Internet mourns Instagram star Bianca Devins after brutal murder

Meg Bethany Koepp

A 17-year-old girl was brutally murdered on the night of July 14 after she’d attended a local concert in Utica, New York. The suspect then allegedly shared disturbing images of his actions to Instagram, before trying to selfishly end his own life.

The victim is confirmed to be 17-year-old Bianca Devins by local police, who was thought to have been murdered at her home in Utica, New York, according to an article by Metro. She was a popular Instagrammer with a following of over 35,000 across two accounts.

Rumors of the homicide started after suspected perpetrator Brandon Andrew Clark allegedly posted images of her corpse onto his Instagram story.

The suspected killer also allegedly posted several dark messages to his story, with one captioned “I’m sorry Bianca” and another “Here comes Hell. It’s redemption, right?” – the account has since been removed by the company itself.

According to a news story from NBC New York, Instagram issued a statement regarding the suspect’s account, stating that it had removed an image from said account for violating its terms of service, and had taken steps to prevent other users from re-sharing the image on the platform. Just what steps were taken, we don’t know.

Local Utica news channel WKTV published a news report video, where it was detailed that police had obtained a search warrant for the suspect’s home. Police also requested that if anybody comes across the photographs of the victim on social media, they need to report it to the website host to be taken down.

The report then claimed that they spoke to a police officer on the case who detailed how the suspect made the 911 call himself after committing the homicide. The suspected killer is in hospital with severe lacerations after allegedly turning the weapon on himself after the brutal slaying.

Another local Utica news station, WIBX950, revealed that police haven’t been able to speak with Clark – presumably because of his injuries – and that no charges for the alleged crime have been filed at this time of writing. Police also confirmed that the two had returned from a concert on the night of July 14 and drove to the murder location, where Clark’s vehicle was later found.

Bianca’s sister Liv Devins posted a heartfelt message to Instagram, where she said “I hate that I have to write this. I hate knowing you’re not going to ever come back home. You were the best sister anyone could’ve ever asked for.”

Another article by WKTV detailed that her family has since released a statement on their loss, saying: 

“We are very grateful for the outpouring of love and sympathy we have received from our Friends, Family, Bianca’s Friends and the whole community. Your prayers help to strengthen us through this difficult time.

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.”

A candlelit vigil is being held for the victim by her family tonight at 8PM in their local town, according to an Instagram story by her sister.