Avantae Deven was arrested and charged with murder on Wednesday in connection with the years-long disappearance of Blake and London Deven.
Authorities revealed grisly details that underscored brutal living conditions and indicated children in Avantae Deven’s care were isolated, starved and beaten.
Avantae Deven is the adoptive mother of Blake Deven and London Deven, who vanished from Fayetteville several years ago in a highly-publicized case that’s drawn plenty of attention in recent months.
Avantae Deven was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of kidnapping, two counts of concealment of death and two counts of felony child abuse.
During a news conference on Wednesday, Sgt. Jeff Locklear said in November 2023, officers responded to a mental health crisis at the Deven home on Berriedale Drive. The victim told authorities he had not seen Blake London, his brother, in five years and the last time he had seen him he had a broken arm. The victim told authorities he believed Blake London was dead.
Fayetteville police found partial human skeletal remains on April 10. At that point, investigators could not confirm if the remains were connected to Blake Deven and London Deven and did not reveal where they discovered the remains. The remains were sent to the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for identification.
On Wednesday, detectives said they found five children were adopted by Avantae Devan from three different North Carolina counties. Those children included three boys who were biologically related and two girls who were not biologically related.
“Multiple interviews showed the appalling conditions the kids grew up in,” 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.”
Authorities believe Blake Deven likely passed away when the family lived on Eichelberger Drive in Fayetteville. He was likely mentally abused, according to Sgt. Locklear. Blake Deven was dismembered and his remains were burned, Locklear said. Evidence supported claims of isolation, torture and starvation.
London Deven, who had also not been seen in some time, is believed to have died “in the same painful way that Blake died from, starvation and neglect,” Locklear said.
Detectives found a metal burn barrel with partial human remains on the Berriedale Drive property. Testing confirmed the barrel contained two separate sets of human remains, one belonging to a female between 15-to-19 years old and another set consistent with a child 7-to-10 years of age.
Documents obtained by WRAL News from the state civil court database showed Avantae Deven adopted both Blake Deven and London Deven years before their respective disappearances.
Both Blake Deven and London Deven went missing between 2019 and 2022. London was last seen in 2019 in Fayetteville. A missing children’s database said Blake London had been missing since 2022.
Authorities did not answer questions regarding Deven’s three other adoptive children.
Animals were seen being taken from Avantae Deven’s current home on Berriedale Drive by animal control officers on Wednesday morning. A tow truck was also parked near the home.
Several agencies assisted with the case, including the FBI.
