MIAMI (Court TV) — An OnlyFans model accused of killing her boyfriend was in court on Wednesday with her parents in a fight to have evidence returned.
Courtney Clenney speaks to her attorneys before a hearing on Sept. 11, 2024. (Court TV)
Courtney Clenney is charged with second-degree murder for the stabbing death of Christian Obumseli. Clenney has claimed she acted in self-defense when she killed him.
As part of their investigation, detectives obtained a search warrant for not only Courtney’s accounts but also those of her parents, Kim and Deborah Clenney. Based on what they found, prosecutors then filed computer crimes charges against the entire family. But those charges heavily relied on messages protected by attorney-client privilege, forcing prosecutors to drop the charges after a judge ruled the evidence was inadmissible.
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Courtney Clenney’s parents, Kim and Deborah Clenney, are pictured in court on June 26, 2024. (Court TV)
Despite the charges being dropped in July, the hard drives seized by investigators have remained in the custody of the State. They were seized under a search warrant in Courtney’s murder case but were ordered to be held separately in a vault after the discovery of privileged information. Kim and Deborah are fighting to have the evidence returned (or destroyed) and accused prosecutors of “digital burglary.”
“In their final pleadings … the State used the phrase ‘digital burglary’ when describing the computer offense with which they charged the Clenneys and ultimately abandoned. We disagree with the phrase’s applicability to that charge but prefer it for use here. The search of the Petitioners’ iCloud was a ‘digital burglary’ unsupported by probable cause of anything. It is, however, indicative of the State of Florida, particularly the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office’s, overly zealous and seemingly personal persecution of this family.”
At Wednesday’s hearing, prosecutors suggested that the data seized doesn’t qualify as the Clenneys’ property because it was created and received from Apple. Prosecutors also argued that digital evidence found during their investigation, which included “surreptitious recordings” and a recording of Courtney telling Obumseli to “enjoy the hospital” after splitting his lip, is critical to their case. They also said that Courtney’s accounts were comingled with her mother’s and were actively being accessed months after her arrest.
The judge ruled the files would not be released to the Clenneys and would instead be given to prosecutors, who will be able to review the contents for information relevant to the murder case.
Courtney’s attorneys have also asked the judge to consider releasing her, since she has been in custody since Aug. 10, 2022. The judge said she would consider that motion at a later date.
