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Bella Fontenelle. Photo from GoFundMe.
In Abuse Cases

Stepmother Kills Stepdaughter, 6, Leaves Body in Bucket on Mother’s Lawn

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The cases that stick with me the most are the ones that involve children, and particularly children who are betrayed by caregivers in positions of trust.

These sorry excuses for adults forgo their responsibility to work on themselves, and instead unleash their insecurities, shortcomings and inner demons on innocent children. The children they hurt have their whole lives ahead of them. They’re only discovering who they are, what they like and what the world has to offer—and what it doesn’t. And it’s all tragically cut short because the “adult” in question doesn’t take initiative to question their behaviors and seek help. Instead, they choose to express their hatred of themselves and their dissatisfaction with life on the children that stand before them.

And so it goes with the terrible death of 6-year-old Bella Elena Fontenelle.

The Murder of Bella Fontenelle

Bella was beautiful, funny and kind. She loved princesses and playing dress-up. She was a kindergartener at St. Matthew the Apostle School in River Ridge, Louisiana. The mere sight of her was enough to put a smile on someone’s face.

Bella was killed by her father’s longtime girlfriend, 43-year-old Bunnak “Hannah” Landon, on Tuesday, April 25, 2023, in the New Orleans, Louisiana, suburb of Harahan. She was strangled, beaten and suffered blunt-force trauma. If that isn’t horrible enough, Bunnak subsequently forced Bella’s remains into a white 10-galloon bucket used for pool chlorine. Her body was manipulated into the fetal position. She then loaded the bucket into a wagon, walked a block to Bella’s biological mother’s house, and left the bucket in her front lawn.

A home in the neighborhood caught Bunnak on surveillance around 9:35 pm. She walks steadily with calm eeriness, as if transporting a load of groceries. She’s dressed in a red-orange blouse, black pants and white knee-high boots.

An image captured from a neighbor's surveillance camera of Bunnak Landon pulling a wagon that contains a bucket, where Bella Fontenelle's lifeless body is stored. She leaves the bucket on the front lawn of Jennifer Zeledon, Bella's mother. Photo from Fox 8 Live.
An image captured from a neighbor’s surveillance camera of Bunnak Landon pulling a wagon that contains a bucket, where Bella Fontenelle’s lifeless body is stored. She leaves the bucket on the front lawn of Jennifer Zeledon, Bella’s mother. Photo from Fox 8 Live.

Michael Fontenelle, Bella’s father and Bunnak’s boyfriend, worked until about 10:30 pm that night. He is a certified public accountant (CPA) and it was the middle of tax season, so he was busy, overworked and tired. He fell right asleep on the living room couch and didn’t notice Bella and Bunnak’s absence until the next morning. When he awoke on Wednesday, April 26, Michael realized that Bunnak and Bella weren’t home. He arrived at the Hanahan Police Department in Harahan, Louisiana, around 7:30 am to report them missing. A search of the area ensued.

As part of the search, police visited the home of Bella’s mother, Jennifer Zeleden, around 8:30 am. That’s when they discovered Bella’s deceased body wedged inside the bucket. Police located Bunnak around 2 pm at a local hospital. Bunnak was taken to the hospital the night before after walking to the Harahan Police Department. She was in a slightly disoriented state and requested transportation. Bunnak was booked into the Jefferson Parish Correction Center on charges of first-degree murder and obstruction of justice. The first-degree murder charges are not because the murder was confirmed to have been planned, but because it was committed on a child under 12 by an adult in a position of trust.

What series of events could have happened to lead Bunnak to betray Bella? Let’s dive into this case. (Keep in mind, this case is ongoing and many details haven’t been made available yet.)

A Family Backstory

Michael Fontenelle and Jennifer Zeledon met in college. Both of them received degrees in accounting and went on to become CPAs. The couple never married, but they remained together for several years.

Michael and Jennifer had two beautiful daughters: Bella, 6, was the youngest, and she was preceded by an older sister, Aria, now age 7. Shortly after the birth of Bella, Michael and Jennifer separated. The separation was difficult, but they maintained joint custody and kept a working relationship for the sake of their kids. Michael and Jennifer lived close by to make parenting easier. Their homes in Harahan, Louisiana, an area characterized as safe and neighborly, are only a block apart. As the girls grew older, they’d be able to walk to their parents’ homes as often as they wished.

Michael Fontenelle with his live-in girlfriend, Bunnak Landon, and daughter, Bella Fontenelle. Photo from XX.
Michael Fontenelle with his live-in girlfriend, Bunnak Landon, and daughter, Bella Fontenelle. Photo from Facebook.

Bunnak Lim Enters the Picture

Two years after Michael and Jennifer ended their relationship, Michael began dating Bunnak Lim, who goes by the aliases “Hannah Landon” and “Bunnak Landon.” For the purposes of this article, we’ll refer to her as Bunnak.

At the time of this crime, Michael and Bunnak were together for more than four years. Bunnak has a son of her own, though he lives in Florida. Not much is known about the relationship between Bunnak and her son, or her past life. However, there are claims that she once had a family that she since abandoned.

Bunnak moved into the home that Michael shared with his two daughters on Donelon Drive. Together, they shared the single-story home, and Bunnak assumed the role of a step mother.

