48 Hours - The Online Life & Death of Bianca Devins - Encore

Episode Date: August 14, 2022

How did images of a 17 year old girl's murder go viral? "48 Hours" contributor Jericka Duncan reports.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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ConstantContact.ca On July 14th, 2019, I woke up, picked up my phone, and noticed that my group chat was buzzing about something. And I looked at it, and it was a photo of my friend, and it looked like she was dead. I looked at it and it was a photo of my friend and it looked like she was dead. So I was reading all the messages and they're saying guys like in the discord someone posted that Bianca is like dead or something and I was like what? Some people in the discord actually had to call the police. Utica Police. Good morning. I believe someone may have been murdered. Okay, where?

Okay, so I'm on an online group and somebody posted a picture of someone getting murdered and I believe it to be a Miss Bianca Michelle Devins. Before I knew it, the photo was being circulated around my community and then beyond it. So tell me, what did you see that day? I was on Twitter, as I usually do, just to gauge what stories are trending that day, and I saw that Bianca's name was trending. I didn't know very much at that point, just that images had been posted and were going viral on social media.

And I just knew that I wanted to find out more. I think we were all just very confused. Someone saw something on the Internet where they thought, you know, Bianca may have been hurt. I am Kim Devins, and I'm Bianca's mother. Bianca is a talented artist, an aspiring model. I knew she had an online presence, but I found that granddaughters do not share their online presence with their grandfathers.

So I wasn't aware of the depth of it. Social media was a huge part of Bianca's life. And online, she could be whoever she wanted to be. She was definitely a social media chameleon. She had multiple Instagram accounts, which was not uncommon for kids her age. But one of them was clearly reserved for her online friends, was fairly edgy. She was obviously very popular on Discord. It was common for some people in the community

to try and escape or maybe to get attention to fake their deaths. As this photo is circulating on Discord and then to other social media platforms, the authenticity of the photo is being debated. A lot of people are unsure whether or not it's real. People were making memes out of the images. They were turning them into jokes. They were sent to me.

They were sent to various family members. So this is a collection of different communications received by Bianca's mom. And obviously every one of them meant to be incredibly cruel, incredibly hurtful. This is a form of psychological terrorism. I just don't understand the cruelty and the emptiness in someone's heart where they would get some kind of a thrill out of sending these pictures to a family.

I remember just standing up and saying, no, it's not her. I stomped up my stairs saying, it's not her. It can't be. It's not her. It's not my baby. MULTIPRODUCTION July 14th, 2019. It was a beautiful day in Utica. It was our Boilermaker Road Race, which is a well-known 15K road race

where participants from across the world come to run. As the first runners crossed the finish line, Utica police detectives Brian Coromato and Michael Curley heard alarming reports of a possible murder. Certainly nothing prepared us for a homicide on that day. The horrific photos spreading on the social media platform Discord had prompted calls from around the country. Okay, what's the female's name? Bianca Michelle Devins.

I'm hoping the girl is just bleeding badly and maybe still alive. People didn't know if it was real or not. We needed to find her to make sure, to see if she was all right. Police body cameras were rolling as officers arrived at 17-year-old Bianca Devins' home to perform a welfare check. When did you first learn that your daughter was missing? There was a knock at our door. Is there a Bianca Devins that lives here? Yeah, why?

My daughter Olivia answered the door. She came up to me and said, Ma'am, the police are here. There's something going on with Bianca. The police didn't show Bianca's mother, Kim, the photo, but said they feared her daughter might be in danger. Can you try to get a hold of your daughter? And what were you thinking at that moment?

I was so confused. I didn't know where Bianca was. Kim told police she last saw Bianca the day before as she headed with friends to this concert in New York City. How was her mood when she left? I remember Bianca being so excited. I left her alone for most of the night, just giving her her space. And this was her first real adult concert. Bianca texted her mother after the concert to say she was heading home.

Bianca was enjoying her newfound freedom, Kim says, after graduating high school two weeks earlier. But her journey to get there hadn't been easy. At what point did you realize she needed help? Bianca first saw a therapist at nine years old. She was having some separation anxiety, didn't want to go to school, just wanted to stay home with me. And then around 13, Bianca started showing signs of depression. As Bianca isolated herself from others, she started to spend more time on social media. She really could just escape her own mental struggles, what was going on in her head, and escape into a different world online.

