglisi even said that Courtney often protected Christian and didn’t report his abuse because she feared that as, uh, a black man, he might be harmed or killed if arrested by police. They argue that Courtney’s hysterical sobbing and pleas for paramedics to hurry on the 911 call shows that she was desperate to save his life. Attorney Prito said that she called 911 right away, which is, quote, not someone that stabbed somebody and didn’t care. The prosecution came back and pointed out that Courtney never mentioned defending herself during the 911 call. The defense even hired a, uh, knife throwing expert who used hog skin to demonstrate that it is possible for a, uh, thrown knife to inflict such a deep wound. This is an expert who can make this happen, not a woman who’s supposedly in a panic chucking a knife from 10ft away. So that’s not the same. They’ve also accused the prosecution of misconduct, specifically regarding a, uh, quote, hacking scandal. Then regarding the elevator footage of Courtney hitting Christian, the defense maintains that, quote, it lacks context and shows her reacting to his previous aggression or trying to get away from him. I don’t think that’s what that shows. It more showed him trying to get away from her. If you see the video or you can go to the Patreon to see the video, let me know what you think in the comments below. Did it look like he was the aggressor and she was trying to get away from him, or did it look like she was the aggressor and he was trying to get away from her? During bond hearings, the defense suggested the state had overcharged her with second degree murder, arguing that at the very most, Courtney’s actions constituted manslaughter or reckless conduct rather than intentional murder. As the case moved forward, the investigation started expanding into what happened after Christian died, specifically involving his personal devices. Months after the stabbing, investigators were still trying to access information from phones and computers connected to the case. In February 2023, after being unable to unlock certain devices, a judge approved a warrant that gave law enforcement access to icloud, uh, accounts tied to Courtney and her parents. Once they got in, they recovered thousands of messages. And inside those messages, investigators found conversations about Christian’s laptop According to the warrant, these were discussions between Courtney, her parents, and people connected to her legal team about trying to access the device. One message shows Kim asking if anyone had, quote, any potential passwords for the laptop. Another response indicated that there were already a list of possible passwords that could be provided. Another message said, I’d also like for you to have the laptop soon so you can see if there’s anything of use to us on it at some point. The group appears to have successfully gotten into the computer, because in one message, Kim responded, hell, yeah, that pin worked. M Prosecutors allege that from September 23, 2022, to at least July 25, 2023, Courtney, her parents, and others, quote, accessed or caused to be accessed Christian’s laptop without permission from the victim or his estate to. To access it after his death. I mean, really, um, his after his death. So you wouldn’t get permission from the victim. That was just a weird way to put it. So it would just be that they didn’t get access from his estate, not from the victim, seen as the victim is dead. I’m sorry I was being nitpicky, but that was just a weird way to put it. Investigators trace the timeline guesses at pins in September 22, a handoff of the laptop from Miami to Texas. In October, an IT consultant in Miami later cloning and searching electronics. In mid 2023, there were also gaps in the icloud returns, months of messages missing. Between two warrant returns, which raised questions about deletions or missing backups. The state attorney’s office used a, uh, digital forensics expert to process the downloads and filter privileged communications. The filtered reader is what investigators used to find the incriminating threats. Now, Florida law makes it a third degree felony to willfully and knowingly access a computer without authorization or to exceed unauthorized access. Based on that, in early 2024, prosecutors charged Courtney, who was already in jail, along with her parents, Deborah and Kim, with unauthorized access to a computer. Her parents were arrested in Austin, Texas, and faced extradition to Miami. Once the digital evidence surfaced, the courtroom turned into a second battlefield. Judges and prosecutors sparred over what could be used at trial. The defense pushed back hard on those charges. They described them as an overreach and argued that the family was being targeted. They said that some messages were privileged attorney client communications and that prosecutors had improperly collected or viewed them. Attorneys said the charges looked like an attempt to control the narrative around the case. M A judge later ruled that some of those communications were protected by client attorney privilege. And because of that, the court allowed questions about how that information was handled, and the lead prosecutor, Khalil Quinnan, stepped down from the case after being ordered to be deposed. Because attorney Quinnan had personally viewed the privileged defense documents, a judge ruled that he could be deposed by the defense, and that’s why he stepped down, to avoid becoming a witness in the very case he was prosecuted. In his withdrawal, he stated that he hopes stepping aside will allow the case to refocus on what truly matters. Justice for Christian Obumseli. In July 2024, the state officially dropped the computer hacking charges against the Clenney family because of the aforementioned privilege violations. Kim said that the charges were a weak attempt by prosecutors to strengthen a murder case they didn’t believe in, while the defense argued the move was a, uh, power play intended to, quote, discredit the family in the press. Despite the charges being dropped, the evidence seized, excluding the privileged materials, remain in the state’s possession for use in the murder trial. However, the fallout from these issues caused significant delays. The defense also filed motions trying to have the entire state’s attorney’s office removed from the case. They argued that because the prosecution had seen their private strategies, a fair trial was no longer possible under the Florida or US constitutions. As of early 2026, the court was still resolving these disqualification motions, which must be settled before it is known if the current office or an entirely different state attorney’s office will handle the trial. There was also disputes over evidence, including claims from the defense that a civilian witness. Now, again, this is claims from the defense. I’m not saying this actually happened.

