Court hearing for social media model Courtney Clenney, charged in boyfriend's death
MIAMI - An evidentiary hearing was held Tuesday ahead of the trial of a social media model accused of murdering her boyfriend.
Courtney Clenney, 26, aka Courtney Tailor, who has more than 2 million followers on Instagram, is charged with second-degree murder with a deadly weapon in the stabbing death of Christian Toby Obumseli at One Paraiso back in April of this year.
She has pleaded not guilty.
During Tuesday's hearing, prosecutors presented the evidence they will against Clenney. It includes crime scene photos, the murder weapon, and the timeline before and after she stabbed Obumseli.
Prosecutors also want to introduce an elevator video that shows Clenney hitting Obumseli two months before his death.
Clenney's attorney, Frank Prieto, asked the judge to limit the amount of evidence because said her case has gained so much publicity that releasing any more evidence could make jury selection a complicated process.
He said the State Attorney's Office has thousands of photos, audio, and content from her social media pages as well as more than 12 thousand text messages between her and Obumseli. He believes much of this evidence isn't relative to the case.
"To vigorously defend my client, I'm not going to stand back and let her be a punching bag for the media," said Prieto. "This case needs to be tried in this courtroom with the protections of a fair and impartial trial."
Clenney, who was handcuffed and dressed in an orange jumpsuit, shook her head as a judge denied the motion to limit the evidence shared.
Prieto said they are looking forward to trial and have evidence to show that Clenney was fighting for her life the night she stabbed Obumseli.
Clenney's trial is set for December 19th. Clenney's trial is set for December 19th.
