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Murder of Bianca Devins

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Bianca Devins
Bianca Devins.jpg
Born
Bianca Michelle Devins

2001
Utica, New York, U.S.
DiedJuly 14, 2019(2019-07-14) (aged 17)
Utica, New York, U.S.
Cause of deathMurder; stab wounds
Known forVictim of Murder

On July 14, 2019, Brandon Andrew Clark murdered Bianca Michelle Devins after allegedly seeing her kiss another man, although police reports say the murder was premeditated. Following a botched suicide attempt, Clark was charged with second-degree murder. He subsequently pleaded guilty to the murder and was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

Police reports stated that Clark and Devins were in an intimate relationship, although the two perceived the relationship differently, in particular as to whether it was exclusive. Devins' sister called him a close family friend, whereas others feared he was exploitative. A childhood friend noted him as "obsessive" and users on social media described him as a stalker and an incel.

Devins' murder received considerable attention from the news and social media. Initial reports were marred by misinformation. Photos of her corpse were taken by Clark and shared widely online, sparking both mockery and sympathy. Social media companies' responses were subject to criticism which led to the introduction of legislation inspired by Devins' murder. Commentators have discussed the unique nature of the crime and its relation to the structure of social media.

Background[]

Relationship prior to the murder[]

It is believed that Bianca Michelle Devins (aged 17 upon her death), also known as Bianca Ahren,[1][2] and Brandon Andrew Clark (born October 6, 1997),[3][4] met on Instagram in April 2019, after Clark had begun following her on the social media platform.[1][5]

They were on friendly terms; Devins' mother, Kim, thought that Clark "wanted more".[a] She explained to Kim that she did not wish to date Clark.[1] Police described their friendship as a "personally intimate one"—friends and family said otherwise.[8][9] One of Devins' sisters called him a trusted family friend.[10] One of Devins' friends feared that he may have been sexually exploitative of her while they were high on drugs, which he would, reportedly, supply to Devins in order to spend time with her.[11]

Devins and Clark's biographies[]

Devins intended to study at Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica for psychology.[1] Her struggles with mental illness, in the form of depression, anxiety, borderline personality disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder, were a concern for her loved ones. She "had been in and out of the hospital receiving mental health treatment for much of her teen years".[12] Having experienced feelings of isolation, she found refuge in online communities.[12] According to The Post-Standard, Devins had been dealing with online harassment by incels for at least two years.[13]

Clark's childhood was subject to dysfuction; he once witnessed his father hold his mother at knifepoint for several hours.[11][14] Upon meeting Clark, Kim said he "seemed very nice" and was "polite".[1]

Murder[]

On July 13, 2019, Canadian singer Nicole Dollanganger was performing a show in New York City that was attended by Devins, Clark, and another male friend of theirs named Alex.[1] Following the show, Clark and Devins returned to Utica. The two engaged in an argument—likely regarding a kiss between Devins and Alex; eventually Clark began assaulting her, slicing her neck with a long knife hidden by his seat. Devins died in the early morning hours of July 14.[b][1][6][16][17] Her body, nearly decapitated, was left in the car as Clark built a bonfire and listened to a song called "Test Drive" by the artist Joji.[15][18]

After Devins' death, Clark called numerous family members. His call resembled a suicide note, prompting his family to call 911.[15] He posted photographs of Devins' body to a Discord server, accompanied by the caption: "sorry fuckers, you’re going to have to find somebody else to orbit".[5][19] A video of the murder was also created.[15] By 7 am, Discord users had notified the police, who received "numerous" calls, including one from Clark, and made contact with Devins' family.[1][5][6][c] In his call to the dispatcher, Clark said:

"My name is Brandon, the victim is Bianca Michelle Devins, I'm not going to stay on the phone for long, because I still need to do the suicide part of the murder-suicide".[20]