That a civilian witness, which was the first person to arrive at the apartment after the stabbing, had been told by police to delete photos and videos from the scene. According to filings, that witness said he was instructed to delete recordings he had taken, uh, shortly after the stabbing. As those issues played out, the timeline for the trial continuously kept shifting. At one point, a, uh, trial date was set for April 2026, but it was later pushed back to a, uh, tentative August 2026 start due to ongoing motions and unresolved legal questions. This delay was prompted by a joint motion from both the prosecution and the defense after several witnesses failed to appear for scheduled depositions. As of the most recent update, no final trial date has been confirmed, and the case remains pending. During a motions hearing in February 2026, Courtney, who was now 29, drew significant media attention for blowing kissy faces, pursing her lips, and sticking out her tongue while waiting for the proceedings to begin. Doesn’t sound like she’s taking this too seriously. Another recent update to the case was when the defense tried to remove a, uh, state expert, Dr. Michael Brannon, due to a decades old conflict with their own expert, Dr. Lenore Walker. We’re adults here, are we not? So because they have a feud, let’s remove one of them and buy one of them. I mean, the prosecution’s expert. Why can’t you remove your expert? Or to be fair, why don’t you both remove your experts and get another one? But to be fair, fear m. Why don’t we just act like adults?

This is a case about somebody who was killed, and we’re worrying about decades old feuds, conflicts, or whatever you want to call them. Well, the judge denied this request allowing both to participate. While all of that is happening in the court, both sides continue to build their arguments around what happened in the relationship leading up to August 3rd. Prosecutors have maintained that the stabbing was not an isolated moment. They argue that it was a result of a pattern, pointing to previous incidents, the elevated footage and the recordings from Christian’s phone as evidence that Courtney was the aggressor. They also point to the medical examiner’s findings, saying the wound itself contradicts her claim that a knife was thrown. On the other side, the defense continues to argue that Courtney acted in self defense. They say the relationship was toxic and that she was the one being abused. They point to the police interactions, uh, just days before the stabbing where she was asking for a restraining order and saying she felt unsafe. Yeah, but then what about after that? Like literally right after that, where she was telling, um, the maintenance person that things aren’t as they seem, nothing bad’s going on. You know what? I take that back because a lot of people in domestic abuse cases do that. So still on defense here. And by the way, that’s not me agreeing with the defense or the prosecution. That’s why I said still on the fence here.

