A lawyer representing slain Miami 27-year-old Christian Tobechukwu “Toby” Obumseli‘s family says Obumseli’s girlfriend, Instagram model Courtney Clenney, “will be arrested” in connection to his April 3 stabbing death.
Authorities have not formally charged any suspects in Obumseli’s fatal stabbing after Clenney claimed self-defense, but the victim’s brother, Jeffrey Obumseli, said he believes Clenney was not charged due to her “privilege as a wealthy White woman” in an April Instagram post.
“[I]t received national exposure and outcry from…everyone who believed it was clear she is being treated with privilege,” Obumseli family lawyer Larry Handfield told Fox News Digital of the case. “She had been treated contrary to [how] any other person would have been treated. And so at this point, I am confident that if a total objective, clear investigation is done, that she will be arrested.”
Christian Tobechukwu Obumseli suffered “an apparent knife wound” in a domestic violence incident Sunday, according to Miami police.
(Instagram/@christianvstoby)
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Handfield noted that Clenney had an open bench warrant from 2015 against her out of Los Angeles, California, for driving while intoxicated.
The attorney also said the Miami Police Department had “no other choice but to reopen the investigation” after apparently reaching “a conclusion less than 24 hours after the death, the murder, of Mr’ Obumseli” because they did not immediately interview Clenney.
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The Miami Police Department said it could not comment on an open and ongoing investigation.
Obumseli, 27, suffered “an apparent knife wound” in a domestic violence incident between himself and Clenney in April. First responders rushed him to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Miami police said in a statement at the time.
Miami model Courtney Clenney’s lawyer said she is a domestic violence survivor.
(Instagram/@courtneytailor)
Clenney’s lawyer, Frank Prieto, did not respond to an inquiry from Fox News Digital but previously said she was acting in self-defense.
“Since the events of that tragic night, Courtney has been filled with absolute grief and despair,” Prieto said in an April statement. “Courtney is mourning the loss of Mr. Obumseli, in private, out of respect for his family. There is nothing we can say to alleviate the pain his family is going through; however, their calls for justice and an arrest in this matter are misplaced.”
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He continued: “It is absolutely irresponsible for the family’s attorney … to allege that the events of that evening were ‘unprovoked’ or to insinuate that she is being afforded special treatment. There is competent and substantial evidence that Courtney is the victim of domestic violence and possibly human trafficking. 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. That night was no different and Courtney had the right to defend herself out of fear for her life.”
Clenney, who uses the name Courtney Tailor on Instagram and OnlyFans, was caught on video covered in blood on her luxury high-rise balcony after the incident but has not been charged. TMZ obtained and published the images earlier this month.
The Miami-based WPLG 10 reported earlier this month that friends of the couple described “a very rocky relationship” — although the sources gave conflicting stories about who might have been the aggressor. The couple reportedly broke up in March, according to the Miami Herald, and Obumseli allegedly began sleeping in the building’s common areas.
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Then on April 1, Miami police were dispatched to their apartment for a separate domestic call, the paper reported, citing local law enforcement sources. The officers found bruises on Clenney’s arms and legs, but no one was arrested.
Miami police have released few details about the case so far.
Clenney has apparently “cooperated with the investigators and her actions were clearly self-defense,” her lawyer said in April.
Fox News’ Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
