19
lovedanimals.”
Onthenightofhermurder,Biancaand
a 21-year-oldmannamedBrandonClark
(whom,somereportshold,shemetonsocial
media)attendeda concert.Thetwoallegedly
gotintoa disputeafterBiancakissedanother
concert-goer.Causeenoughformurder?
DistrictAttorneyScottMcNamarasaidthe
investigationis justbeginning––andthey’re
leavingnostoneunturned.
“Thebeliefis thatBiancakissedsomebody
attheconcertandthat’swhatupset
Brandon,”saidScott.“I havea veryhard
timeunderstandinghowanybodycanjustify
takinganotheryoungperson’slifebecause
theykissedsomebodyelse.Theheadline
is outthere:‘boyfriendkillsgirlfriendand
postsphotographonsocialmedia’andmost
peoplethinktheinvestigationis complete
andit’sdoneandoverwith–” Buthesays
thereis stilla lottofigureout.
Accordingtopolice,Biancadidnotachieve
thetypeoffameonlinethatwouldexplain
thewidespreadinterestinherdeath.She
onlyhada fewthousandfollowersontwo
Instagramaccounts,thoughwassomewhat
betterknownbythename‘e-girl’inniche
onlinecommunitiesforgamersandgoths.
Beforeshewaskilled,Biancahadabout
2 000followers.Shehad 10 postsonher
account– includingonefromabouta
weekbeforeherdeath,whenshetoldher
followersshehadgoneon
a contentpurge.
Afterherdeathher
accountgainedover
100000 followers.Other
Instagramuserstriedto
capitaliseonhergrisly
deathtogainmore
followersbyclaimingthey
hadphotosofherbodyin
hopespeoplewouldfollow
them.
PoliceLieutenantBryanCoromato,whois
investigatingthecase,added,“Theattack
happenedinBrandon’svehicle.Wefound
her with a large wound across her neck.
Wearestillspeakingtopeoplethatknew
themboth‒tryingtounderstandtheir
relationship,whatthemindsetofeach
personintherelationshipwas.We’re
tryingtoseeif it waspre-plannedorif it’s
somethingthatjusthappened.”
By06h40‒beforeherbodywaseven
discovered‒photosofBiancadeadshowed
uponseveralInstagramaccounts.Brandon
alsoreportedlypostedthephotosofBianca,
withthecaption,“Sorryf*&%ers,you’re
gonnahavetofindsomeoneelsetoorbit.”
Afterpolicereceivedmultiplecomplaints
aboutthepoststheyarrivedatthescene
sometimearound07h20.Asofficersarrived
Brandonbeganstabbinghimselfinthe
neck.Helaydownacrossa greentarpnear
hisblackSUV.Policeofficersnoticedhair
protrudingfromunderthetarpandasked
whereBiancawas.Brandontoldofficersshe
wasunderthetarp,andthenpulledouta cell
phonetotakephotosofhimselflyingacross
thedeadteen.Brandonhasbeencharged
withsecond-degreemurder.If convicted,he
couldserveupto 25 yearstolifeinprison.
Hehaspleadednotguilty.
AlthoughsomeInstagramusersattempted
tofloodtheplatformwithphotosof
pinkclouds,alongwiththehashtag
#pinkcloudsforbianca,manyargued
thatInstagramdidnotdoenoughtocurbthe
spreadofthephotosofBianca’sdeadbody.
Policearecurrently
indiscussionswith
Instagramtofind
outhowimages
thesewereableto
beshared.Instagram
saysit is working
withthepoliceand
usinga combination
oftechnologyand
reportsfromusers
toremoveother
accountsattemptingtospreadtheimages.
“Wearetakingeverymeasuretoremovethis
contentfromourplatforms,”a spokesman
for Facebook,whichownsInstagram,said.
“Wedon’twantpeople
seeingcontentthatviolates
ourpolicies.
Ourgoalis totakeaction
assoonaspossible‒
thereis alwaysroomfor
improvement.Ourthoughts
goouttothoseaffectedby
thistragicevent.”
Thespeedatwhichthe
photoswereshared,and
thelengthoftimeit took
forInstagramandothers
totakethemdownand
stopthembeingreshared,
echoessocialmediasites’
responsetofootageshared
oftheChristchurchterror
attack.Onthatoccasion,the
killerstreamedlivevideoon
Facebookfor 17 minutesas
hefiredatmen,womenand
children at two mosques inadlin
‘boyfri
girlfriend an
photogra
social me
BrandonClarkstandsaccusedofmurdering
17-year-oldBiancaDevinsbyslittingherthroat.
JustsecondsafterthemurderBrandonplastered
photosofBianca’sbodyonInstagramNewZealandonMarch15,2019.Facebookwas
criticisedforfailingtoremovealltracesofthe
footageintheimmediateaftermath.It saidit
hadremoved1.2-millioncopiesofthevideo
within 24 hoursandblockeda further 300 000.
Butstillsandclipsspread,croppingupallover
socialmedia,sometimesusedasprofilephotos.
Thecasealsosharessimilaritieswithan
incidentthatoccurredclosertohome,when
MangosuthuUniversityofTechnologystudent
ZolileKhumalowasmurdered‒shotather
LonsdaleHotelresidenceonDurban’sPoint.
Herallegedkiller,ThabaniMzolo,tookto
Facebook to confess that he had taken her life.