Hi, it's like 6 in the morning and I'm currently editing this, but I just wanted to let you know that I am so funny. How prevalent was Bianca on social media? She was extremely prevalent on social media. She had a large presence on many platforms. Reporter EJ Dixon covered Bianca's story for Rolling Stone magazine and says the internet has a name for the type of character Bianca portrayed online. What's an e-girl? An e-girl is, it's basically a term used to describe a certain type of aesthetic. It's like a very edgy, dark, aesthetic, different colored hair.

But Bianca's behavior was growing increasingly erratic. At age 16, she was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, an illness which Kim believes led to Bianca's varying mood swings and affected her self-image. Bianca was very smart. She was very intuitive and self-aware. So she always knew something was wrong, and she knew she needed help. And there she is with Belle, right on the couch in the living room. Bianca sought treatment, says her grandfather Frank,

and eventually returned to her role as a devoted big sister to Olivia and Maddie. We all said that Bianca's back. That's our girl. And there was this glow in her eyes when she talked about going to college and what she was going to do with her life. Bianca immersed herself in her art. And was even getting noticed as a promising young model. She would get lots of compliments from models and agents.

And she really felt good about herself when she was modeling. Though she had turned a corner, Bianca maintained her edgy online persona and by age 17 had created multiple identities. She also had an active presence on 4chan, which is sort of on the darker side of the web. I go on the record saying 4chan is a dangerous place. And it's also just an incredibly, incredibly misogynistic space. As Bianca's popularity grew online, so did the number of some of her male followers

called orbiters, says online friend Elizabeth. The reason why they're called orbiters is because they will follow, like, a girl they think is attractive online and, you know, just, like, orbit them, never become close to them. Bianca was exceptionally patient and accessible to her orbiters, to a fault at times. One orbiter who captured Bianca's attention was a 21-year-old Lyft driver named Brandon Clark, whom she met on Instagram in May of 2019. What was he like? Honestly, nothing notable. He was just kind of like a normal,

one of these weird people, you know, one of these weird guys in the community. After communicating on social media, they eventually took their relationship offline and briefly dated, but were never exclusive. Bianca had made it clear to Brandon that she was not interested in a committed monogamous relationship at this point, and Brandon had seemed to accept that. When Brandon came around, and he came around pretty often, he just looked like a goofy, nerdy boy next door. Kim says there were no glaring red flags about Clark, so when Bianca told her mother he was taking her to that concert in New York City, Kim thought nothing of it. I took a little comfort in knowing that she would be with Brandon, because I trusted him.

comfort in knowing that she would be with Brandon because I trusted him. As the search continued, Bianca's friends suspected the photo circulating on Discord might be a hoax after learning it was Clark who posted the image. We all just assumed that he was making a joke or trying to scare us or something. On Discord, it's fairly common for people to post gore and disturbing images just to sort of get a rise out of people. So it was certainly within the realm of possibility that this could have been faked. Dispatch to all units. But things turned very real, very fast. We have him on the line now.

When it was Clark who called 911. My name is Brandon. The victim is Bianca Michelle Devins. It was like an out-of-body experience, but I was shaking. I just kept thinking, no, no, she's fine. We just have to find her, and we're going to get her help. She's going to be okay. As Bianca's family awaited news of her safety, police dispatch received a call.

911, what is the emergency? My name is Brandon. The victim is Bianca Michelle Devins. I'm going to kill myself. The officers at the Devins' home could hear what was unfolding on their radios. Brandon, is that her ex or boyfriend? Apparently he's suicidal.

He's made statements saying that he hurt her daughter. It didn't make sense to me. I remember just being very confused that they were saying that Brandon may have hurt her. It just didn't make sense that he would have hurt her. Investigators turned their attention to Brandon Clark, who by then had posted more disturbing pictures of Bianca, including one with this message. I'm sorry, Bianca. We were fighting against time. We needed to find her. And we need to find her fast. He's not telling us where he is. They're basically pinging his phone. The dispatcher tried to keep Clark talking until police could pinpoint his location.

It's just staying alive with me, okay? No, I'm not going to stay alive with you. I'm going to be dead on the ground. But before hanging up, Clark told them exactly where to find him, a dead-end road not far from Bianca's home. Describe for me, where was Brandon, and what was he doing? Brandon's vehicle was parked up ahead of here.