Bunnak displayed several unusual characteristics in regards to Bella and Aria. She was known to be very jealous, particularly of Jennifer. Thus, she made it a point to convey that her, Michael, Bella and Aria were a tightknit unit. Part of this strategy involved dressing identically to the children. This wasn’t only done for holidays, but for all sorts of occasions. Friends of the family thought it was unusual, given that Bunnak wasn’t the girls’ biological mother and Jennifer was very much involved in their lives.

Bunnak doesn’t have a social media trail. She didn’t work, but was a homemaker of sorts. It’s believed that she originally emigrated to the U.S. from Thailand, though it hasn’t been confirmed. As stated, few details are known about the relationship between Bunnak and her estranged son, or about Bunnak in general.

Michael’s mother, Barbara Fontenelle, wasn’t fond of Bunnak. Rather, his side of the family found Bunnak to be strange and unsettling. She wasn’t close with anyone in Michael’s family. No one felt like they really “knew” her, despite her being with Michael for several years.

More on Bunnak Lim

So far, the details surrounding Bunnak’s life are hazy. However, there are a few facts that have come to the surface.

Bunnak’s time in Harahan, Louisiana, can be traced back to between 2018 and 2019, when she began a relationship with Michael. Prior to this, she lived in various apartments in the Mobile, Alabama, area, about 150 miles northeast of Harahan. According to sources, Bunnak moved to the Mobile area in April 2006. On May 7, 2013, Bunnak obtained a marriage license with Donald Dewayne Landon, her former spouse.

The Wrath of Bunnak’s Jealousy

Bunnak and Jennifer, the girls’ mother, didn’t get along. It’s believed that as a result of that persisting conflict, Bunnak took her frustrations out on Bella. Coincidently, Bella more closely resembled her mother.

Physical Altercations at a Child’s Swim Meet and Soccer Game

As police investigated, they unearthed a petition for a temporary restraining order, which involved physical conflicts between Bunnak and Jennifer back in 2021.

An incident occurred on June 8, 2021, when Jennifer, Bunnak, Michael, Bella, Aria and Jennifer’s sister, Evlyn Zeleden, attended a child’s swim meet at the Riverside Country Club in Harahan. Jennifer approached her daughters to hug them and bid them a job well done. Bunnak intervened and started a fuss about it being “Michael’s custody day,” even though they shared joint custody. Michael agreed to “let” Jennifer hug her daughter for “one minute,” and Bunnak took out her cell phone to record Jennifer.

Evlyn told Bunnak to stop recording and Bunnak slapped Evlyn’s hand. Evlyn told Bunnak to never do that again, and Bunnak proceeded to pull Evlyn’s hair. Michael was not present at the time, though it’s unknown why. He caught the tail-end of the altercation after a bystander intervened. Police were called and both women were interviewed. Bunnak was described in court documents as being “extremely uncooperative” and persistently blamed Jennifer and Evlyn, who had visible scratch marks on her face and hands. Bunnak refused to provide officers with any information until she was threatened with charges.

Bunnak received a municipal summons for simple battery. However, she subsequently filed a temporary restraining order against Jennifer, citing several claims against her. She also cited a second claim about another altercation on March 17, 2021. On this date, the women were attending a children’s soccer game. Bunnak claimed that Jennifer approached her, grabbed her by the arm and threatened to harm her.

The temporary restraining order was dismissed by Judge Faulkner of the 24th Judicial District Court on August 5, 2021. There were no grounds to verify Bunnak’s claims. No other incidents were subsequently known to police.

Updates

Shortly after Bella’s murder, her aunt, Bianca Z. Cano—another of Jennifer’s sisters—started a GoFundMe on behalf of their family, with Jennifer Zeledon listed as the beneficiary. The GoFundMe, which has since closed, raised more than $41,000.

On the GoFundMe page, Bianca writes:

Where do I start… my beautiful Bella… the world is so unjust. You were given to us for 6 amazing years. You were beyond perfection. Your beautiful little voice, your funny personality, the way you danced, the way you were so delicate and fragile, your smile, your laugh, the way expressed yourself. I can go on and on about how amazing this little soul was. My sister’s two daughters were what gave her life meaning and strength to go on each and everyday. This senseless and heinous act has forever destroyed my family. No words can describe the pain that is running through our bodies. It’s truly inhumane.

This case remains ongoing and Bunnak is set to appear in court in July. As frustrating as the details are, many of them are hazy.

A Possible Theory

There seems to have been an influx in stepparents committing violent crimes against their stepchildren. This “influx” may be the result of social media and heightened coverage, which makes it seem like these tragedies are occurring more often.

However, stepchildren may be particularly vulnerable to violence at the hands of a stepparent, according to Humanium.org. There are several reasons for this, which include:

  • Stepparents not feeling as connected to their partner’s children as they do their own
  • Stepparents bringing unresolved personal issues into their new family dynamic
  • Stepparents having low self-esteem or weak bonds, which are then put onto their stepchildren

The Cinderella Effect

The Cinderella effect is a nod to the 1950 animated musical fantasy by Disney, Cinderella, which depicts the main character, Cinderella, being gravely mistreated by her stepmother, Lady Tremaine. Lady Tremaine has two daughters of her own, Anastasia and Drizella, who she favors, and encourages their mistreatment of Cinderella.

Cinderella. Image from Disney Fandom.
Cinderella. Photo from Disney Fandom.

Before it became a Disney classic, Cinderella started as a folktale with thousands of variants worldwide. The oldest Cinderella story dates back to somewhere between 7 BC and AD 23, and tells the story of Rhodopis, a Greek slave woman who married the Pharaoh of Egypt. The story has changed over time to depict the modern-day version of Cinderella recognized in the U.S. today.

