Instagram personality charged with murder months after allegedly fatally stabbing boyfriend
Social media personality Courtney Clenney has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder with a deadly weapon, months after the death of her 27-year-old boyfriend Christian Obumseli.
The 26-year-old, who goes under the name Courtney Tailor on Instagram, was arrested in Laupahoehoe, Hawaii, Wednesday after Miami-Dade County prosecutors issued a warrant for her arrest in the April 3 stabbing, police said.
Miami-Dade County's chief medical examiner determined Obumseli's cause of death was a stab to the chest with a knife, which punctured his subclavian artery, Katherine Rundle, the Miami-Dade state attorney, said at a press conference Thursday.
The stab wound was the result of a forceful downward thrust, just over 3 inches into the artery, Rundle said.
Rundle alleged Obumseli and Clenney were involved in an "extremely tempestuous combative" relationship since November 2020.
"It was learned that the security and building staff at the Miami apartment documented many incidents of loud arguments between the couple after they moved into the building in January 2022. Tenants as far as an apartment two floors above were making complaints to security and building management about the noises and the ruckus," Rundle said.
Building management was going to evict the couple due to the many complaints, Rundle said.
Rundle said tenants called the building manager the day of the stabbing to report a disturbance. The manager then called 911. Eleven minutes later, Clenney called 911, notifying them that Obumseli was stabbed and needed help, Rundle said.
Obumseli can be heard on the 911 call repeatedly saying that he was dying and he was losing feeling in his arm, according to Rundle. Clenney is heard saying, "I'm so sorry, baby," Rundle said.
According to Rundle, Clenney told police that Obumseli shoved her against the wall by the neck but he did not choke her and then claimed he threw her to the ground but allowed her to get up. Rundle added that Clenney moved to the kitchen and grabbed a knife. As he approached her, Clenney alleged that she threw the knife from a distance of about 10 feet, Rundle said.
The medical examiner said throwing the knife from that distance would not have caused the fatal stab wound, according to Rundle.
Clenney has alleged the stabbing was in self-defense but police said they observed no injuries on Clenney that would have corroborated her account. Clenney also allegedly provided several inconsistent accounts about the incident itself and never stated that Obumseli was armed with any type of weapon, Rundle said.
Clenney's attorney, Frank Prieto, has also claimed the fatal April 3 stabbing was self-defense, saying Clenney's allegatio. aligned with evidence found at the scene, he said in an NewsNation interview posted on his website.
Miami Police Chief Chief Manny Morales alleged that Clenney lied about being thrown to the ground the day of the stabbing, he told reporters.
Clenney is being held at the Hawai'i Police Department's East Hawai'i Detention Center pending her initial court appearance. Rundle said Thursday that Clenney has not yet appeared in court.
Clenney will be given the option to waive or contest extradition when she appears in court. Clenney's attorney has told officials she intends to waive extradition, which would allow officials to facilitate her return to Florida, Rundle said.
Clenney was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service with assistance from members of the Hawaii Police Department, Hawaii police said in a press release.
Rundle also showed elevator footage of the couple dated Feb. 21 in which Clenney appears to physically attack Obumseli repeatedly. Rundle said the evidence suggested Clenney was being violent toward Obumseli.
Police had also responded to arguments at the apartment on April 1, two days before the stabbing, Rundle said.
Prieto said Clenney was placed under a mental health hold on the night of the stabbing and she was "completely distraught" in the interview. Prieto said Clenney was released to her family within 48 hours. Prieto did not immediately respond to ABC News' requests for comment.
