Deadly Influence: The Social Media Murders - Did Brandon Clark plead guilty to the murder of Bianca Devins?

The murder of Bianca Devins at the hands of her friend, Brandon Clark, reached the headlines in the news in 2019. Bianca was assaulted with her throat cut to the point of decapitation by Clark as he circulated the images of her corpse soon after. Clark and Devins had become friends through Instagram in April 2019.

According to several reports, Bianca and Brandon shared a friends-with-benefits relationship but Brandon allegedly failed to accept the scenario. He attempted su*cide after Bianca's killing but survived the attempt to be charged with her murder. He pled guilty and is presently serving 25 years to life in Attica Correctional Facility.

The Deadly Influence: The Social Media Murders episode titled RIP Bianca showcases the gruesome murder committed by Brandon Clark as it airs on June 17, 2024, at 9 p.m. EST on Investigation Discovery.

The official synopsis reads,

"Anime-obsessed teenager Bianca becomes an inspiring mental health advocate online - and changes lives. But on forums and social media accounts, she discovers a horrifying and violent underbelly: young men primed to threaten, harm, and attack."

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How was Brandon Clark arrested?

The 17-year-old Bianca Devins had reportedly befriended the 21-year-old Brandon Clark on Instagram in April 2019. Clark and Devins had been friends for a couple of months till he was invited to her graduation party in June of that year.

According to a HuffPost report, Cody Meulengracht recounted how he allegedly introduced himself as Bianca's boyfriend at the party while she took care to correct the statement every time. Two weeks after the party, Clark attended a Nicole Dollanganger concert with Bianca in Queens.

Bianca had reportedly shared a kiss with a mutual friend, Alex, which angered Brandon. The two argued as they headed back to central New York. However, Bianca never made her way back home as Brandon had slit Bianca's throat as she slept in the backseat of the car. He took a video of the procedure and uploaded pictures of her almost decapitated corpse to his Discord server.

The incident took place at Poe Street in the early hours of July 14, 2019, according to USA Today. Brandon had made several calls to the Utica Police Department during which he shared,

"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."

As the responders arrived at the scene around 7:20 a.m. local time, Brandon had slit his throat and lay atop the green tarpaulin which he used to conceal Bianca's body. Brandon Clark survived the attempt and was charged with the murder of Bianca Devins.

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Did Brandon Clark plead guilty to Bianca's murder?

In July 2019, Brandon Andrew Clark had reportedly pled not guilty to the charges. He, however, changed his plea to guilty in February 2020. Clark subsequently tried to change it back to not guilty over concerns of poor legal counsel, per Spectrum News.

Clark was dismissed as he was not allowed to change his plea deal after he had admitted to committing the crimes. The COVID-19 pandemic postponed the trial process which led to Brandon's sentence received on March 16, 2021.

Brandon Clark was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years, per CNN. He is presently serving his time at the Attica Correctional Facility, per the Central New York Department of Corrections and Supervisions.

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Watch the third episode of Deadly Influence: The Social Media Murders as it airs on Investigation Discovery on Monday.