The lead prosecutor in the murder trial of OnlyFans model Courtney Clenney stepped down Monday after a judge ruled he could be deposed over texts and emails he obtained that the court ruled were covered by attorney-client privilege.
In a single-page memo to Miami-Dade Chief Assistant State Attorney Kathleen Hoague, Assistant State Attorney Khalil Quinan said while he found “material errors of fact” in the court’s decision to allow the deposition, he was left with no choice but to withdraw because if deposed, he would become a witness.
“It is my hope that my withdrawal will facilitate the resolution of the Defendant’s meritless motions, correct the record, and allow these proceedings to refocus on what truly matters: justice for Christian Obumseli,” Quinan wrote.
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In the memo, Quinan said he planned to withdraw from the case earlier for paternity leave, but stayed, in part, because of constant “attacks” by the defense counsel.
Quinan will be replaced by Miami-Dade Assistant State Attorney Shawn Abuhoff, the original lead prosecutor when Clenney was charged with the stabbing death of her boyfriend Christian Obumseli in their bayfront Miami hi-rise in August 2022. Abuhoff is keenly aware of the case, having led it earlier and covered it repeatedly for Quinan the past few months.
In June, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Laura Shearon Cruz said the state violated attorney-client privilege when prosecutors collected texts and emails between Clenney’s parents, Deborah Lyn Clenney and Kim DeWayne Clenney, and their attorneys — even if prosecutors weren’t aware at the time that the model’s parents had hired legal representation.
Clenney, 28, and her parents had been charged in a computer hacking scheme that the state said it uncovered through communications it obtained with the court’s permission. Those charges were dropped. Among the items collected by prosecutors — through texts and an email — were an outline of the defense team’s plans on how it intended to defend the case.
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Quinan told the court he viewed the material. Shearon Cruz ruled at the end of February that the prosecutor could be deposed, but that questions would be limited to “receipt and knowledge or privileged documents.”
Clenney — an OnlyFans model who at one point boasted more than 2 million followers — has been jailed since August 2022 after being charged with stabbing her boyfriend Obumseli, 27, to death inside their bayfront Miami condo during a moment of rage. The jet-setting couple who spent time in Hawaii and other exotic locales had a tumultuous relationship.
Her attorneys say Clenney was defending herself when Obumseli was killed. A trial date has not been set.
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