‘Survival of the Fittest’

The Cinderella effect is a theory in evolutionary psychology that’s used to explain why stepparents are more likely to abuse stepchildren than biological children. The theory derives from an inherent bias in the wiring of the brain, which suggests that parents are naturally wired to protect and prolong the survival of their own children over children that aren’t biological. It’s a theory that’s linked to survival of the fittest.

Not all stepparents perceive their stepchildren this way. However, for those that don’t have a natural disposition that’s loving, caring and nurturing, the theory states they’re more likely to behave vindictively towards their stepchildren. These vindictive behaviors translate into emotional abuse and, in some cases, the abuse turns physical.

Repressed Emotions

Another contributing factor of the Cinderella Effect involves the stepparent’s emotions. Not all adults are able to cope with emotions in a healthy way. In this context, a stepparent may single out one of the stepchildren, in most instances, to use as a scapegoat to express their repressed emotions.

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In Abuse Cases

OnlyFans Model to Inmate: Courtney Clenney Fatally Stabs Boyfriend In Miami High-Rise

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AT A GLANCE

Victim: Christian Tobechukwu “Toby” Ubumseli, 27
Date: Sunday, April 3, 2022
Location: Miami, Florida
Perpetrator: Courtney Taylor Clenney, aka Courtney Tailor, 26
Crimes in sum: Courtney Clenney, 26, was arrested on August 10, 2022 on second-degree murder charges, but some still believe she’s innocent. Do you agree?

Courtney Clenney, a 26-year-old social media influencer and OnlyFans model from Midland, Texas, was a guest on the comedy podcast, We In Miami, in March of 2022. In the episode, she joked about being the “crazy, toxic girlfriend.”

A month later, that remark became an ominous warning when she fatally stabbed her on-again, off-again boyfriend of two years, 27-year-old Christian Tobechukwu “Toby” Obumseli.

Unfortunately, hindsight is always 20/20.

What Happened?

The homicide occurred in the early evening on Sunday, April 3, 2022. Courtney and Christian, who went by “Toby,” lived in Apartment 2201 at the One Paraiso Residences, a 53-floor luxury high-rise in the Edgewater community of Miami, Florida. The apartment, located on the 22nd floor, has three bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, waterfront views and a private elevator. All those amenities and more cost a modest $10,000 per month.

However, within their luxury lifestyle, the couple lived in their own personal hell. Police visited their apartment at least seven times since they moved there in January 2022. This call would be the last.

Toby suffered a stab wound to the chest that penetrated three inches into his skin. The six-inch kitchen knife punctured an artery and the wound was fatal. Toby was eight shy of his 28th birthday.

Courtney Clenney and Toby Ubumseli. Photo from Instagram.

An Unlikely Story

When police questioned Courtney, she denied stabbing Toby. She said Toby charged at her and she threw the knife at him from across the room, or from about 10 feet away. Courtney said she didn’t intend to hurt Toby, but to scare him away.

However, the model, actress and personal trainer, who earned more than $3 million on OnlyFans from 2020 to 2022, didn’t think her statement through. In court, the medical examiner said that unless Courtney was a professional knife-thrower, it was impossible for the knife to have penetrated Toby’s skin in such a powerful downward motion. Rather, Toby received the fatal wound at close range.

On Wednesday, August 10, 2022, Hawaii police arrested Courtney on a second-degree murder charge. Courtney’s defense team asked for bail and pre-trial release.

The judge denied both requests. Expectedly, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty is preparing to play the self-defense card. She will face trial this year (2023).

Here’s the full story.

Courtney Clenney. Photograph from her Instagram: @courtneytailor.

Who’s Courtney Clenney?

Courtney Taylor Clenney, known on social media as Courtney Tailor, was born on April 21, 1996 to Deborah Bond and Kim Clenney in rural Midland, Texas. Courtney’s parents are entrepreneurs and have owned at least three small businesses, which include a professional organizing company, a roofing contractor and an energy services company. She has one younger sister, Morgan.

At age 7, Courtney and her family moved to Austin. Growing up, Courtney was competitive and actively participated in sports. Her competitiveness followed her into adulthood and drove her short-lived success.

Young Courtney participated in many sports, including soccer, basketball, swimming, gymnastics and horseback riding. As a child, she was a high-diver and considered competing in the olympics. As a teen and young adult, she transitioned into physical fitness. Courtney became a certified personal trainer and competed in a number of athletic bikini competitions, including the NPC West Coast Classic in 2016.

Courtney Clenney. Photo from FitnessVolt.com

Entering the limelight.

Courtney finished about two years of college before dropping out. School wasn’t for her. She dreamt of becoming an entertainer and certainly had the looks, physique and drive to make it happen.

Courtney began to see an acting coach and appeared as an extra in TV commercials for Pepsi, Cirrus Logic, Celebration Church and Discount Dollars. She also fulfilled small roles in American Psycho, The Lying Game, Unstalkable, Boyhood and Everybody Wants Some!!! and in the music video for G-Eazy and Bebe Rexha’s 2015 song, “Me, Myself & I.” Later that year, she posed for Playboy magazine.

In 2017, Courtney moved to Los Angeles, California, for more opportunities. Her social media presence also started to grow. She currently has more than two million followers on her Instagram page: view it here. Courtney also became a brand ambassador for BANG energy drinks, Manscaped razors and The Chive, and advertised clothing from brands including Missguided.

