Bianca Devins’ Death | Photo Circulation & Murder

Bianca Devins’ Death | Photo Circulation & Murder

Bianca Devins Death PhotosBianca Devins After High School Graduation

Overview

Bianca Devins was murdered by a 21-year-old New York boy named Brandon Clark. Photos of her death were taken by Clark and shared on various platforms. Clark called the police, and as officers arrived on scene, he began stabbing himself in the neck. He then began shared pictures of his attempted suicide, and initial police statements indicated that Clark moved to a green tarp, which covered Devins? body, and began taking photos of himself there as well. He was then captured and brought to St. Elizabeth?s Hospital.

Who Was Bianca Devins?

Who was Bianca Devins?Who was Bianca Devins?

A statement from the Devins family following Bianca Devins? death reads:

??Bianca, age 17, was a talented artist, a loving sister, daughter, and cousin, and a wonderful young girl, taken from us all too soon. She is now looking down on us, as she joins her cat, Belle, in heaven. Bianca?s smile brightened our lives. She will always be remembered as our Princess. Bianca graduated from T. R. Proctor High School this past June and was looking forward to attending MVCC in the fall.?

Contrary to the claims of many news outlets shortly after her death, Bianca Devins was not an influencer on social media websites nor did she command a large following elsewhere. By the time reporters got to her social media pages, thousands of new users had heard about her murder and ?followed? her. At the time of her death, her Instagram account had about 800 followers, which is only slightly above average. The influx of followers was used by any news outlets to sensationalize headlines, some of which remain unchanged today.

Many less-than-dependable sources have made claims about Bianca Devins? past, charging her with being manipulative, cruel, and unstable. Further controversy has been stoked as contributors to certain 4chan and Reddit threads have begun making lewd or misogynistic remarks.

Who Is Brandon Clark?

Who is Brandon Clark?Who is Brandon Clark?

The swathe of inaccurate news coverage of Bianca Devins murder set many rumors into motion. Depending on the news outlet, Brandon Clark was presented as an ?incel,? a stranger, a boyfriend, or an obsessed fan who stalked and killed Devins after being rejected by her. We now know that Devins and Clark knew one another beforehand.

According to Bianca Devin?s sister, Brandon Clark was a family friend ? not ?just an internet boyfriend?

Bianca Devins MurderBianca Devins? Sister

The sister?s post implies that Devins and Clark were dating in some capacity. However, ?Chels,? a friend of Devins who was on the Discord server when the graphic photos were posted, said that Clark and Devins were friends with a strictly platonic relationship.

In 2016, Clark was charged with an attempted burglary charge in Fulton, New York, and was later convicted of a misdemeanor charge. Further details have not been made available. As for his charges, the Utica Police Department (UPD) stated: ?Brandon Clark has been charged with NYSPL 125.25, Murder 2nd degree, a class A-I Felony.?

How Did Bianca Devins Die?

How did Bianca Devins Die?How did Bianca Devins Die?

The Utica Police Department (UPD) discussed the events that led up to Bianca Devins? murder in a statement which read:

?A tentative identification had been developed at this time, and we began to explore her history. With respect to their relationship, it was learned that the two had met on the social media platform Instagram approximately two months ago. They utilized this as a means of communication primarily, and their relationship progressed into a personally intimate one. They had spent time together and were acquainted with each other?s families.?

Again, one of Devins? friends said that the relationship between Brandon Clark and Bianca Devin was nothing more than a platonic friendship. Devins? sister, however, stated that Clark was ?not just an internet boyfriend? but a friend of the family. What evidence the UPD has uncovered about an intimate relationship has not been revealed.

The UPD states that Brandon Clark and Bianca Devins met up at a concert. Though the report does not specify this, other sources have reported that the concert featured Canadian singer-songwriter Nicole Dollangarner. Dollangarner (her birth name is Nicole Bell) is known for her dark lyrics which discuss violence, self-harm, mental disorders, BDSM, and sex. Some media outlets spun this as somehow related to the crime. Not only is this an absurd claim in its own right, but research has shown found no link between aggressive or dark music and real-world violence.

