A North Carolina woman has been arrested and charged with killing two of her adopted children who haven’t been seen in years as new disturbing details reveal they were kept in isolation, beaten and starved.
Avantae Deven, 63, faces multiple charges, including murder, in the disappearance and death of Blake and London Deven, Fayetteville Police Chief Kemberle Braden said at a press conference on Wednesday.
The chilling details released by the authorities this week revealed that the siblings, along with three other adopted children, had lived in brutal conditions while in the care of Deven.
“Our evidence shows that both Blake and London are deceased,” Chief Braden said, adding investigators believe that Deven abused them and ultimately killed them.
Blake Deven was last seen in 2017, when he was 10 years old, investigators determined. Investigators say evidence collected indicates that he died from starvation and abuse and that his body was burned. During the course of their investigation of Blake’s disappearance, police discovered the death of London Deven, who was last seen in 2019.
On April 10, Fayetteville police found a metal burn barrel that contained partial human skeletal remains of two children. One set was confirmed to be London Deven, according to the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The second set of remains, believed to be a boy between the ages of seven and 10, has not yet been identified and is still being tested.
Avantae Deven appeared in court on Thursday and was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of concealment of death, one count of kidnapping related to London’s death, and two counts of felony child abuse related to Blake’s death. She is being held at the Cumberland County Detention Center with no bond.
Missing since 2017 but not reported until 2024
The investigation began back in November 2023 when officers responded to a mental health call at Deven’s home in Fayetteville, WRAL reported. The caller claimed to be Blake Deven’s brother and said he had not seen him in at least five years and that he had a broken arm at the time.
Lead investigator Sgt. Jeff Locklear told reporters on Wednesday that investigators were able to confirm that Blake had been missing since 2017.
However, he was not reported missing by Avantae Deven until January 2024. Deven told police she last saw her son in 2022 when he was allegedly leaving for Buddhist retreat.
“Initially, she was giving us a story that Blake was possibly at a Buddhist retreat in the mountains,” Sgt Locklear said.
But he said investigators believe that Blake was abused and starved at the family’s former home on Eichelberger Drive, “until his body could no longer take the inhumane treatment.”
“Then, Avantae developed a plan to hide Blake’s remains, and she forced another person in the household to participate,” he added. “They dismembered him and burned his remains.”
Sgt Locklear did not release the name of the second person.
He said that “biological evidence” found at the home supported “evidence of isolation, torture and starvation.”
Meanwhile, Deven never reported London missing.
“The last confirmed independent sighting of London was in 2019,” Sgt Locklear said.
“Even though London was an adult, she had special needs and depended on Avantae to care for her.”
An investigation revealed that Deven had five adopted children, including Blake and London. The three boys were related, but the two girls were not related to each other or the boys.
Police and the Department of Social Services (DSS) interviewed the three remaining children who all gave graphic details of the horrific treatment they allegedly endured, which included being malnourished and physically abused while being trapped in a small, dark room.
“Multiple interviews showed the appalling conditions the kids grew up in,” Sgt Locklear said.
“Deven kept them in small rooms in complete darkness at times. They were given little or no food, they could earn nourishment through doing ‘paperwork.’ That meant they had to write hundreds of paragraphs to apologize for misbehavior. It is alleged some of the children were also beaten to the point of needing medical care but were only given natural cures like honey.”
At the news conference, Sgt. Locklear said there is evidence supported claims of isolation, torture and starvation that led to Blake’s death and that he was dismembered and his remains were burned.
“We believe he was mentally abused and starved,” Locklear said. “His body could not sustain the inhumane treatment. Then, Avantae developed a plan to hide Blake’s remains. She forced another person in the household to participate.”
It’s believed that London Deven died “in the same painful way that Blake died, starvation and neglect,” Locklear said.
‘She would just drag you down by your hair and beat you’
Bryanna Morrow, was one of the children Avantae Deven adopted, according to WRAL. At that time, she went by the name of Cherish Deven.
She spoke to the news outlet about her life in Deven’s care and the alleged mistreatment she endured, which included being locked in isolation.
“Days at a time,” she said. “It was very horrible. There were days we didn’t go with showers. The only time we could turn on the bathroom or the sink was to get water.”
“Being locked in the bathroom,” Morrow added. “If we weren’t locked in a bathroom, having to use pails as the restroom. There were a lot of beatings because we would steal food just to survive. She would just drag you down by your hair and beat you.”
When the children misbehaved, Morrow said they had to write apology letters.
“The older you got, the more paragraphs you had to do,” she said. “So by the time I was 15, I was doing top to bottom of a page. Imagine one page [to] 2,000 pages.”
Who is Blake’s biological mother?
Felicia Chandler, the biological mother of Blake Deven, spoke with WRAL following the news of Deven’s arrest.
“I really just feel like there’s more questions, and I’m waiting for more answers,” Chandler said.
“I just want to see my other two boys. I want to know if the remains are going to be sent home to where they belong with their biological families.”
Authorities did not answer questions or give further details about Deven’s three other adopted children.