An OnlyFans superstar.

OnlyFans, an internet content subscription service with a reputation for adult content, launched in 2016. The following year, Courtney began selling explicit photos, videos and other content, including subscriptions, on the site. Her father, Kim Clenney, wasn’t aware of his daughter’s online presence until her arrest in 2022.

Courtney meets Toby.

Courtney and Toby met in Austin. The couple began dating sometime in 2020.

Toby was also from Texas, but he grew up in Plano, about 215 miles north of Austin, where Courtney spent her childhood.

Christian Obumseli. Photo from his GoFundMe page.

Toby was born on April 12, 1994 to his parents, Christopher Obumseli and Chio Ndiwe. His parents are from Nigeria, but Toby was born in Dallas, Texas. Toby was the youngest of three children, which includes his sister Jen Adaeze and Jeffrey Obumseli.

Growing up, Toby was an athlete; something he and Courtney shared in common. In high school, he played basketball and football, and was captain of the football team. He went on to attend Texas Tech University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communications studies and business management. In his adult life, Toby held various sales positions, and eventually became a cryptocurrency investor and trader. He also opened his own business, Wiseman & Peachtree LLC.

Friends and family described Toby as loving, carefree, compassionate and gentle-spirited, with a big, beautiful smile.

A tumultuous union.

After the murder, Toby’s family appeared on the Dr. Phil talk show to discuss their terrible experience. A friend, who wished to remain anonymous, described the couple as very much “in love” in the beginning of their relationship. But within a few months, the union became combative, unstable, hostile and tempestuous.

Courtney and Toby argued a lot. They also broke up a lot, but they always got back together. Their relationship worsened because of Courtney’s drinking. When Courtney drank alcohol, she was violent and impulsive. It was often during her drunken stupors that fights started between her and Toby.

Minor occurrences usually triggered their fights, such as Toby looking at or talking to another woman. Meanwhile, Courtney was the one with a history of infidelity toward Toby.

Form bad to worse.

The constant arguing affected Toby. Many of his friends noticed. Once upbeat, positive and full of energy, he became stressed, quiet and withdrawn. Courtney started to pull Toby away from his friends, which was accompanied by her intensifying jealousy.

Courtney Clenney pictured in her booking photo when she was arrested in July 2021 in Las Vegas for domestic battery. Photograph from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

Eventually, the arguments became physical, with Courtney as both the aggressor and the abuser. Courtney started to hit Toby on the arms and chest, slap him across the face and pull his hair, all while verbally berating him. The behavior escalated to Courtney stabbing Toby in the leg on one occasion and cutting his cheek on another.

The couple first moved into a penthouse apartment together iin South Austin, Texas. Neighbors there complained about their fighting. One neighbor on the 10th floor found a tiger painting on the balcony that Courtney threw from their apartment.

After the couple moved to another penthouse in Miami, Florida, neighbors there complained about yelling, slamming of doors and breaking objects, including neighbors who lived two floors above them. The police visited the apartment often. Courtney often trashed the apartment during their fights and left shambles in her wake.

During a trip to Las Vegas in July 2021, police arrested Courtney for domestic battery against Toby. While staying at The Cosmopolitan hotel, Courtney threw a glass at Toby, barely missing his head. Toby chose not to press charges and police released Courtney the following day.

A female abuser with no accountability.

Toby made excuses for Courtney. He was quick to blame her hostile behavior on her drinking and claimed their relationship was good when Courtney was sober. Unfortunately, with her growing fame and cash flow, Courtney was sober less and less often. People in the Austin and Miami night life scenes knew about Courtney and not for good reasons.

Elevator video footage shows Courtney Clenney and Christian Obumseli in an altercation, with Courtney as the aggressor.

Friends said Toby never retaliated. Rather, he stood there “like a stick figure” and took Courtney’s abuse. He’d try to block her swings or hold her arms so she’d stop swinging, but never fought back. Instead, Toby always tried to appease Courtney and calm her down.

Friends who partied and traveled with Toby and Courtney recall Courtney often pulling Toby to the side, and starting fights with him that involved slapping, pushing, shoving and spitting on him. On at least one occasion, she yelled at him for looking at other women. On another, Courtney pushed Toby down the stairs at a house party.

Escalating violence and abuse.

There is telling video footage captured from the elevator of their Miami penthouse, that shows an altercation between Toby and Courtney. In the video, Courtney hits Toby, pulls his hair and yells at him. Toby, on the other hand, tries to calm Courtney down and shield himself from her blows. View it here.

In February 2022, two months before Toby died, Courtney cheated on him, tried stabbing him (but the knife missed and sliced his beard and cheek), called him the n***** word (which she did repeatedly) and kicked him out of the apartment several times. Toby had to get stitches in his face, which reopened several times due to Courtney slapping him.

Toby wrote text messages to Courtney, pleading for change and trying to reason with her. He never stopped trying to be on her side.

Stuck under Courtney’s grasp.

Because of Courtney’s growing success and opportunities, the couple decided Toby would work as her personal assistant. Now, Toby waited on hand and foot for Courtney, managing photo shoots and her schedule. In return, Courtney promised him a percentage of the revenue from her OnlyFans account. It’s unknown as to whether Courtney paid Toby, but it seems unlikely.

Courtney Clenney and Toby Obumseli. Photo originally from Instagram.