In a Rolling Stone feature, Chels, a friend of Devins? who was on the Discord server when the graphic photos were posted. Direct messages shared with the Rolling Stone alleged involved Devins discussing that Clark was at her because she held hands and kissed a boy at the concert. The last message sent by Devins was timestamped less than two hours before police would arrive at the scene of her death.

Lt. Brian Coromato of the UPD said that multiple phone calls were received from worried Discord and 4chan users who had seen the images posted by Clark (and possibly other distributors).

The most comprehensive coverage for the rest of the story comes the UPD who were the first on the scene. The UPD statement reads:

?On Sunday, July 14th, 2019, at approximately 7:20AM Oneida County Dispatch received numerous calls informing them that a male individual had posted to a social media site that he had killed his girlfriend [sic] and was threatening to harm himself.?

After the murder, Brandon Clark called 911 and made ?incriminating statements? about Bianca Devins? death before implying that he ?was going to harm himself.? The report continues:

?After determining that the calls were originating on Poe St. in City of Utica, officers were dispatched to that location?The street terminates into a wooded area where the first arriving officer located a black SUV with a male lying on the ground beside it. The officer approached this male, and almost immediately, he began to stab himself in the neck with a knife.?

The only officer on-scene asked Brandon Clark where Bianca Devins was after noticing brown hair protruding from beneath a green tarp. At this point, the statement alleges:

?The male [Clarke] advised him that the female was beneath the tarp and proceeded to pull out a cell phone. It was at this time that is believed that the male took self-photographs of himself laying across the deceased female.?

Bianca Devins Murder | Photo of ClarkBlurred Photo of Clark During Crime

Other officers arrived within moments, and together they engaged the male. They were able to disarm the male, and after a brief struggle, they took him into custody. He was then transported to St. Elizabeth?s Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery. His injuries were severe; however, he is expected to survive.

The remaining officers on the scene pulled back the tarp, where they found Bianca Devin?s dead body, marked with ?extensive injuries to her neck.? The officers were able to collect ?numerous objects of evidentiary value? in the immediate area.

Bianca Devins Death Photos

Perhaps the most comprehensive set of public Bianca Devins death photos are held on a forum site called Kiwifarms, which has come under fire for inadvertently supplying internet trolls with images to repost. This thread also contains screenshots of information that many major news sites have not discussed. However, much of it is highly speculative.

The pictures of Bianca Devins? death have been widely shared on Instagram, 4chan, Facebook, and many other websites. This has led to a massive controversy concerning the role social media platforms have in moderating their content. A community has formed to fight off the constant reposting the Bianca Devins murder photos, but the images remained on social media sites for hours before being taken down, and they still abound on the internet.

Bianca Devins? stepmother said of the matter:

?Imagine sitting there, in disbelief and praying to God that this is all some mistake and that your baby will walk through the door any minute. Now imagine seeing those pictures and having everything in you break. Imagine not even being able to yell out and scream or cry because your soul has now just been broken. Instead of repeatedly sharing and it saving these sick pictures, you report them so they can be taken down. And instead you post about what a beautiful young woman she was.?

Contrary to some claims, there were photos shared not just on Discord but also Instagram by Clark (under the username @yesjuliet). They depicted Bianca Devins? body and Brandon Clark?s own wounds. Devins was not decapitated. This rumor likely spread due to the deep laceration visible in the photos.

Brandon Clark Suicide Photos

Brandon Clark Suicide PhotoBlurred Photo of Clark?s Injuries

Like with the Bianca Devins photos, the images Brandon Clark took before and after his suicide attempt abound on the internet. These two are most commonly accessed on the Kiwifarms thread.

These pictures have also been widely shared on the internet. However, they have not come under the same level of scrutiny for understandable reasons. A much larger focus has been placed on safeguarding the victim?s privacy and shielding her family from the photos as they mourn.

Is Brandon Clark Dead?

Brandon Clark Suicide PhotoA recent photo of Brandon Clark

Brandon Clark survived his suicide attempt. After police arrived on the scene of the crime, Brandon Clark was brought to St. Elizabeth Campus of the Mohawk Valley Health System in critical condition. He underwent surgery for his severe self-inflicted throat lacerations and survived. He is currently being tried for second-degree murder, and the UPD say other charges could be filed as well.

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