The defense also said that they intend to call their own medical examiner to testify that the state’s forensic findings are incorrect and that the wound is consistent with a thrown blade. Even the 911 call has been interpreted in two completely different ways. The defense says that her crying and repeated pleas for help shows that she didn’t intend to kill him and but she was trying to save his life. Prosecutors, along with the Obumseli family attorney, argue that her repeated apologies of uh, baby, I’m so sorry reflect someone realizing what they had just done, not someone acting in self-defense. The victim’s family says that the recordings and texts show a pattern of abuse and that the laptop and other evidence are part of a, uh, broader effort to hide wrongdoings. Their attorney has said that the family, quote, is at least satisfied that justice is being served by the additional cyber charges against Courtney. Now, this legal battle has been a long and winding road which a, uh, frustrated judge Andrea Riker Wilson warned must not turn into a telenovela and that they must eventually, quote, fish or cut bait. Now, I just want to mention this. I remember that I said a previous case was like a telenovela due to the circumstances. And I was met with some comments, just some, um, telling me that I was making light of the situation because I was saying it was like a telenovela, which, you know, I ignored them. But I say all this to point out the fact that a judge is saying the same thing. So if you’re listening, people who had a problem with me making that analogy before, is she making light of this case? As of now, Courtney remains in custody at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional center in Miami Dade county while she awaits her trial. She was also again denied bond on December 18, 2025. And with that said, I want to remind you that everything said here is alleged because this case is still going on and I don’t want to be sued for my opinion. Everything said here is alleged, and the little parts that I entered in there as my personal opinion has nothing to do with the case. Pretrial motions over privilege, evidence and prosecutorial conduct will shape what a jury sees. Trials, appeals, and a procedural ruling will test the strength of the state’s digital evidence and the defense’s claims. Also, Courtney’s influencer status amplified the story and complicated the jury of public opinion.

For the families involved, no verdict will erase the loss or the public scrutiny. And for anyone else experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic violence hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or go to thehotline.org domestic violence is not something to give excuses for or to stay in. So at least, at the very least, talk to somebody. All calls are toll free and confidential, and the hotline is available 24. 7 in more than 170 languages. And if you want more resources, you can visit my [email protected] that’s love and murder backwards, murderandlove.com and there are more resources available for whatever situation you’re going through with. That being said, I do want to hear from you, the fictional Lamb jury. Do you think it was self-defense or do you believe the evidence shows something more intentional.

Let me know your comments below and I will keep an eye out on this case. As I told you, there is no information on when the trial will be, so I’m going to have to put out an alert for this case. thank you so much for being here. Thank you for listening and thank you for caring about these stories. And as we also end each full episode, I want to remind you that it’s say it with me now. All love and no murder, y’All. Bye.

Past Cases Mentioned in this Episode:

Telenovela – Dora Cisneros
https://murderandlove.com/telenovela-dora-cisneros/ 

Sources: (what the sources say)

https://lawandcrime.com/crime/lawyers-knives-and-money-courtney-clenney-bond-hearing-focuses-on-onlyfans-models-finances-and-how-her-ex-boyfriend-died-as-judge-weighs-pre-trial-release/

https://www.courttv.com/news/new-trial-date-but-no-bond-for-onlyfans-model-courtney-clenney/

https://nypost.com/2022/11/15/onlyfans-star-courtney-clenney-raked-in-3m-before-killing-boyfriend-prosecutors/

https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-11332817/Courtney-Clenney-told-boyfriend-baby-Im-sorry-stabbing-death-911-audio-reveals.html

https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-11384503/Model-Courtney-Clenney-admits-HIT-boyfriend-secret-recording-verbally-abuses-him.html

https://www.courttv.com/news/courtney-clenneys-murder-trial-delayed-until-summer/

https://thecinemaholic.com/courtney-clenney/

https://blacknews.com/news/courtney-clenney-white-model-killed-black-boyfriend-makes-kissy-faces-sticks-out-tongue-court-hearing/

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article312512111.html

https://www.the-sun.com/news/13911732/courtney-clenney-onlyfans-house-sale-murder-trial-christian-obumseli/

https://www.fox7austin.com/news/onlyfans-model-courtney-clenney-murder-case-bond-hearing

https://www.courttv.com/news/frustrated-judge-tells-clenney-attorneys-the-case-wont-be-a-telenovela/

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article301381604.html

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article267816837.html