Sometimes, Courtney felt bad for treating Toby so poorly. Because she had the money, Courtney tried to compensate for her foul behavior with expensive gifts. On at least one occasion, Courtney threw Toby’s luggage and all his belongings off the balcony of their Miami penthouse. To make up for what she did, she bought him new belongings, along with a brand new luggage set from Louie Vuitton worth about $10,000.

Final days.

Courtney’s behavior became more unstable, aggressive and unhinged by the day.

On Friday, April 1, 2022, three days before Toby died, police visited the apartment on a domestic dispute. Courtney had bruises all over her arms and legs.

Apartment management received many complaints about the couple. The couple was also months behind on their rent. Consequently, Aleros Capital Investments, which represented their apartment building, filed a case against Courtney in Miami Court on March 21, 2022 for eviction.

A Pattern of Behavior

Courtney’s behavior towards Toby escalated over their relationship, but the young woman displayed signs of problematic behavior leading up to this point, including a history of domestic violence. Her violent past includes allegedly stabbing her previous boyfriend before Toby. And then, there’s Shawn Rhoden.

A photo of Shawn Rhoden and Courtney Tailor during a 20XX fitness competition after Courtney won the MPC Class Bikini. Photo from Muscle Insider.

Courtney’s relationship with Shawn Rhoden.

In 2022, bodybuilder Nick Trigili shared a video to his YouTube channel BodyBuilding & BS (which has over 106,000 subscribers) about Courtney physically assaulting bodybuilder Shawn Rhoden and shattering his jaw in 2017.

In 2017, Shawn, known in the bodybuilding community as Mr. Olympia, was married to his then-wife Michelle Sugar, who he also shared a child with. That same year, he started an affair with Courtney. Sadly, Shawn passed away from a heart attack in November 2021.

Courtney and Shawn trained at Gold’s Gym in Venice Beach, California, where they met. Shawn provided Courtney with nutritional information and helped her prepare for upcoming competitions. Over time, it evolved into a sexual relationship. Courtney didn’t know about Shawn being married, but she allegedly shattered his jaw when she found out.

Shawn never pressed charges against Courtney due to it being an affair. He also never publicly discussed his broken jaw, but people presumed it was from a car accident. While recovering, Shawn had to blend his food and eat through a straw. Nick and two of Shawn’s ex-wives corroborated the story.

2018.

A woman in Austin, Texas, sued Courtney on August 30, 2018 for an incident involving a car crash. The woman accused Courtney of personal injuries, property damage and loss of use of a vehicle. The case was settled out of court and ultimately dismissed.

A photo of Courtney Clenney taken at the Hawaii Police Department after her arrest on August 10, 2022.

2020.

On September 16, 2020, police arrested Courtney, also in Texas, for driving while intoxicated. Her first DUI charge came at age 18, so this was her second. Courtney’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was 0.30, more than times the legal limit. Police released Courtney on a $8,000 bond. As a condition of her release, Courtney had an ignition interlock device installed in her car to measure her alcohol level. 

The Night of the Murder

On Sunday, April 3, 2022, Toby left their Miami apartment around 1:15 pm and returned at 4:33 pm with sandwiches from Subway for him and Courtney. At 4:01 pm, Courtney live-streamed herself on Instagram, in what seemed to be a Q&A session with fans. She wore the same outfit that police photographed her in later that day. Her behavior on that live was suggestive of her being on substances.

Courtney called Christian right before the live at 4:01 pm and again at 4:33 pm.

When he left, Courtney realized that Toby stopped sharing his location with her. Because Courtney didn’t trust Toby and was exceptionally jealous, this was a major source of contention. When Toby returned, he shared his location again with Courtney, but she didn’t do the same.

Fast-escalating and deadly.

Within the next half hour, Courtney called her mother at 4:43 pm and chatted for six minutes. Then, she called her mom again at 4:49 pm and spoke for seven minutes. At some point between 4:43 pm and 4:57 pm, Courtney stabbed Toby in the chest with a six-inch serrated kitchen knife. The knife pierced three inches into his skin, just below a tattoo of Courtney’s name, and hit an artery. Courtney’s mother, Deborah Bond, later said she heard Courtney say that Toby was “lying.”

At 4:57 pm, Courtney called 9-1-1 to ask for paramedics. At the same time, neighbors reported a disturbance to building management, who then phoned security and also called police.

To police, Courtney claimed that Toby charged at her, pushed her and attacked her in retaliation. After the stabbing, Courtney called her mother for support, while Toby bled out in the background. Thirteen minutes later, she called 9-1-1. By the time the paramedics arrived, Toby suffered excessive blood loss.

Courtney Clenney on the night of April 3, 2022. Photograph from the Miami-Date State Attorney’s Office.

When authorities came to the apartment, Courtney was covered in blood and curiously kissing her dogs in the hallway.

Courtney is hospitalized.

During the 3.5-hour police interrogation, Courtney threatened to kill herself. As a result, police followed the Florida Mental Health Act of 1971. Also known as the Baker Act, this law empowers law enforcement, health care professionals, judges and/or family members to have an individual or loved one involuntarily committed to a mental health facility for up to 72 hours to receive emergency treatment for a suspected mental health issue. Immediate crisis prevention is the main goal.

Officials held Courtney at a mental hospital for less than 48 hours. She walked free under the guise of innocence and with minimal investigation outright.