An officer pulled up, and he observes Brandon. Hi. What are you doing, man? Brandon's armed with a knife. He has his gun pointed at him. Yeah, he engages him. Put the knife down, man. Put the knife down. There's a conversation back and forth. Where's the girl? Where is she?

As the officer moved into position, Clark slashed himself with a knife. He then took a selfie and posted it to social media with the caption, ashes to ashes. Ultimately, backup arrives. They engage him in front of his vehicle. After a brief struggle, Clark was disarmed and placed under arrest. When I arrived on scene, Brandon was actually just being wheeled out to the ambulance.

As paramedics raced to save Clark's life, investigators made a grim discovery. The body of a young woman, hidden beneath a tarp. Detective Coramado knew they had found Bianca. The news has got this, so you better send somebody to the mom's house to give her a heads up before but before police could make that call kim says she had already learned the painful truth and olivia was in the kitchen with her friend and we heard the most excruciating scream that you've ever heard come out of a teenager. Someone had texted Bianca's family the horrific photo.

I just kept screaming, it's not her. It's not her, it's not my baby. I knew it was her. And I said to myself, I'm going to be strong. Get my family through this. This wasn't a whodunit. We know who did it. We had to work backwards to figure out why this happened. Investigators started at the crime scene.

As we were learning about Brandon, every single thing he did at the crime scene meant something to him. Prosecutors Sarah DeMillier and Michael Nolan would lead the investigation for the Oneida County District Attorney's Office and begin with a cryptic message Clark spray-painted at the scene. As this case was going, one of the things we saw was that, may you never forget me. The first thing we did, and I think everybody does now as a prosecutor, something you don't know, you Google it. Investigators learned that message was taken from a series of Japanese comic books called Pun Pun that Clark and Bianca had often read together.

The books are dark, they're violent, and it's almost a Japanese dark version of Romeo and Juliet. Does he have some very skewed picture that his relationship with Bianca is a star-crossed lover scenario? And there was something else investigators found unusual about the scene. The other thing that I think we found particularly eerie was the music at the crime scene. Using a Bluetooth speaker, Clark had programmed his cell phone to play a particular song on repeat. And that song was, we later learned, Test Drive by Joji, about a person who is more invested in the relationship than somebody else. To understand exactly what was happening between Bianca and Clark that night, investigators began reviewing their social media accounts and soon learned the two weren't alone at the concert.

and soon learned the two weren't alone at the concert. It wasn't just Bianca and Brandon. In fact, they were accompanied by another person, another guy. Direct messages from Bianca's Discord account revealed she had invited a new friend named Alex and was concerned Brandon might get jealous. Prosecutors tracked him down. He was very helpful in explaining the last moments that he spent with Bianca that Brandon really seemed to not want Alex there. Investigators learned that

after Brandon and Bianca left the concert, she texted Alex to say, I think he saw me kiss you. When we do learn that there is a kiss at the concert, we need to explore, was it a crime of passion, if you will? Was it a snap? Just before dawn, as they headed back to Utica, Clark made this ominous post on social media. Brandon has posted a photograph of what appears to be the New York State Thruway. And in that post, he says, here comes hell, it's redemption, right? Even as investigators questioned what had happened after that and where, nothing could have prepared them for what they would soon uncover.

We found out that there was a video of the murder. This is a horror film playing out in real life. In 2014, Laura Heavlin was in her home in Tennessee when she received a call from California. Her daughter, Erin Corwin, was missing. The young wife of a Marine had moved to the California desert to a remote base near Joshua Tree National Park. They have to alert the military. And when they do, the NCIS gets involved. From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS. Listen to 48 Hours NCIS ad-free starting October 29th on Amazon Music.

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people will get away with what they can get away with. In the Pitcairn Trials, I'll be uncovering a story of abuse and the fight for justice that has brought a unique, lonely Pacific island to the brink of extinction. Listen to the Pitcairn Trials exclusively on Wondery+. Join Wondery in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It's early in the morning when I go into the office and we get a call from the police department.

They tell us, you know, there's something that you have to see here. The day after the murder of Bianca Devins, prosecutors Sarah DeMillier and Michael Nolan went down to the Utica Police Department. Overnight, investigators had conducted a forensic analysis of Brandon Clark's cell phone and found something terrifying. They set us up with a computer, some speakers and some headphones and push play. And that's when we see that there is a video made by Brandon of him killing Bianca. I think it wasn't until that very moment that we realized this was probably the most horrible, terrible thing that either of us have ever seen in our life and as a prosecutor. Many of the details are too gruesome to describe. Bianca appears to be sleeping and the back seat is folded out so that it's flat.

