#RIPBianca: Gamer’s murder goes viral, distress live-streamed again

On Sunday morning, Instagram users in the Unites States woke up to discover the horror of horrors allowed by the ease of social media access — bloodied pictures of a 17-year-old celebrity gamer from the United States, who was murdered early morning (local time) by her boyfriend, a fellow-gamer she had met online only a couple of months ago.

Disturbing pictures of Bianca Devins also surfaced on gaming website Discord, and 4chan, posted by her 21-year-old ‘friend’, Brandon Clark, who has been described by some users as an obsessed stalker. While the caption on Instagram “I’m sorry Bianca,” Clark posted the pictures of the dead 17-year-old on Discord with “Sorry f**c**rs, you’re going to have to find somebody else to orbit.” Orbiting is a term used for pursuing potential romantic interests online. Bianca, who lived in Utica, New York, was found murdered in her hometown the morning after after attending a concert with Clark concert in Queens, New York City. While Bianca’s Instagram following has shot up from less than 3,000 to over 90,000 since, Clark’s account has been taken down since.

According to the New York Times, Instagram had removed Clark’s account by Monday afternoon, but before it was deleted, his profile read “10/06/1997 — 7/14/19. Just know that I feel no pain now.” On the failure to curb the appearance of the disturbing images, Rolling Stone quoted Discord: “We are shocked and deeply saddened by this terrible situation. We are working closely with law enforcement to provide any assistance we can. In the meantime, our hearts go out to Bianca’s family and loved ones.” Clark was found by the police, lying next to a black SUV and started stabbing himself as officers approached him. He is believed to have made the 911 call himself.

Users drown disturbing pics with new hashtags

The ‘e-girl’ was popular in the gaming community, often posting selfies and details on her life. The online community was shocked that the unsettling photos appeared online, and that those were live until late Sunday evening. After Utica police confirmed Bianca’s death on Monday, Twitter and Instagram were flooded with #RIPBiancaDevins posts as users questioned social media’s inability to monitor violent content. The story is disturbing as it is, and Clark continued to upload grisly pictures even as he was being held at gunpoint by officers turning up at his home to arrest him for the murder.

Distress, live-streamed 

While Instagram was under attack for not removing the pictures quick enough, the police department reached out to various platform to take the bloody pictures down. As the Facebook-owned social media platform struggled, users themselves created new hashtags to drown the disturbing images with those of hearts and animals. Earlier this year, a massacre at two mosques in New Zealand was live-streamed on Facebook by the perpetrator. A live feed showed a gunman shooting down worshippers during an hour of prayer. The footage continued to circulate hours after the attack, leading the NZ prime minister Jacinda Ardern criticised Facebook for its failure to remove the videos. 

Earlier in 2017, 33-year-old Tennessee musician Jared McLemore, live streamed his attempt to torch himself outside a packed bar in Memphis as he ran towards his ex, Alyssa Moore. He later died of burn injuries. Upset post his break-up, 49-year-old James M Jeffrey from Robertsdale, Alabama shot himself in the head in the middle of a broadcast in the same year. A heartbroken Turkish man, 22-year-old Erdogan Ceren, had also shot himself live on Facebook.

In 2018, a 28-year-old man from Gurugram, India had shot himself during a live Facebook session after an argument with his wife.