Five days after the stabbing, a member of the public spotted Courtney at a hotel bar in Miami. Courtney was with her father, ordering alcohol beverages at the bar. The member of the public told Courtney to leave because she just killed her boyfriend. Courtney turned to this individual and said, “He lied to me,” referring to Toby.

The blood-soaked pants that Courtney wore on the night of Christian’s murder. Photograph from the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office.

Courtney remains free, for now.

Because of Courtney’s wealth, she got ahold of an elite lawyer who painted a picture of domestic violence, with Courtney on the receiving end of that violence. So, she was free to go. She didn’t spend time in jail and she continued to drink excessively, which worsened after the murder.

In June 2022, three months after killing Toby, Courtney moved back to Austin, Texas, to be closer to her parents. She purchased a lavish, 3080-foot, $1.35 million-dollar home in Lake Pointe, Texas, located in the Bee Cave community of Austin. The home had four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a media room, a game room, a hot tub and three large deck areas. She also transferred $1.5 million into her father’s bank account for him to oversee as her mental health continued to decline.

Toby’s family fights for justice.

Toby’s mother, Chio Ndiwe, learned about her youngest son’s death the following day, Monday, April 4, 2022. While she was at work, Chio received a call asking about Toby’s status as an organ donor. She hadn’t heard anything about his murder the day before.

His family went onto the Dr Phil talk show to share their side of the story. They also created a GoFundMe page to help pay for Toby’s funeral expenses, and hired a lawyer to fight against the case. The amount of evidence against Courtney is insurmountable, and with the help of eye-witness accounts, 12,000 text messages, the footage from the elevator of Courtney attacking Christian, and letters, audio recordings and photos, Toby’s team put together an unshakeable case.

Courtney Clenney. (Image via Miami Herald/ Getty Images)

Five months later, police detained Courtney on August 10, 2022, in Laupahoehoe, Hawaii. She flew to Laupahoehoe to attend rehabilitation for substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). She returned to Florida on August 11 and was arrested on second-degree murder charges.

Courtney entered a plea of not guilty and will remain incarcerated until her trial and subsequent sentencing date this year.

My Two Cents Corner

I’ve done a lot of research into this case and listened to quite a few audio recordings that Toby Obumseli took of him and Courtney’s arguments. In one of these arguments, Courtney calls him the n***** word, while screaming at the top of her lungs and threatening to slap Toby. The reason for this behavior was because Toby said “hello” to another woman that passed him while he was riding a bike, and that he heard her and Courtney were doing a “live” (meaning if they were going to be live-streaming content on social media together.)

If this isn’t the most insecure-sounding woman out there, than I don’t know who is. It’s both ironic and sad that someone who put so much effort into her looks and also made so much money off of them, had so little self-esteem that it turned her into a monster. In my opinion, it sounded like Courtney used her looks as leverage and her high-paying and recent fame to imagine herself superior to Toby, and also to others. Her “success” gave her permission to behave ever-more inexcusably and do so without accountability. Courtney used her wealth to physically and mentally abuse Christian, and as a way to control him during her arguments.

Inside, it sounds like Courtney was an empty shell looking for some sort of constant gratification or escape. She never held herself accountable and neither did many people in her life (or so it seems). She truly believed that she would be able to use her looks, wealth and status as a young and beautiful white woman, to escape the consequences of her actions, which robbed family and friends of their beloved Toby. Considering the pattern of her behaviors, I believe it was only a matter of time until Courtney committed some sort of tragic offense if she continued on this path without changing her behaviors.

Allegedly and in my own opinion!

Thank you for reading.

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Photo credit: Omurden Cengiz, Unsplash.com
In Texas State Crimes

Crimes of Taylor Parker, Part II: Perpetual Liar Murders To Keep Boyfriend

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In Part I, we left off with Taylor Rene Parker, 29, receiving the death penalty in November 2022. Taylor was charged with the murder of Reagan Michelle Simmons-Hancock, and for kidnapping her unborn fetus. The crimes occurred on Sunday, October 9, 2020, the same day of Taylor’s scheduled induction. She was nearly 10 months pregnant.

Well, that appointment was a big problem for Taylor, because she wasn’t pregnant and never was.

A photo of Wade Griffin and Taylor Parker taken during a “maternity” photoshoot Taylor arranged in August of 2022.

It’s hard to imagine what might provoke a 29-year-old, twice-divorced woman and mother of two to fabricate a third pregnancy with a man she barely knew. But in February 2020, Taylor did just that and told Wade she was pregnant—for the second time. The first pregnancy announcement was only weeks after Taylor and Wade started dating—and that was a lie, too.

What’s more, is Taylor didn’t have custody of the two children she already had. By many accounts, she was especially neglectful towards her son, her youngest child. So, why a third?

As we’d come to find out, Taylor wasn’t after the prospect of another baby or experiencing motherhood for a third time. She only wanted Wade. A master manipulator, Taylor created fake scenarios to present herself as a totally different person. She wanted Wade to find her utterly irresistible, so he would never leave her.

And she was willing to do anything to keep him around, including murder.

Bottled Blonde Meets Country Boy

On Thursday, July 25, 2019, a typical humid summer’s day in East Texas, Taylor met Wade Griffin, 27, at a rodeo. The Annual Naples Rodeo & Watermelon Festival, held at the Naples Rodeo Club, is a big to-do in Texarkana. Then in its 81st year, the event features barrel racing, steer wrestling and team roping, along with a king and queen crowning and mounds of fresh and delicious watermelon.

