(ReliableNews.org) – Communication between attorneys and their clients is privileged. That means prosecutors cannot use it as evidence in a criminal case. A judge just reminded Miami-Dade prosecutors of the rules in a case involving the so-called OnlyFans killer.
In August 2022, Florida prosecutors charged OnlyFans model Courtney Clenney with the murder of her boyfriend, 27-year-old Christian Obumseli. She allegedly stabbed him to death during an altercation. Obumseli, a cryptocurrency investor, died after suffering a puncture wound to his chest and subclavian artery.
Clenney reportedly told police that she threw the knife at her boyfriend after he threw her to the ground. The medical examiner denied a knife throw could have caused the injury. She maintains she was acting in self-defense and was a victim of domestic violence.
Earlier this year, prosecutors also charged Clenney’s parents, Deborah Clenney and Kim Dewayne, with digital burglary for allegedly breaking into the victim’s laptop. Investigators discovered the alleged crime by accessing Mr. Clenney’s iCloud account where they discovered messages between the parents and defense attorneys where they were trying to guess passwords to gain access to the victim’s laptop.
The defense team for the family asked for the evidence to be thrown out in the computer case to be thrown out because they said it was improperly obtained. Judge Laura Cruz agreed with the defense. She concluded the Miami-Dade prosecutors violated attorney-client privilege by accessing the private conversations between the family and their attorneys.
Jude Faccidomo, the attorney representing Clenney’s parents, spoke to NBC6 after the ruling and explained the prosecution might have to drop the digital burglary case now. They have also asked Governor Ron DeSantis (R) to assign new prosecutors to the murder case, even though the ruling had nothing to do with that particular case.
The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office has faced multiple allegations of misconduct in recent years. In March, another judge removed two prosecutors from a case after claims of evidence tampering and witness manipulation were brought forward. The judge also alerted the Florida Bar.
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