Model's Parents Arrested for Alleged Evidence Tampering in Murder Case
Originally appeared on E! Online
Further arrests have been made in Courtney Clenney's ongoing murder case.
Kim and Deborah Clenney, the parents of the OnlyFans model accused of fatally stabbing her boyfriend Christian Obumseli in 2022, have been arrested and accused of evidence tampering in connection with the case. They were booked into the Travis County Jail in Texas on Jan. 30, the Miami-Dade State's Attorney's Office confirmed to NBC News.
Kim and Deborah Clenney are accused of knowingly accessing unauthorized evidence—specifically, a computer, according to the attorney's office.
Authorities said the couple accessed Christian's laptop after his death, per warrants obtained by NBC News Miami. Investigators received warrants for the parents' iCloud accounts which allegedly included messages with their lawyers about how to access the laptop, with Kim saying he correctly guessed the pin passcode.
"Kim. Hold off on going through the computer please," one attorney responded, per the warrant. "I don't want to turn you into a witness just yet if you find something useful."
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Kim allegedly responded saying he "didn't see anything" because he never opened a file.
"I had barely opened it and was starting to poke around," he wrote, "but we started a video call so I stopped."
The laptop was later handed over to defense attorneys, per the outlet.
E! News has reached out to Courtney's lawyer as well as local Miami PD for comment but has not yet heard back. E! News has not been able to locate contact information for Courtney's parents.
In response to the allegations, an attorney for Courtney told NBC Miami, "The Clenney family has been targeted with some trumped up charges to discredit them in the press and make their lives miserable."
"It appears excessive in that the family is now confined in jail awaiting an extradition hearing," the statement continued, "on what may be an attempt to manipulate media headlines and discredit them before Thursday's scheduled hearing on a gag order in the case."
In August 2022, Courtney, 26, was arrested and charged with one count of second-degree murder with a deadly weapon after she stabbed Christian during a domestic incident that April. Christian, 27, was taken to a hospital but subsequently died of his injuries.
Shortly after her arrest, Courtney pleaded not guilty to her charge of second-degree murder via a written plea.
Since then, Courtney has maintained that she acted in self-defense, with her attorney Frank Prieto reiterating the claim in a statement to E! News after her arrest.
"Obumseli attacked her and choked her that evening; Courtney had no choice but to meet force with force," the lawyer said at the time. "There is no doubt the two of them had a tumultuous relationship; moreover, there is evidence that Courtney was a victim of physical, emotional, and mental abuse at the hands of Obumseli."
He added, "Courtney was clearly defending herself. We will vigorously defend Courtney and clear her of this unfounded and baseless charge."
Christian's family and legal team, however, have argued otherwise.
In an April 2022 interview with Rolling Stone, the Obumseli family's attorney Larry Handfield alleged the attack was "unprovoked," while Christian's brother Jeffrey Obumseli said in an Aug. 2022 statement on InstAgram that his brother was "unarmed when Clenney brutally stabbed him in the chest from behind."
(E! News and NBC News are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
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