Former OnlyFans model Courtney Clenney has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection with the 2022 death of her Nigerian-American partner, Christian Obumseli, bringing an end to a case that had attracted widespread attention in the United States and Nigeria.
Clenney entered the plea in a Miami-Dade County court after previously facing a second-degree murder charge over Obumseli’s death. She was sentenced to six years in prison, with credit for the time she has already spent in custody since her arrest.
The court also ordered her to serve five years of probation after her prison term and undergo a mental health evaluation and continued therapy as part of the sentence.
Obumseli, who was 27, died in April 2022 at the couple’s condominium in Miami. Clenney had maintained that she acted in self-defence, while prosecutors pursued the case as a homicide.
The case had been heading towards trial, but the plea agreement allowed Clenney to avoid the possibility of a much longer prison sentence that could have followed a conviction for second-degree murder. Reports said she could have faced up to 30 years if convicted on the original charge.
Obumseli’s family has consistently sought accountability over his death. His mother addressed the court during the sentencing and spoke about the lasting impact of losing her son and the future he would no longer have.
The prosecution described the plea as an important step towards accountability for Obumseli’s family, while Clenney’s legal team had previously maintained that the circumstances surrounding the death needed to be considered in light of her claims of self-defence.
With the guilty plea and sentencing, the criminal case that began more than four years ago has now reached its conclusion, although the circumstances surrounding Obumseli’s death and the couple’s troubled relationship have continued to generate public discussion.