Avantae Deven was arrested and charged with murder on Wednesday in connection with the years-long disappearances of Blake and London Deven.
Authorities revealed disturbing details that underscored brutal living conditions and indicated children in Avantae Deven's care were isolated, starved and beaten.
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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 Deven, 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 Deven 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.
Locklear said within the last week, testing confirmed one of the sets of remains belonged to London Deven, and testing on the second set of remains is ongoing.
On Wednesday, detectives said they discovered five children were adopted by Avantae Deven 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.
"We believe he was mentally abused and starved," Locklear said of Blake Deven. "His body could not sustain the inhumane treatment. Then, Avantae developed a plan to hide Blake's remains. She forced another person in the house hold to participate."
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 in Autryville, according to Fayetteville police. 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 estimated to be 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.
'There were a lot of beatings'
One of the children Avantae Deven adopted is Bryanna Morrow. She previously went by the name of Cherish Deven.
Morrow described the unsettling details behind her life of mistreatment at the hands of Avantae Deven.
"Being locked in the bathroom," Morrow recounted. "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."
She spoke about the apologies they were forced to write.
"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."
She mentioned locks on the fridge and cabinets. Sometimes the isolation lasted for days.
"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."
In January 2024, Avantae Deven told emergency services Blake Deven told her he was going to a Buddhist retreat, and he never came back as she filed a missing persons report. She did not specify when asked to give details about the last place or time in which she last saw Blake Deven.
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.
Public documents reveal Blake Deven was reported missing in January 2024. Fayetteville police did not ask for the public’s help finding Blake Deven until March 28, 2024.
Felicia Chandler, the biological mother of Blake Deven, spoke with WRAL News about her feelings after an emotional day, saying she was shocked.
"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 regarding Deven's three other adoptive children.
On Wednesday morning, animal control officers were seen taking animals from Avantae Deven's current home on Berriedale Drive. A tow truck was also parked near the home.
Several agencies assisted with the case, including the FBI.
Avantae Deven is due to make her first court appearance Thursday at 2:30 p.m.
Neighbor discusses what he saw from Deven home
WRAL News spoke with neighbor James Howard on Wednesday about what he saw the last several years. He said he didn't know much about Avantae Deven.
"She had everything delivered, Howard said of his neighbor. "Her groceries were delivered to her home.
"She only came out when she had appointments. That was the only time I would see her since the beginning of this."
Howard lives across the street from Avantae Deven.
"It’s crazy because it’s right across the street and I didn’t know," Howard said. "It’s just strange to know that this was probably going on and I didn’t know."
Until Wednesday, Howard said the last several weeks have been quiet in the neighborhood. He said he had limited interactions with Avantae Deven.
"I don't know what's going on over there," Howard said. "Everything I know about her, her name, all that is fake.
"I was given a fake name."