The rodeo was held three weeks after Taylor divorced her second husband, Hunter Parker. She was officially single and ready to mingle. And that’s when she ran into Wade, a tall, burly, red-haired country boy.

Wade worked hard and long hours. Never married and without children, he had a reputation for being a hard worker and an all-around good guy. Wade was a roofing supervisor, and he also bought and sold wild hogs to a meat-processing plant. He lived in a modest cabin in Simms, a small town in Bowie County that’s home to some 1,400 residents. He enjoyed a simple, quiet life.

Wade had no idea what he signed up for when he met Taylor.

Where Control Meets Psychopathy.

Every relationship is different…obviously.

Some people are slow to warm up to each another, while others jump headfirst into intense, can’t-live-without-you romances seemingly overnight. Over the course of our lives, some of us will experience both kinds of relationships—from the perspective of others as well as our own. Taylor has a tendency to rush, but Wade didn’t reciprocate fast enough for her liking. So, she manipulated everything about their relationship from the start, without giving it a fair chance to grow.

Less than a month into dating, Taylor decided she wanted to live with Wade. She decided, because he wasn’t allowed much input at all. Instead of them of making a shared decision, Taylor fabricated a completely outlandish story to manipulate Wade into inviting her to stay. She gave him no choice. And what do you know—it worked.

It was the first of many lies she told and continues to tell.

Making Her Mother The Villain.

Taylor Parker and Wade Griffin. Photo from Facebook.

Theatrically, which is typical of Taylor’s behavior, she told Wade she feared for her life. She explained that her mother, Shona Prior, hired a hitman to murder her. Shona wanted to access a bank account in Taylor’s name—that had $6 million in it.

Having Taylor killed was the fastest way for Shona to get ahold of the money, she said.

Here’s the story Taylor told Wade:

Taylor explained that her family owned a significant amount of oil-producing land throughout Texas. Her family leased their land to companies and collected weekly royalty checks from theses oil and gas leases. The money accrued from the royalty checks made-up her family’s multi-million-dollar fortune.

Recently, Taylor’s grandparents transferred $6 million to her bank account. Taylor’s grandparents wanted her to maintain a property known as Nolan Place, which they could no longer maintain themselves. The large sum of money was exclusively to upkeep Nolan Place.

Distraught over not having access to the account, Shona hired a hitman to murder Taylor. Just in time, Texas police caught up with the hired hitman and a shootout ensued between him and the Mexican Mafia. Shona was arrested and jailed, where she committed suicide while awaiting trial. The crimes weren’t covered by local media because it was “under wraps,” Taylor said.

None of this was true.

There was no family fortune. There is no oil-producing land, leases or royalty checks. Shona did not hire a hitman to murder her daughter. Taylor’s mother was completely oblivious to all the slanderous lies her daughter said about her.

Holding On By A Thread.

When Wade’s mother, Connie Griffin, learned Taylor didn’t have custody of her own kids, it rubbed her the wrong way. She and many others wondered, why? What happened?

What happened, is that Taylor is pathological. She lies and lies, and then creates more lies to backtrack out of lies. She uses these lies to emotionally enrapture the people around her and garner control over them. As they say, there’s nothing like a mother’s intuition, and Connie was spot-on about there being something “off” about Taylor.

Not long after Taylor lied about her and Wade’s first pregnancy, she lied again and claimed to suffer a miscarriage. Taylor felt the “experience” brought them closer together.

Because of Wade’s busy schedule, he wasn’t home too much. When he was home, he expressed little interest in Taylor’s drama, personal and family-related. He didn’t know her for long, so he trusted her that Shona, Taylor’s mom, was “crazy.” Whenever something went wrong, Taylor seemed to connect it back to Shona. Besides, why would Taylor lie about something so ridiculous?

In the beginning of their relationship, Taylor was a decent houseguest. She made herself constantly available to Wade, after all. While he worked, Taylor cared for his property and livestock. He looked forward to steamy, home-cooked meals that she prepared every night for dinner. He thought she was one of the best cooks around.

Taylor Parker. Photo credit: Tyler Paper.

A Crisis Waiting To Happen.

Try as she might, Wade wasn’t in love with Taylor. While she was head-over-heels, Wade was hardly invested. He told his mother he cared for Taylor, but he didn’t love her.

Connie wasn’t happy to see her son settling, but he cruised along. Taylor fed Wade promise after promise of land, lucrative business opportunities, a family estate, after all. Eventually, the news came of “another” pregnancy. Wade stuck around to eventually find himself “stuck” with Taylor.

As time wore on, Taylor felt the space growing between her and Wade. It rattled her nerves. Taylor’s constant drama turned Wade off from the relationship and from Taylor in general. He wanted to disengage.

Taylor complained to Wade about their lack of intimacy. Despite her pleading, he still hardly reciprocated . So, you can imagine Wade was less than enthused when Taylor turned up pregnant “again” in late February 2020.

A Fake Pregnancy And No Intent To Come Clean

Taylor told friends, family, Facebook followers and Wade that their baby was due September 28, 2020. As the date drew closer, she announced they were having a girl they’d name Clancy Gail.

Physically, Taylor progressed in her pregnancy as well—which was yet another lie.

Taylor wore maternity clothes and regularly posted detailed updates about her pregnancy on Facebook. In these posts and to whoever asked, she shared sonogram photos of her growing baby; fake images she purchased from fakeababy.com. She customized the baby’s gender and gestational period, as well as the clinic and physician’s name.

