Judge tosses state’s evidence in major blow to OnlyFans computer hacking case

MIAMI – A Miami-Dade judge on Wednesday threw out key evidence in the computer hacking case against OnlyFans model and accused killer Courtney Clenney and her parents, ruling that prosecutors violated established legal principles in obtaining it.

In a major blow to the state’s case, U.S. District Judge Laura Shearon Cruz wrote in a two-paragraph opinion that the state violated attorney-client privilege when prosecutors collected text messages and emails between Deborah Lyn Clenney and Kim DeWayne Clenney and their lawyers — even if prosecutors did not know then that the model’s parents hired a legal representative.

“The proper remedy for this breach of confidentiality is to exclude the communications from use as evidence in this case,” Shearon Cruz wrote.

Granting the request to exclude evidence, the judge granted one of two requests made by the Clenneys and their lawyers. The case was not discontinued, as the defendants requested. Shearon Cruz said she would explain her decision in more detail during Friday’s hearing.

After the ruling, state prosecutors Kathleen Hoague and Khalil Quinan left the courtroom quickly and without comment. It was not immediately clear whether the judge’s order was a fatal blow to the case or whether the state intended to drop the charges in the coming days. Jude Faccidomo, who represents the Clenneys, urged the state to do so as soon as possible.

“This is a fundamental principle of privacy that the state should never have violated. They entered the defense camp,” Faccidomo said. “All of this is detrimental to their prosecution. They targeted our clients, Kim and Deborah, for no reason.

It is unclear whether or how Wednesday’s decision will affect the sensational murder trial that has attracted international attention. Clenney — an OnlyFans model who at one point boasted more than 2 million followers — has been in prison since August 2022 after she was accused of fatally stabbing her boyfriend, Christian Obumseli, in their Miami Bayfront apartment in a moment of rage .

But the burglary charges were an unexpected twist in a case that has taken many twists and turns over the past two years. In January, with little or no warning, law enforcement raided Kim and Deborah’s home in Austin, Texas, after a judge signed an order that gave law enforcement access to iCloud accounts where communications between the Clenneys and their attorneys, Frank Prieto and Sabrina Puglisi.

Investigators were frustrated that the Clenneys had what they believed was Obumsela’s personal laptop. The arrest warrant states that after gaining access to the iCloud accounts, investigators discovered more than 4,000 messages, including conversations between Clenney, her parents, and Prieto and Puglisi.

The main topic of the conversations between the defendants and their lawyers was how to unlock Obumsela’s computer, which they ultimately managed to do. It is not known whether the state accessed information on Obumsela’s computer or whether anything was found that could or will be used in the Courtney Clenney murder trial.

Kim, Deborah and Courtney Clenney were charged with single counts of illegally accessing Obumsela’s computer.

After the Clenneys filed a motion to suppress evidence, the state argued that it could not violate attorney-client privilege because Courtney Clenney’s parents had not been charged with a crime and had not yet retained legal representation. Prieto and Puglisi argued otherwise, arguing that they were hired to represent Kim and Deborah Clenney since their daughter’s August 2022 arrest.

High profile case

Clenney, now 30, was charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing of Obumsela after a heated argument at their bayside apartment in April 2022. News of domestic strife between the young globe-trotting couple – he was a cryptocurrency trader, she was a popular influencer social media – thanks to which the whole story made headlines around the world. She was arrested two months later and extradited from Hawaii to Miami.

Almost immediately, friction broke out between prosecutors and defense lawyers. Prieto collaborated with Court TV on an article about his client. When the prosecutor’s office disagreed and informed the judge, defense lawyers launched an attack, accusing the state of leaking information to reporters. The parties struggled with the idea of ​​a silence order, which was never formally considered by the court.

Prosecutor’s office mistakes?

After Wednesday’s ruling by Judge Shearon Cruz, some defense attorneys suggested it was another case in which prosecutors with the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office were willing to overstep their bounds to win a case. Faccidomo wants the burglary case thrown out altogether, calling it a vindictive prosecution by Quinan in his motion.

Earlier this year, Miami-Dade District Judge Andrea Wolfson was so outraged by the tactics of prosecutors Michael Von Zamft and Stephen Mitchell during the resentencing of the murder trial of convicted mobster Corey Smith that she ordered them removed from the case. The judge was particularly irritated by a phone call from prison between Von Zamft and a convicted informant and by Mitchell’s defense of Von Zamft.

Their removal partially led to a meeting between the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and Miami-Dade State’s Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, during which defense attorneys referred to the office’s “toxic culture” and its “win at all costs” attitude. They called for reforms, including an independent review of cases and greater oversight.

Prieto said after the judge’s ruling Wednesday that Courtney Clenney acted only in self-defense when she fatally stabbed her boyfriend of two years. He called for the dismissal of prosecutors and said that the case should be handled by another office.

“They should withdraw,” he said.

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