Upon the police's arrival, Clark stabbed himself in the neck. He lay across a green tarp concealing Devins' body, and posted more photos online.[5][16] A suicide note and message were found, the latter reading: "May you never forget me".[15][21] The next day, police confirmed the victim was Devins and charged Clark with second-degree murder.[16]

Having "had the knife and equipment to videotape the killing", authorities reported the possibility that he planned the murder.[15] Police Sgt. Michael Curley believed Clark desired fame.[22] Oneida County assistant district attorney Sarah DeMellier claimed that Clark has given various explanations to multiple people.[23] He had made Web searches on how to find the carotid artery, how to incapacitate or kill someone, and general searches for choking and hanging.[15]

Reaction[]

Local[]

A vigil for Devins was held on July 15; her funeral taking place on July 19.[5][24] Another vigil was held in July 2020.[25] On February 14, 2020, a fashion and art show displaying her work was held.[26] Week-long counseling sessions were offered to Thomas R. Proctor High School students.[27] The Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium was lit up in honor of Devins.[28] Frank Williams, Devins' grandfather, thanked the Utica community for their support.[29]

Social media[]

#pinkcloudsforbianca was used to share photos and original artwork of pink clouds, to combat the spread of images containing Devins' corpse.[1]

The images of Devins' corpse became widely shared on social media such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.[30] They gained traction on the website 4chan with hundreds of posts praising Clark for committing "another 4chan murder".[5][10] Users on Incels.co and 8chan were also celebratory.[28][22] #ripbianca briefly trended on Twitter.[5] Accounts promising to post images of Devins' murder in exchange for likes and follows, and illegitimate fund-raising sites sprang up to capitalize on her name and death.[31]

The initial online discovery was marred by misinformation and rumors were spread by users.[5][10] Tweets from prominent Twitter users—one of which was shared over 16,000 times—falsely identified Clark as an incel.[10][d] Speculation on the crime's nature was "rampant"; users on YouTube, Twitter, and Reddit examined Devins' history and sought to explain the murder.[17][18]

Dr. James Densley, a professor of criminal justice, said that the images could cause trauma in those who viewed them.[5] Her stepfather—who suffered the most harassment—reported having flashbacks.[12] Devins' sister, Olivia, detailed similar results.[32] Kim said that "So many people have been affected by the pictures, scarred for life and suffering from PTSD, unable to erase the image from their mind".[33] Nicole Dollanganger asked that people stop sharing the photos.[17]

Company responses[]

Instagram and Facebook removed Clark's account and attempted to stop the photos' spread.[3][19] Facebook added images of the murder to a digital fingerprint database and blacklisted the hashtag #yesjuliet; the Discord server that Clark utilized was shut down.[3] Users who attempted to report them on Instagram found that they were not considered violations of community guidelines.[5] Instagram's response was met with criticism.[34]

It was reported that some images stayed on Instagram for as long as four days; Devins' mother Kim claimed that by September the images could still be found on Facebook.[11][12] Prosecutors in the trial said the images could still be found months later.[35] Olivia reported that nearly two years later, the photos were still being sent to her.[36] Hany Farid, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, whose research focuses on digital forensics and image analysis, claimed that Instagram and other companies had the tools to deal with the spread and that their inaction bordered on the criminal—despite a strictly legal perspective saying otherwise.[12]

News reports and commentary[]

By July 15, the story had reached the mainstream and was subsequently reported around the world—likely being the most publicized case of social media documenting a murder.[5][15][25] Only having 2,000 followers, initial reports of Devins' murder erroneously overstated her online status.[5][e]

Melissa Jeltsen of HuffPost recalled that in the immediate aftermath of Devins' death, "Everyone wanted [it] to mean something."[11] The Post-Standard's Elizabeth Doran noted the case was more closely related to "the well-worn story...of abusive male partners".[1] Queenie Wong of CNET and Densley found that Devins' murder demonstrated the problems with how social media responds to violent imagery.[5][37] The internet's connection in the murder has been noted by many.[28]

