MIAMI — Courtney Clenney, the OnlyFans model accused of murdering her boyfriend at a Miami luxury condo, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday through an attorney. She remained jailed and was not brought to her arraignment in Miami-Dade circuit court.
Prosecutors formally charged the 26-year-old social media personality five days after she arrived in Miami-Dade after being extradited from Hawaii, where she was arrested earlier this month while in rehab for substance abuse. People charged with murder aren’t automatically entitled to a bond, so she’ll remain at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, for now.
Clenney, who has millions of social media followers, is accused of fatally stabbing Christian “Toby” Obumseli on April 3 during a heated argument at their luxury high-rise Edgewater apartment. Prosecutors have cast Clenney as the aggressor, saying she had a long history of attacking Obumseli, who was unarmed and felled with knife thrust to the heart.
But Clenney’s attorneys have long cast her as the victim of long-running domestic abuse, and said she acted in self-defense.
“We’re going to mount a vigorous defense in her favor,” said attorney Frank Prieto.
Her defense attorneys are still seeking to limit the release of prosecution evidence in the case, saying it would unfairly taint a future jury. They want a judge to review all of the evidence before allowing for its release. In Florida, much of prosecution evidence is generally public record, except for items such as autopsy photos.
They’ve also signaled they are worried that “adult” photos and videos — OnlyFans is known for creators posting explicit content — might be part of the state’s file. “It is anticipated that most, if not all of the adult content and sexually explicit materials are irrelevant to the State’s case-in-chief,” Prieto wrote in a filing to the court. “Courtney Clenney should be judged by the admissible evidence (subject to judicial scrutiny) and not on her lifestyle choices.”
The Miami Herald is objecting to the measure, saying the move is overly broad and there is no proof that the a jury could not be seated one day in the trial because of the release of evidence. A hearing is set for the matter on Sept. 6.
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