He then takes his camera and he clips it to almost one of those vents that would be on the front dash. What we see from there is the beginning of the homicide, where Brandon reaches into the back. He collects from the back seat a knife, indicating to us that something he came prepared with, and he hides it at the right-hand side of the car. We see that he wakes Bianca up, and he goes about having a conversation with her.

Then D'Amelio says Brandon asked Bianca about that kiss she had with Alex, the other young man at the concert the night before. He tells her, you know, you know, I saw you kiss him, right? And she says, yeah, and I'm sorry. And he says, well, I'm sorry is not good enough. It's just not good enough for him. D'Amelio says it's then that Bianca reminded Clark they were not exclusive. And she basically says, are you ready to take me home yet and at this point with Brandon realizing this might be the end of the time that the two of them are gonna spend together we see him grab the knife she does not see it

coming de Milleur says Clark then killed Bianca. And then he blames her. He screams dramatically into the camera, you know, Bianca, why did you make me do this? Like it's her fault, and it's not. It was after he finished filming the video that Clark took those graphic photos of Bianca and posted them on social media. And I know that if she had gotten out of that car, she would have called me. Bianca's mother and grandfather have never seen the video,

but heard of its contents early on in the investigation. I was 10 minutes away. She had just been able to get out of that car, but he caught her completely off guard. Does that haunt you today? It does. I was so close. And she fought him.

That's the thing that impressed me most, was she fought for her life. But the sickening murder video wasn't the only important piece of evidence investigators found on Clark's cell phone. They learned that he was intent on killing Bianca long before the events of that night. We learned that Brandon is meticulous in his categorization, itemization of things

that he wants to do. Two days before killing Bianca, Clark utilized the Notes app on his smartphone and typed a sinister checklist. I would just describe this list as the to-do list, the things that he needs to do to carry out his plan and to stage his crime scene. Set up speaker and last song question mark. And that's not all. Clark did multiple Internet searches, some the day before the murder, researching ways to kill. He searched how to choke someone out, how to hit the carotid artery to kill someone. More evidence investigators say that this was not a crime of passion.

Brennan had this planned. He had the video staged. He had the phone staged. He knew exactly what he was doing. We believe that when this relationship came to an end was when he was going to kill her. Brandon wanted to be with her. She did not want to be with him. And he wasn't going to let anybody else have her. So no matter what she said, she was going to wind up dead that night. Two weeks after the murder, Bianca's family and friends packed the courtroom wearing pink, her favorite color, as they waited for Brandon Clark to make his first public appearance. Brandon walked into the courtroom today wearing an orange jumpsuit and a black

protective vest. I was in court when they brought him in. I said, he just looks pathetic. Clark was officially charged with second-degree murder and pleaded not guilty. The defense was considering an extreme emotional disturbance defense, but authorities and Bianca's family were not buying it. Investigators and the prosecutors describe him as just an evil person that wanted to murder someone. And that's who Brandon is. He is a murderer. He is evil. And as prosecutors prepared to go to trial, they had only one goal in mind.

We need justice for Bianca and we need to make sure Brandon can never hurt anybody else again. That's what our job is. But there was nothing they could do to stop what was going on online. The horrific images of Bianca's murder that Clark had posted continued to spread on the Internet, and a vile campaign of hate was brewing on social media. Bianca's family members were also being targeted as a result of Bianca's death. It was just nonstop harassment. This is a form of psychological terrorism. Hot shot Australian attorney Nicola Gaba was born into legal royalty.

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and listen to more Exhibit C true crime shows early and ad-free right now. on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and listen to more Exhibit C true crime shows early and ad-free right now. As a kid growing up in Chicago, there was one horror movie I was too scared to watch. It was called Candyman. It was about this supernatural killer who would attack his victims if they said his name five times into a bathroom mirror. But did you know that the movie Candyman was partly inspired by an actual murder? I was struck by both how spooky it was, but also how outrageous it was. Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder, wherever you get your podcasts. In the days following Bianca's murder, downtown Utica was lit up in pink in her honor, and a candlelight vigil was held to celebrate her life. Supporters gathered to sing Puff the Magic Dragon,

a song her grandfather Frank sang to Bianca as a child. Puff the Magic Dragon, live by the sea. A tradition she continued with her baby sister, Maddie. Puff the Magic Dragon. It's the special song. But as Bianca's family grieved, the images of her dead body had spilled from the fringes of the Internet into mainstream social media. I just can't understand why people would want to see it. This is real.