A photo of the Moon Bump Silicone Fake Pregnancy Belly – 20 to 25 Week Stage Baby Bump sold on fakeababy.com, and an example of the fake pregnancy belly worn by Taylor Parker.

To dissuade growing suspicions, Taylor ordered a silicon pregnancy belly from that same website. She wore it during her and Wade’s maternity photoshoot in August of 2020, and also for her gender reveal party and baby shower.

Conveniently, because Taylor was “pregnant” during the pandemic, she met with her doctors alone while Wade waited outside. No one accompanied her due to coronavirus safety precautions. Privacy laws, like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), also kept everyone, including Wade, from accessing her medical information. He called the OBGYN for updates with no such luck.

Obviously Taylor’s OBGYN doctor knew she was faking a pregnancy, and office staff assumed she would claim a miscarriage. Her family did, too. Taylor was ballsy enough to invite her doctor to her “gender reveal” party, despite her knowing the truth. The OBGYN office eventually discontinued their patient-provider relationship with her.

Taylor’s due date came and went, and all eyes were on her to explain herself or turn up with a baby. She was unwilling to sacrifice her pride, worried she could lose Wade. Taylor was determined to preserve her relationship; it was more important to her than anything else.

An Ex-Husband’s Ominous Warning.

Taylor’s first husband, Tommy Wacasey, with whom she shares a son, learned Taylor was “pregnant.” He knew without communicating with Taylor, that it was a lie. He texted Wade to warn him about Taylor’s tendencies.

Her ex told Wade that area hospitals were on “high alert,” because of concern that Taylor might attempt to kidnap a newborn from a maternity ward.

He told him something else, but keep reading to find that out.

A Plan For Murder.

Reagan Michelle Simmons-Hancock with husband Homer Hancock and daughter Kynlee. Photo from Facebook.

On the day of Taylor’s scheduled delivery, she unfriended her mother from Facebook, as well as Homer Hancock, the husband of Reagan Michelle Simmons-Hancock. But it was three days before that, on September 14, 2020, that Taylor’s internet search history revealed her premeditated plan.

Scouting Her Victims.

On this Monday, Sept. 14, Taylor searched the web for local places that pregnant women frequent. Results turned up for maternity consignment stores and OBGYN clinics throughout East Texas and Shreveport, Louisiana. Taylor made appointments at these clinics and was seen both outside and inside. At some of the clinics, she sat outside for a time, observing pregnant women come and go.

Taylor wrote down the license plates of these women and later searched them in Google to locate their addresses. Less than 10 days before the murder of Reagan Hancock, she looked up teen pregnancy support groups in Texarkana and allegedly attended a meeting.

Fortunately for investigators, Taylor used her phone for all her research. These searches helped incriminate her.

Taylor’s phone revealed searches for information on midwifery certification and private adoptions. While deciding on a plan, it’s believed Taylor considered posing as a midwife to gain access to a newborn. She also searched for instructions on how to complete an out-of-hospital birth certificate, and watched YouTube videos on vaginal and C-section births. Some of the videos discussed performing C-section deliveries and delivery of the placenta.

On October 7, Taylor searched Reagan’s current and former addresses, and the address of Reagan’s OBGYN office. On the morning of October 9, she looked up information about giving birth vaginally at 35 weeks and also how to perform a physical exam of a 35-week infant.

And she kept going, despite all the evidence she left in her wake.

Arson And A Bomb Threat.

Remember, Taylor’s due date was scheduled for September 28, 2020, but she didn’t “give birth” on this day. She had to think fast to find an excuse to prolong her birth.

Taylor Parker. Photo credit: Texarkana Today.

So, she started a fire in Wade’s home.

The fire on October 5, 2020 caused pipe damage, which prevented the home from having running water or power. Fortunately, State Farm, Wade’s home insurance, hired a fire analyst to investigate the origins of the fire. The analyst determined the fire was not electrical, as originally believed, but it was intentionally set using a lighter. Investigators ultimately connected Taylor to the arson.

The following day, Taylor was scheduled to be induced again, but couldn’t because someone called in a bomb threat to Titus Regional Medical Center in Mount Pleasant, Texas, around 5 am. That “someone” was obviously Taylor, but the false alarm required hospital staff to evaluate more than 100 patients. She used a voice-changing app to disguise her voice by sounding masculine.

And If That Isn’t Enough…

What makes this case even crazier, is that Taylor couldn’t pregnant, even if she wanted to. Taylor worked at an OBGYN clinic in 2014, and not long after she gave birth to her son, she had her tubes tied. A subsequent and unrelated medical complication resulted in Taylor having a full hysterectomy in 2015—and other people were aware of this, like Taylor’s entire family.

In August of 2015, Taylor received care for pelvic pain and bleeding. The doctor found that Taylor suffered an ectopic pregnancy, and that she also had endometriosis. Because of the condition of her uterus, the doctor suggested a full hysterectomy for her safety and wellbeing. While Taylor was still under anesthesia, Shona allegedly gave the doctor permission to perform the hysterectomy. Taylor blamed her mother for years, but she voluntary underwent a surgery in 2014 to have her tubes tied.

This is the information her ex-husband, Tommy, relayed to Wade via text. Wade didn’t believe him.

Stay tuned for Part III, where we delve into Taylor’s financial frauds against Wade and the trouble she stirred with her own employers.

If you haven’t yet, be sure to read Part I of this case coverage, here.

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