by Bianca Devins was an anime-obsessed teenager who found purpose and a small following as a mental health advocate – but soon became the target of online attacks. Then her murder went viral.
A new episode of the Investigation Discovery show Deadly Influence: The Social Media Murdersairing Monday, June 17 at 9pm ET on ID (streaming on Max), which tackles the Instagram star’s very public murder and trauma that her family suffered from seeing “sick people” turn their death in his “spectacles” on social media.
Her mother Kimberly Devins speaks out in the episode Download Bianca clip about the “terrible” pain she felt because she was unable to protect her daughter from her killer – and, even after her death, from the Internet.
Bianca, 17, from Utica, New York, was murdered in July 2019. But the horror didn’t end there.
Brandon Clark, whom she met on Instagram, slit her throat and then posted bloody images of himself with Bianca’s body on Discord, an online chat service, and on his own Instagram page.
Next to the photos, he allegedly wrote: “Sorry friends, you’ll have to find someone else to orbit.” When the police came, he slit his own throat and took a selfie.
But Clark survived and a group of incels – the name given to men who are “involuntarily celibate”, and known for espousing anti-feminine sexuality – came around him, calling him A “legend” and a “hero” who “did the world a favour” in online comments while Bianca was branded “worthless” and “disgraceful”.
Clark was later sentenced to 25 years in state prison. But the horror that happened to Bianca is still worrying her family.
“People posted the picture [of her dead body] under my Facebook profile picture, they would send to [Bianca’s sister] Always Olivia and me,” Bianca’s mother said in the documentary.
“They would tag us there. It felt like as soon as we took one picture another was posted. As a mother, it was really devastating because I don’t think I could protect her from that. I couldn’t protect her from murder and then I couldn’t protect her from being exploited on the internet.”
“At first the people who saw the post were very upset. But when Brandon survived that suicide attempt, the incel community stepped up and presented themselves in a way that celebrated Brandon,” says Kelly Ruhl, a true crime broadcaster, in the episode.
Bianca’s family says her social media accounts were a show, and to this day people are still on her accounts leaving horrible comments.
In an interview in March 2023 with The IndependentMs. Devins said she has been dealing with the graphic images of her daughter’s murder for years.
“It’s just, you know, I never feel like I can let my guard down,” she said at the time. “I’m always on my guard on social media. I don’t know when [those pictures] to be uploaded… It’s like re-traumatizing yourself every time you have to see that. I mean, that’s my 17-year-old daughter. We have to see her that way. No one should have to look at that continuously.”
Now, almost five years after Bianca’s murder, the ID episode explores the disturbing reality of some people using social media and online forums to threaten, harass and even plan violent attacks.
While Bianca’s passion for helping others has attracted a huge following on social media, it has also made her a target for those seeking to do harm.
Gianna Rosado, one of Bianca’s friends, speaks out in the documentary about the targeting of her friend and how her murder was shown to everyone.
“I could still see it in my head, she was just exposed,” Rosado said. “All these sick people can look at it whenever they want.”
Five years later, “people are still spamming the comments” of her posts with both “negative” and supportive messages, according to the documentary.
“If we were to go on there right now, the most recent comment would be two hours ago, and that’s just crazy to me,” Gianna said.
Bianca’s mother has been campaigning for years to hold social media platforms accountable. In 2022, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed Bianca’s Law.
“It establishes the crime of unlawful dissemination of personal images, particularly crime scene photographs,” Devins told the New York Post.
“In New York state, if you upload and distribute graphic personal photos or crime scene pictures, that’s illegal. But I’m still advocating because we need to expand this into federal law. Right now, it’s too narrow to limit it to New York. The only way to hold social media companies and Big Tech companies accountable is to establish a federal law.”
“I never really felt that justice was served until that law was signed because the murderer who goes to prison does not bring it back,” she said. “It doesn’t take back all the trauma we’ve suffered. But I think we finally got some justice for Bianca. Her name will prevent other families from experiencing what we have gone through.”
Bianca’s story is one of six episodes in Investigation Discovery’s new series that explores the underbelly of social media, exploring the dark reality of toxic online communities and showing the dire risks of viral social media fame.
RIP Bianca premieres Monday, June 17 at 9/8c on ID & Streaming on Max.
