Editor's note: The story was updated to reflect that Brandon Clark is accused of killing Bianca Devins.

- - - - - - - -

In the Utica area, a significant number of criminal cases have received national or even international attention, leading to results both beneficial and harmful, according to those involved in such cases.

One recent murder case brought outside attention with polarizing effects to a family still reeling from the loss of their loved one.

“It helps and hurts,” said Kim Devins, the mother of Bianca Devins, who was killed this summer in East Utica. Her boyfriend, Brandon Clark, is suspected of killing her after the two traveled home from a concert in New York City.

Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara can name several cases that garnered national attention, but believes Devins' murder has had the most significant amount of media attention he has seen in his career.

A documentary is being filmed about the case; magazine and other news websites have covered it.

Devins’ murder had more online coverage than most local cases, including online articles, bloggers and Youtube channels. She already had an established social media presence, and photos of her remains were posted and shared on social media after her death.

Lt. Bryan Coromato, the public information officer for Utica police, recalls when police discovered the July 14 murder. Initially there were local media and regional media responding to the start of the Boilermaker 15K Road Race being delayed, he said.

It was on that day that Kim Devins was informed by police about her daughter’s death.

“I remember trying to keep her name out of the media,” she said.

By the end of the day, police told her they would be informing the media her daughter was the victim.

As the investigation continued, emails trickled into Coromato’s inbox. It started with regional outlets, he said, and then he started getting emails from national outlets and online platforms like Huffington Post and Buzzfeed.

“I still get emails to this day,” he said. One individual from the United Kingdom has been following the case and asking how the American legal system works, Coromato said.

In the following days, Kim Devins also began receiving calls from news outlets. Local media remained mostly respectful, she said.

“National news was looking for salacious interviews and looking for information,” she said.

By noon Monday, Coromato was getting emails from outlets in the United Kingdom and Australia.

“You name the outlet or website, I probably got a call,” he said.

He also began hearing from people on Youtube and other online platforms.

“With Bianca’s status on online subcultures, things started growing,” he said.

Kim Devins was reading articles online with incorrect information about her daughter, she said. Youtubers used screenshots of text conversations she said were not from her daughter. A podcaster — “He called himself a Twitter reporter,” she said — used a conversation Devins said was from a different couple.

Coromato said a video falsely claiming to be of the murder was tracked down online by police; they were taking every phone call and email to ensure other false rumors were dispelled, he said.

Following her daughter’s death, Kim Devins said she witnessed images of her remains “explode all over the internet.”

“My daughter’s death was exploited,” she said. “I saw a really ugly side to society.”

Strangers on the internet were not only sharing the photos of her daughter, but also sending them to family members, along with posts and messages saying Bianca Devins deserved her demise, her mother said. Her 15-year-old daughter received a message; a childhood friend found out about her death while on vacation when she saw the graphic posts.

“This is one of the hardest parts of this coverage,” she said.

At the same time, she said, friends were posting pink clouds in her memory and to “cover up the gore” of the other images. Friends and strangers began reaching out, Kim Devins said.

“The support from around the world has been amazing,” she said. “Her story just touched people in some way … I think that Bianca’s story could be anyone’s story; she was a beautiful young girl who had her life ahead of her.”

Many people also knew her daughter from her online profiles on Instagram, Discord and SnapChat.

The family has been working with Congressman Anthony Brindisi, who has asked the Federal Trade Commission to launch a special investigation into this matter and the sensitive content practices of large social media companies.

Over time, Kim Devins said she and her family were approached by several media outlets about using her daughter’s story. She learned from Utica police that a documentary crew from A&E Originals wanted to film a production about Bianca Devins and Clark. It was the first time they seriously considered such an offer, she said.

“This is something Bianca would have wanted to do … ,” her mother said. “Tell her story and try to help others … It’s also a way to honor her.”

Contact reporter H. Rose Schneider at 315-792-5013 or follow her on Twitter (@OD_Schneider).