Attorneys for Courtney Clenney, the OnlyFans model charged with second-degree murder in the 2022 death of her boyfriend Christian Obumseli, are mounting an aggressive pretrial push — seeking to introduce evidence of a prior animal-cruelty warrant against the victim while also challenging how prosecutors are presenting elevator surveillance footage.
In a July 1 filing in Miami-Dade criminal court, Clenney’s lawyers asked a judge to permit them to introduce a 2020 Travis County, Texas arrest warrant that accused Obumseli of cruelty to a nonlivestock animal, a Class A misdemeanor. The defense argues the warrant should be admissible if prosecutors characterize Obumseli as peaceful or nonviolent.
According to the defense filing, the warrant stemmed from apartment staff discovering Obumseli’s dead dog, Halo, locked inside a kennel in a closet after an apartment had been abandoned. Investigators reportedly found food but no water, along with feces near the animal. A veterinary pathologist determined the dog most likely died from dehydration due to water deprivation, with investigators believing the dog had been dead between five and seven days before discovery. The filing also states Obumseli gave “vague, confusing, and conflicting” accounts about the dog’s death. The warrant does not indicate how the case was ultimately resolved.
Separately, in a June 29 filing, the defense challenged prosecutors’ use of elevator surveillance footage from February 2022. While the state alleges the video shows Clenney striking Obumseli and pulling his hair before the doors open, her lawyers argue the footage is being presented out of context. The defense claims earlier portions show Clenney entering the elevator barefoot, partially clothed, and without keys, wallet, or phone — with a bleeding foot. They say Obumseli later entered the elevator behind her despite her repeatedly pressing buttons to close the doors, then maneuvered around her and appeared to place her in a headlock.
Clenney, who has pleaded not guilty, was arrested four months after the April 2022 stabbing at a Hawaii rehabilitation facility. Prosecutors have disputed her self-defense account, with the Miami-Dade medical examiner concluding the fatal wound was inconsistent with her version of events.
