Man who killed teen Instagrammer and posted photos of body online pleads guilty
A US man who stabbed a 17-year-old girl to death and posted photos of her bloody corpse online has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
Brandon Clark, 21, of Cicero in central New York, entered the plea with the understanding he will get the maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
He was set to stand trial in Oneida County Court later this month for killing Bianca Devins by slitting her throat last July after they had returned from a concert in New York City.
Bianca Devins was remembered as her family's "princess". Instagram
Brandon Clark has admitted to the murder. Instagram
Police said the two were friends but not romantically involved.
Photos of the slain girl were shared widely online after Clark posted them on social media apps Instagram and Discord, a platform popular with gamers.
Clark called 911 to report what he had done after authorities started receiving calls reporting the online photos.
Brandon Clark has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Oneida County Sheriff's Department
Police found him after he tried to take his own life and took a selfie with Bianca's body.
He apologised in court today, telling the judge that Bianca "didn't deserve what happened to her."
He will be sentenced April 6.
Bianca's mother, Kim Devins, has been advocating for new laws to prevent the posting of graphic photos like those of her daughter.
Kim Devins told Syracuse.com in a December interview that Clark had met her daughter through her Instagram account, which had about 3000 followers.
The family learned of the murder when strangers sent them photos of her body that Clark had posted.
"It is absolutely disgusting that people are sharing, screenshoting the pictures of Bianca's tragic death," Bianca's stepmother Kaleigh Nicole Rimmer wrote on Facebook.
"I have seen the pictures. I will FOREVER have those images in my mind when I think of her. When I close my eyes, those images haunt me."
Bianca Devins, a recent high school graduate, had amassed a large social media following across several platforms. CNN
Bianca was a "talented artist", according to her family. Instagram
Devins had planned to attend Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica, her family said.
"Bianca, age 17, was a talented artist, a loving sister, daughter, and cousin, and a wonderful young girl, taken from us all too soon," a statement read.
"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."
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