Bianca Devins, a 17-year-old girl well known in some social media circles, was murdered in Utica, New York in a case that has drawn additional attention because it’s linked to a photo uploaded to social media apparently showing a dead body.
Police have identified the victim as Devins, Syracuse.com reports. She was found dead Sunday morning alongside a road in Utica, but confirmed to WKTV in Utica. A person of interest, identified as 21-year-old Brandon Andrew Clark, was rushed to the hospital with significant self-inflicted cuts, according to Syracuse.com.
Police say he slit Devins’ throat, then his own.
Utica Police Lt. Bryan Coromato is calling the deadly incident a possible domestic incident.
“We got a call from one of the parents that was concerned about some things that were occurring in the relationship at this point,” Coromato said. “At this point that call, along with what occurred, is still under investigation so we have nothing further to release at this point on that.”
He wouldn’t confirm the nature of the relationship between victim and suspect. When asked if they were in a relationship, he responded “it’s a possibility.”
The Utica Police Department has not returned Oxygen.com’s request for comment or confirmation.
Clark was allegedly posting photos, including gruesome photos of Devins, to Instagram Stories as officers had him at gunpoint, police told BuzzFeed News. His apparent Instagram handle is @yesjuliet and around the time of the alleged attack he posted a photo from his car which read,”here comes hell. It’s redemption, right?”
Coromato said police are aware that a photo showing the victim’s dead body was uploaded to social media, according to NBC New York. He wouldn’t confirm the photo’s authenticity.
Instagram issued a statement Monday stating that they had to remove an image from account @yesjuliet for violating its policies, NBC New York reports. They stated that they also had taken steps to stop others from resharing that image.
A woman identified as Liv Devins posted a tribute on Instagram to her slain sister.
“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.”
In Liv’s Instastories, she wrote that heaven now has “another perfect angel” and stated that there will be a candlelight vigil for Bianca on Monday evening.
One of the Instagram accounts believed to belong to Bianca has more than 40,000 followers. She was a 4chan user and was known for her posts on Tumblr and Instagram.
