Blake and London Deven both dead, adoptive mother charged with murder, abuse: Police
By Monique John
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- A woman who adopted several children has been arrested and charged with the murder of two of them who haven't been seen for years.
Police say Avantae Deven is the adoptive mother of Blake and London Deven. She was taken into custody Wednesday and faces numerous charges in connection to their disappearance and deaths.
"Our evidence shows that both Blake and London are deceased," Fayetteville Police Chief Kemberle Braden said at a Wednesday afternoon news conference. Braden said their adoptive mother is the person responsible for abusing and ultimately killing the children. He said part of the abuse included starvation.
Avantae Deven was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of concealment of death, one count of kidnapping related to London Deven's death, and two counts of felony child abuse related to Blake Deven's death. She was being held at the Cumberland County Detention Center with no bond.
Police say Deven tried to throw off detectives with different stories that prolonged the investigation.
"Initially, she was giving us a story that Blake was possibly at a Buddhist retreat in the mountains," lead investigator Sgt. Jeff Locklear said.
Police said Deven didn't report Blake missing until this year. Blake Deven was last seen in 2022 at a Walmart on Ramsey Street, and London Deven was last seen in 2019 in Fayetteville.
Blake Deven
Fayetteville police said the investigation started in November 2023 when officers responded to a call about someone having a mental health crisis at a house on Berridale Drive, where Avantae Deven lived with her adopted children. Police said the person having the crisis said he was Blake Deven's brother and hadn't seen him in five years. He also told officers the last time he did see Blake the boy had a broken arm.
The investigator confirmed there were five children at the house who had been adopted from three different counties in North Carolina. This included three boys who are biologically related and two girls who are not related to each other or the boys.
Police and the Department of Social Services (DSS) interviewed the children who all gave graphic details of the horrific treatment they endured by Deven, their adoptive mother.
The children said they were kept in a small room that was kept dark and were given little to no food. They told police they could earn food by writing papers apologizing for their behavior.
Police said the children said they were sometimes beaten to the point of needing medical care. A detective who spoke at the news conference said they believed Blake's body could no longer endure the starvation and beatings and he died. After his death, they said Deven made someone participate in the burning and disposal of his body when they lived at a house on Eichelberger Drive.
Investigators said forensic evidence supported the allegations of torture, starvation, and isolation.
London Deven
Investigators learned of London Deven's death while investigating Blake's death.
Police said that during their investigation they found a metal burn barrel that contained the remains of two children. A teen girl between the age of 15-19 years old and a boy between the age of 7-10 years old. Lab tests confirmed the remains of the girl were those of London Deven.
From their interviews with the children, police said London died in the same manner Blake did, which was starvation, abuse, and neglect. The children said someone was made to participate in disposing of London's body.
They said London had special needs and was never officially reported missing by her adoptive mother, who is now charged with her death.
Testing continues on the other set of remains for positive identification.
Fayetteville Police continue to appeal to the public for information that could help them create a timeline in the investigation into Blake and London's death.