Frank believes those who shared the photos didn't see Bianca as a loving daughter or a cherished granddaughter. They didn't see her as a person at all. These pictures aren't fictitious pictures taken from a movie. They're of a lovely, beautiful girl whose life was taken from her in a cruel way. Bianca's death photos spread on the social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. When you found out that your daughter's images were on Twitter... It's heartbreaking. It's so exploitive of my daughter. I just thought of how embarrassed she would be, how heartbroken she would be.

Kim pleaded with social media companies to remove the images, but it took time. They stayed on Instagram and Facebook for at least a couple of weeks. Every time the photo was removed, another one would appear in its place, says reporter EJ Dixon. Unfortunately, extremely violent and disturbing images can circulate wildly on social media, and a lot of social media platforms don't have the infrastructure in place to prevent that from happening. In response, some social media users led a grassroots effort to replace the death photos with messages of hope. So Bianca supporters tried to combat people trolling the hashtag by posting beautiful images of clouds, bunnies, ribbons, or fan art of Bianca like we see here.

To what end? They did it to push the death photos down in the search results. But amid the battle to preserve Bianca's memory, Kim says her family became victims of vicious online trolls who relentlessly sent them the horrific photos. They were sent to me. They were sent to various family members that were close to Bianca. Olivia's had to take a break from social media because there's always the risk of having to see her sister's death photo. Along with the photos were hateful messages blaming Bianca for what happened to her, many of which are too graphic to show. It's horrifying. It's traumatizing to see people saying that your daughter, you know, this is my baby, that she deserved such a cruel end to her life.

They're in, you know, direct messaging and text messages to the family. A very twisted need is being met by continuing to share these and trying to get these to Bianca's family. It actually furthers the physical crime. Behavioral scientist Stephen Cremando believes the individuals most likely responsible for the attacks on Bianca's family belong to a community of online men called incels. Incel is short for involuntary celibate. Incels are individuals, men, 21 or older, who have gone six months or longer without any sort of sexual activity,

not by their own volition. Incels see themselves as victims, says Cremando, in a never-ending struggle to win the affection of attractive women whom they refer to as Stacey's. Incels believe that they don't have any chance with Stacey's at all. Was Bianca considered a Stacey? Bianca would be considered a Stacey. Though Clark did not identify as an incel,

he was celebrated by this dark community for what he did to Bianca. was celebrated by this dark community for what he did to Bianca. The incel feels badly cheated to the point where it becomes just an obsessive thought that I need to strike back for the unfairness. In fact, this violent rhetoric has led to murder. In fact, this violent rhetoric has led to murder. In 2014, a 22-year-old self-identified incel went on a deadly rampage in Isla Vista, California, killing six people. Since then, the intelligence community believes there have been more than a dozen mass killings in North America, resulting in 50 deaths attributed to incel ideology. And as there's been more incel killings, it has become more clear to us that there is,

on this spectrum of incels, those at the extreme end who are certainly capable of murder. And because of that, it's recognized now as a terrorist threat. We all knew that we were in the line of fire, and I was honestly afraid to, like, leave my house. The response to Bianca's murder by the incel community served as a wake-up call for friends like Elizabeth and other young women in their online world who realized they too could be targets. You know, those same incel communities

that were praising Brandon's actions were saying, oh, I wonder who's going to be next. I can't wait for the next victim or, you know, or the next girl to be killed. As Clark's case headed to trial, emotions ran high for Bianca's family, who feared her murder video would be played in court. My last memory of Bianca is her full of life, so excited. Soon to have to see her in her last moments, how she was brutally murdered. It's absolutely traumatizing and something no one should ever see. But shortly before his trial began in February 2020, Clark pleaded guilty to Bianca's murder. I know that sorry's not enough.