The crime has been discussed as a case of domestic violence against women caused by toxic masculinity.[11][22] Misogyny was seen by some as relevant to the context of Devins' death.[28][38] Evelyn Douek of Harvard University drew parallels between the sharing of photos of Devins to the sharing of videos related to the Christchurch shooting.[39] Others have drawn similar conclusions regarding Christchurch, noting that both men repeated the meme 'subscribe to PewDiePie' following the events.[6][31]

Clark's actions following Devins' death have been interpreted as a demonstration of control—including by Kim.[1][11][22] Director of criminology, Alison Marganski said that Clark's behavior fits the profile of other violent male offenders and speculated that he felt emasculated and wanted to show his strength.[40]

Aftermath[]

Sentencing[]

Clark pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder on July 29, 2019.[41] He was later charged with promoting prison contraband after corrections officers found a shiv constructed out of a sharpened toothbrush in his cell.[23] According to Kim, he composed a letter to a friend, around this time, which saw him "bragging" and noting how it felt to kill. This letter, reportedly, explained his motive: "he couldn’t handle the thought of her walking out of his life".[33]

On February 10, 2020, before his trial, he changed his plea to guilty.[23] His sentencing was scheduled for April 7 but was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[23][42] On June 2, he filed a notice to withdraw his guilty plea, claiming his lawyer had failed him.[42] He was denied due to his admission of guilt.[43] His hearing took place on September 30, and a written decision was drawn up on October 30.[44][45] On March 16, 2021, Clark was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.[36] He has formally expressed remorse for his actions.[9]

Legislation[]

Kim Devins, alongside congressman Anthony Brindisi, has called for increased action to be taken by social media companies in regards to graphic content.[46] Instagram reportedly promised to share the results of an audit, requested by Brindisi, by August 2019, although by December, Kim had yet to receive the results.[12] Brindisi has requested that the Federal Trade Commission investigate the case for full accountability.[46]

On September 21, 2020, Brindisi and Devins' family introduced "Bianca's law". If passed, all social media platforms with more than $10 million in revenue and over 100,000 monthly users would be required to establish an office dedicated to identifying and removing violent content that violates the platform's moderation standards.[44] Marianne Buttenschon and Joseph Griffo introduced a law that would create criminal and civil penalties for spreading an image of a crime victim with the intent of glorification or harassment.[47]

Devins started a scholarship in Bianca's name for students pursuing psychology degrees.[48]

In July 2021, Devins' family sued the Oneida County District Attorney's office, accusing them of distribution of child pornography. Devins learned from producers of documentaries on the murder that they had received from the District Attorney's office footage of Bianca Devins' death and of her having sex, as well the contents of her phone which included nude photos. Allegedly a YouTube blogger was also given these in response to a FOIL request.[49]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Some sources reported them to be dating and in a sexual relationship.[6][7]
  2. ^ Some news sources erroneously stated a death date of July 13.[1][15]
  3. ^ Devins' family were first made aware by the images being sent to them.[1]
  4. ^ Police said they are unaware of ties between the "Incel" movement and Devins' murder.[13]
  5. ^ By July 15, her follower count had risen by 75,000.[31]

References[]

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  2. ^ Leach, Jonathan (September 18, 2021). "Violent images sent to victim's family a form of "psychological terrorism," expert says". CBS News. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Wong, Queenie (July 15, 2019). "Instagram's dark side: Grisly photos of teen's slaying spread on social media". CNET. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  4. ^ Writer, NBC (July 15, 2019). "Teen Girl Found Dead Outside NY Vehicle, Man Badly Hurt in Apparent Social Media Murder Mystery". NBC. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Cooper, Kelly-Leigh (July 20, 2019). "Bianca Devins: The teenager whose murder was exploited for clicks". BBC News. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d Byerly, Carolyn M. (October 4, 2020). "Incels online reframing sexual violence". The Communication Review. 23 (4): 290–308. doi:10.1080/10714421.2020.1829305. ISSN 1071-4421. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved October 18, 2020 – via Taylor & Francis.
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