MIAMI (WSVN) - Newly released body camera video shows a social media model making a plea for help days before, authorities said, she stabbed her boyfriend to death, and her attorneys said the footage shows she was the victim in this relationship.
The footage captured a City of Miami Police officer asking Courtney Clenney her first name on April 1, two days before, investigators said, she killed Christian “Toby” Obumseli.
“All of a sudden this is all happening!” Clenney said in the footage as she fought back tears.
The social media influencer was frantic as she talked to officers.
“I was told I was gonna get a chance to speak,” she said. “He wouldn’t leave me alone.”
Clenney was crying and visibly shaken after officers were called by security from the Miami condo where she lived.
“We get down here to the lobby area, and her boyfriend comes charging towards her,” said a security guard in the video.
Officers were told Obumseli had charged her in the building’s lobby and also tried following her into the elevator.
“[Clenney told her boyfriend], ‘No, I don’t want you to come in here,'” said Sabrina Puglisi, Clenney’s attorney.
Speaking for the first time on camera since their client’s murder arrest, Clenney’s attorneys said she was a victim of domestic violence and that the bodycam video supports that claim.
“Mr. Obumseli was the abuser,” said attorney Frank Prieto.
“[He was], you know, stalking me. I want a restraining order against Christian Obumseli,” Clenney is heard saying in the bodycam video.
Clenney’s legal team said she was ultimately forced into killing her boyfriend in self-defense.
“Clenney admitted to having caused Christian’s injury,” said Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle during a news conference held Aug. 11.
Authorities released surveillance footage showing Clenney hitting Obumseli in an elevator on Feb. 21.
Pictures acquired by 7News show the emergency response to the couple’s high-rise unit at One Paraiso moments after, police said, Clenney stabbed Obumseli.
According to the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, Clenney plunged a knife into her boyfriend’s chest.
“The knife entered Christian’s chest in a downward angle,” said Fernandez Rundle.
When asked to comment on the state attorney’s comments, Puglisi said, “We’re not gonna answer questions about the specifics. We look forward to a trial in this case.”
When asked whether Clenney was physically abused before the stabbing, Prieto replied, “I have photographs of her injuries.”
Prieto added, “She was in a struggle for her life. She defended herself, and unfortunately, he’s deceased, but she defended herself with every ounce of energy she had left.”
In the bodycam video, Clenney is seen telling officers that her boyfriend had gotten physical with her in the past, but she had become more concerned with what she described as the stalking.
Clenney is scheduled to appear in court in November.
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