I know that I won't take back what I did. He said he wanted to spare us from having to see the details of Bianca's murder. Did you believe him? I don't believe him. Kim may have been right to be suspicious. Before sentencing, Clark changed his mind yet again and wanted to go to trial. We know that he's playing a game with everybody. Go to the 48 Hours Facebook page

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Brandon Clark was back in court to try and change his plea back to not guilty. This request infuriated the Devins family, who had already been through so much. Don't play games. Take your punishment. Give this family some peace. Bianca's mom said she knew why Clark now wanted to go to trial. He found out that there were media and production companies interested in Bianca's story, and he wanted to be able to tell his side. Clark wouldn't admit to that. Months later, he took the stand to plead his case. Do you soundly swear in the testimony you're about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,

so help me God. I do. He blamed his former attorney, Luke Kneebusch, a well-respected local public defender, for not visiting him enough in prison and pressuring him into pleading guilty. He knew that was a first-time offender and had no knowledge of the legal system, knowledge about court proceedings. Can you state your name? Luke Kneebusch.

On the stand, Kneebusch said Clark's claims were not true. I went to the United County Jail 15 times prior to this plea. There were moments where I spent four or five hours with him. There were moments where I spent two, maybe an average of three. He said, in fact, he was the one who encouraged his former client to plead not guilty and go to trial. But it was Clark who refused. Again, whose idea was it to plead guilty to these charges? It was Mr. Clark's. And it was your intention to take this matter to trial? Yes.

And during cross-examination, prosecutor Mike Nolan demolished Clark's argument about his supposed legal knowledge. You're making claims that Mr. Neves didn't do his job, but you don't know that, correct? With the resources I was provided, it looks like he did not do his job. And again, what law school did you go to, Mr. Clark? I did not go to law school. Right. So you don't know that. Correct? Correct. Thank you.

The judge denied Brandon Clark's request to withdraw his guilty plea. And on March 16th, 2021, nearly two years after Bianca was murdered, he was finally brought in to be sentenced. Are there any family members that would like to address the court? Yes, Your Honor. Bianca's mother and grandfather had been waiting a long time to face Bianca's killer. With the death of your child comes the most unimaginable, indescribable pain, a pain that time cannot heal and only seems to worsen. But Brandon, for the cruel manner in which you took my granddaughter's life, for the total disregard you had for a human life, for the callous act in which you posted pictures of her murdered body on social media to gratify your own selfish purposes,

you, Brandon, deserve to spend the rest of your life in prison. Before the judge read his sentence, Clark gave a statement. I hate myself for what I did. I'm so sorry that I put everyone through this. I'm so sorry that I put Bianca through this. I wish I could apologize to her and just apologize and apologize and just take it back. Did you all believe his apology? Did you think it was sincere at all? No. Not sincere. That's part of his story is to play, oh, poor me. It's not about what he did to Bianca. It's all about him.

The judge also appeared unmoved by Clark's apology and gave him the maximum sentence for murdering Bianca, 25 years to life. Our deepest thoughts now are with bianca our angel who has given so much love to this family but despite their relief bianca's family knows their fight may not be over after clark serves 25 years in prison he could be eligible for parole. He will be in his late 40s. Did Bianca receive justice? No. Justice would be Bianca being alive.

But the justice for Bianca now takes a different form. Bianca's family is trying to turn their grief into action. They have worked with local politicians like then-Congressman Anthony Brindisi Bianca's family is trying to turn their grief into action. They have worked with local politicians like then-Congressman Anthony Brindisi to try and get Bianca's law passed. And today we are putting social media companies on notice. We are taking substantive action on the federal level to bring the Devins family peace and ensure this never happens to another family again. Bianca's law is a bill that would hold social media companies accountable for violent and graphic content that they allow on their platforms. So we looked at that as a start for a series of laws and policies that would prevent

death photos like Bianca's from being put up on social media. They also have established a scholarship in Bianca's name. And that will go to a student who is going to follow Bianca's ambitions of helping adolescents with mental health struggles like Bianca had. How do you want Bianca to be remembered? I want Bianca to be remembered for her smile, for her bright spirit, for her huge huge caring heart. Bianca always wanted to help someone.

Even in her worst struggles when she couldn't help herself, she helped others. And she will never, ever be forgotten. A former beauty queen vanishes without a trace. There were so many stories. I knew something had happened. How could someone keep this a secret for so long? Years later, a secret revealed. He starts telling me everything.

48 Hours, Saturday at 10, 9 central on CBS. If you like this podcast, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a quick survey at wondery.com slash survey.