A Miami social media model who allegedly fatally stabbed her boyfriend was back in court Wednesday along with her parents.
Courtney Clenney faces a second-degree murder charge in the death of her boyfriend, 27-year-old Christian Obumseli, who was stabbed to death in the couple's Edgewater condo in April 2022.
Clenny claims she killed in self-defense.
Two years after the murder, Courtney Clenney and her parents, Kim and Deborah Clenney, were also accused of illegally accessing the victim's laptop after prosecutors accessed the couple’s iCloud accounts and found what they believed were incriminating messages.
The Hurricane season is on. Our meteorologists are ready. Sign up for the NBC 6 Weather newsletter to get the latest forecast in your inbox.
However, in June, Judge Laura Cruz ruled to exclude the messages and determined Miami-Dade prosecutors violated attorney-client privilege by accessing private family conversations with their attorneys.
The laptop-related charges were eventually dropped in July.
Now, the Clenney parents want their iCloud data, which is being held in hard drives by the court, returned.
Local
“That’s private financial record. Medical records. Communication with your spouse. Communication with attorney. Photographs. The idea the State of Florida is allowed to look through it because your daughter is charged with a crime is insane," said Jude Faccidomo, the attorney representing the Clenney parents.
However, prosecutors claim there could be more digital evidence against Clenney, within the parents’ iCloud accounts, regarding the murder case.
“Obumseli’s mom wasn’t on the phone with him when he was killed. The defendant's mother was,” said Khalil Quinan, an Assistant State Attorney responding to defense attorneys claim prosecutors haven’t requested to see cellphone data from the victim's family.
After hearing arguments, Judge Cruz ruled against the defense attorneys. The judge stated police seize cellphones all the time, while they look for evidence and make their case.
Faccidomo stated he plans to appeal the judge’s ruling.
Courtney Clenney is in jail until trial.
