White social media influencer Courtney Taylor Clenney, also known as Courtney Tailor, has not been charged after stabbing and killing her Black boyfriend, Christian Tobechukwu “Toby” Obumseli.
According to news reports, authorities have been deliberating over whether or not Clenney should be charged for the gruesome stabbing of her boyfriend. She hasn’t even been arrested yet, as she was only taken into custody for questioning.
“Clearly, none of this was intended, and Courtney is struggling mentally with the aftermath of what occurred that evening,” The 25-year-old woman’s attorney, Frank Prieto, said in a statement released on Apr. 8. “This is a tragedy for all involved, but it was not criminal conduct; Courtney was defending herself, and the investigation will reveal exactly that.”
Clenney, identified as a popular Instagram and OnlyFans model, stabbed Obumseli in the chest on Apr. 3 at their One Paraiso luxury building in the Edgewater section of Miami. Officers initially visited them several times for a domestic disturbance at the 3131 NE 7th residence before returning and finding Obumseli bleeding. Then, Miami Fire Rescue personnel brought him to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, where he was later pronounced dead.
A nearby witness’ video, released on Apr. 8, showed the social media influencer drenched in blood on her balcony as she spoke to police before she was detained. Shortly after her detention, she was hospitalized and placed on suicide watch because she claimed she wanted to kill herself.
In Florida, police could send someone to a mental health treatment center for up to 72 hours under the Baker’s Act if the individual showed signs of suicidal tendencies and violence.
“My brother…he was so caring,” the 27-year-old victim’s brother, Jeffrey Obumseli, told news reporters outside the State Attorney’s Office at 1350 NW 12th Ave.
“Devastation doesn’t quite describe my family’s feeling right now,” his cousin, attorney Karen Egbuna, added. “Yesterday, we finally told our 93-year-old grandmother that her grandson who was expected to come home to Texas for his 28th birthday would no longer or ever be returning home.”
Meanwhile, Miami Police Department has been following through with a “very active investigation” in hopes of finding out why Clenney stabbed Obumseli, not ruling out self-defense.
“We know that there was a physical altercation between them before he was stabbed,” a spokesperson for the department wrote in a statement.
A neighbor even claimed he saw the Nigerian-American man hit his woman a week before he was killed.
“I could not tell if it was open-handed or closed-handed, but he was swinging at her,” the neighbor allegedly said.
However, close friends of the couple said they’ve never seen Obumseli be aggressive toward Clenney. They claim the influencer was the aggressor.
“We’ve seen her hit him, [but] I’ve never seen him hit her,” their friend, Ashley Vaughn, said. “From what we’ve personally experienced between the both of them. We believe that Christian wouldn’t put her in a position where she would need to stab him to protect herself.”
The pair reportedly moved to South Florida from Texas, where they originally resided.
Ironically, Obumseli made disparaging remarks about Black women on Twitter, where he expressed his disdain for them.
“Oomf: ‘Black girls are born knowing how to shake their ass.’
Me: ‘Honestly, idc their not my type,'” he wrote.
“The way Black girls disgrace themselves on TV,” he tweeted on Mar. 28, 2012.
“Can’t believe #oomf thinks I talk to Black girls when I don’t!” he wrote on Jan. 10, 2012.
Two weeks before he was stabbed, his girlfriend appeared on We In Miami Podcast, saying she only dated rich Black men.
“I only date Black guys, especially Black guys. Let me clarify: I only date rich Black guys,” she told the host, Slim Stunta, in front of a panel of White women and another Black male guest.
Clenney also recently updated her OnlyFans page with new content amid controversy surrounding her statement and Obumseli’s death.
Her now-deceased boyfriend was reportedly a business owner and graduate of Texas Tech University. He passed away one week before his 28th birthday.
“We need financial assistance to cover postmortem transportation of the body, funeral arrangements, attorney fees, litigation, counseling, and bills for the family as we seek justice for our beloved brother and son,” his brother wrote on a GoFundMe page created for Obumseli. “No amount is too small.”
So far, his sibling has reached over $70,000 of his $100,000 goal.
