Mother faces death penalty over horrific torture and murder of her two adopted children – after police found their remains in a burn barrel
The North Carolina mother who tortured and murdered two of her adopted children could face the death penalty after the children’s partial remains were found in a metal incinerator at the back of her home.
Brothers Blake and London Deven have not been seen for years, but were never reported missing by their adoptive mother, Avantae Deven.
Deven stood before District Judge Caitlin Evans on Thursday in Cumberland County Court in Fayeteville, North Carolina. If found guilty, she could face the death penalty, WRAL News reported.
She was was arrested Wednesday at her Berriedale Drive home, months after police executed a search warrant and charged her with first-degree murder, concealment of death, kidnapping and child abuse.
She is being held without bond in The Cumberland County Detention Center until her next hearing, scheduled for July.
The North Carolina mother who tortured and murdered two of her adopted children could face the death penalty after the children’s partial remains were found in a metal cremation vat
Blake Deven is said to have died after his adoptive mother brutally tortured him and his sister for years. The photo was taken in 2012. He would have been 17
London Deven was starved and neglected, investigators said. In the photo taken in 2008, she was about 12 years old. She would now have been 27 years old
In April, detectives searched Deven’s home, where the siblings reportedly lived. In doing so, they discovered the gruesome discovery of a metal fire containing partial human remains.
Researchers are convinced that the children were tortured and abused by their adoptive mother for years. They also revealed the horrors the children had to endure while she cared for them.
London Deven, the eldest child, was believed to have been neglected and starved, investigators said.
They also think the children are dead. London Deven would have been 27 years old, and her brother Blake 17.
Cumberland County District Attorney Billy West spoke outside the courthouse, shocked by the horrific acts.
“The allegations are absolutely among the worst I’ve seen in my almost 25 years of doing this.”
Deven’s attorney said: “I know the charges could not be worse. I have complete confidence in our judiciary.”
Avantae Deven was the adoptive mother of five children
Deven leaves the courthouse in Fayetville, North Carolina after seeing the judge
According to a lead investigator on the case, detectives received a tip about Blake’s disappearance in November 2023 when officers responded to a call of a child living in the home attempting suicide.
The child gave police chilling details, telling them that βhe hadn’t seen his brother Blake Deven in about five years and the last time he saw him he had a broken arm. He then told police that Blake is now dead.β
At that time, Blake had not been reported missing, but investigators said Deven filed one after they began investigating.
When the children’s birth mother learned of the inhumane treatment they endured, she told WRAL News: “I’m so sorry boy, you didn’t deserve this.”
Deven moved to the Fayetville area in 2015 with her elderly mother and five children she had adopted.
Three of the boys were biologically related and two girls were not related to each other or the boys ABC11 NewS.
The children were interviewed by police and the Department of Social Services (DSS), who told of the horrific and sickening treatment they suffered at the hands of their adoptive mother.
They also told authorities what they believed might have happened to their siblings, Blake and London.
According to the children, they were kept in a dark, small room and given little to no food. If they wrote excuses for their behavior, they could earn food.
Sgt. Jeff Locklear answers questions about the arrest of Avantae Deven in connection with the disappearance of Blake Deven and London Deven
Fayetteville Police Chief Kemberle Braden and Sgt. Jeff Locklear answers questions about the arrest of Avantae Deven in connection with the disappearance of Blake Deven and London Deven
Fayetteville Police Chief Kemberle Braden talks about the arrest of Avantae Deven in connection with the disappearance of Blake Deven and London Deven
ABC11 reported that forensic evidence supported investigators’ allegations of torture, starvation and isolation.
According to police, Deven gave authorities several stories to stall the investigation. One of those stories was that Blake “may have been at a Buddhist retreat in the mountains,” said Sgt. Jeff Locklear, a lead investigator.
In another twisted detail, police said that when the DSS visited the house, Deven had a family acquaintance posing as Blake.
Detectives tracked down the person who admitted to participating in the impersonation at Deven’s request.
By talking to others, investigators learned that other horrific cases of torture, abuse and neglect had occurred. For example, they lacked hygiene and had to use a small plastic container to go to the toilet for days, weeks or months at a time.
A person who once lived in the home told police that Blake died in 2017 after years of torture, starvation and neglect that left him unconscious.
Deven refused to get medical help for her son, despite pleas from her other children.
The person told officials she had devised a plan to hide the boy’s remains until she could decide how to permanently get rid of them.m in a burn pit in the backyard.
Deven also told one of the children in her care, who at one point left the home, that she should have committed London to a “psychiatric institution,” the documents state, when asked about it.