Photo: Miami-Dade Corrections
The family of Christian Obumseli is seeking legal action against Courtney Clenney, the OnlyFans model accused of fatally stabbing him over a year ago. On Tuesday (May 9), Michael Haggard, the family's attorney, said they've filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Clenney, who's also facing a second-degree murder charge in her estranged boyfriend's death, per NBC 6.
Obumseli, 27, was found dead in the couple's luxury Miami condo on April 3, 2022, while Clenney was discovered covered in blood. The social media influencer, who has millions of followers across her platforms, wasn't arrested until August of that year.
Miami-Dade prosecutors also claimed that Obumseli was the victim of domestic violence at the hands of Clenney. Several people close to Obumseli and Clenney, as well as police reports and text messages, reveal a pattern of disturbing behavior leading up to the Black man's death.
The lawsuit also names One Paraiso, the property owner of the couple's condo, as well as the management company and security company, as defendants. Haggard claimed they were aware of the history of domestic violence between the two yet did nothing to evict or stop Clenney.
"When you look at the evidence, here you see six calls to the police, six calls from that apartment complex detailing violence, detailing the same aggressor each time," Haggard said. "This was a murder that the civil defendants knew was going to happen. Had the defendants done anything, had they had her evicted, had they had her thrown out, had they been more aggressive with the police and made any actions, this never occurs."
Clenney's legal team has countered the prosecution's claims, stating that Clenney was the victim in the toxic relationship. They also assert their client was defending herself against Obumseli by throwing a knife at his chest. Authorities, however, said the knife was plunged into Obumseli's chest, indicating it wasn't done out of self-defense or by accident.
“The knife entered Christian’s chest in a downward angle to the depth of 3 inches,” Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez-Fundle revealed during a press conference in October 2022.
Clenney's attorneys issued a statement in response to the lawsuit:
"The lawsuit filed by the Obumseli family ignores the fact that Courtney’s actions were taken in self-defense. To be clear, the lawsuit’s timing has nothing to do with the truth or justice; they raced to the courthouse steps in haste just prior to Governor DeSantis signing into law a massive tort reform bill that would limit or eliminate the family’s ability to make a money grab," the statement reads. "The lawsuit also ignores clear evidence that Courtney was abused and that Obumseli was her abuser; Courtney’s actions that evening were taken to save her life."
Reporters also reached out to the companies named in the lawsuit, but either got no response or they declined to comment.
Clenney was denied bond in December and is set to go to trial in July.
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