Avantae Deven given no bond in first court appearance, could face death penalty

The woman charged with killing her two adoptive children and concealing their deaths stood in front of a judge on Thursday.

District Court Judge Caitlin Evans read the charges Avantae Deven faces in a Cumberland County courtroom.

Deven is charged with first-degree murder, concealment of death, kidnapping and felony child abuse. If convicted on the murder charges alone, Deven could face the death penalty.

Authorities will continue to hold Deven without bond at the Cumberland County Detention Center.

Avantae Deven is accused of murdering her adopted children Blake and London Deven.

Deven was arrested Wednesday at her home on Berriedale Drive.

This case captured the attention of the nation and resurfaced Wednesday as Fayetteville police shared chilling details about the conditions the children faced.

The arrest came several months after law enforcement used warrants to search the homes where the children lived.

Investigators now believe Blake and London Deven are deceased. They had been missing for years, but their adoptive mother never reported that they were missing.

Authorities say when they searched the family's home in April. Investigators found a metal burn barrel with partial human remains. They believe the children were physically abused by their adoptive mother. Investigators say London Deven died of starvation and neglect.

Cumberland County District Attorney Billy West said investigators with the Fayetteville Police Department and the FBI worked non-stop to gather the information and evidence needed to bring charges in this case.

"All of us have soft spots for children and cases with children are the most difficult that we deal with," West said. "The fact that this involves allegations of the abuse in the death of children was certainly the thing that grabbed my attention first, particularly the manner in which the allegations suggest the way they died."

Foster care worker puzzled by system that allowed Deven to adopt

Catherine Hubbard said she has 20 years of experience working in the foster care system.

"I have been involved with this case from the time the children entered custody from the time they were adopted," Hubbard said.

Between 2011 and 2013 is when she said she was the case worker for the Deven family. She said she felt shock and sadness for the children's biological mothers.

On Monday, she talked to WRAL Investigates after driving five hours to Raleigh and shared documents from her case worker days involving the Devens as well as her badge to prove her connection.

“This is important,” Hubbard said. "This is not a normal outcome for a case by any stretch of the imagination. There are a lot of unanswered questions.”

Days later, Deven was arrested and charged with murder as Fayetteville police released details about the suffering the children endured.

Hubbard was asked if she ever sensed there was something troubling about Deven.

"Certainly a gut feeling that certainly made me curious at a time, but they were not objective things I could point to that any judge would listen to me on the stand when I say, 'I've got a bad feeling about this,'" Hubbard said.

She didn't elaborate on her feelings, but did offer that she'd be willing to testify in court.

“At this point now, should I be subpoenaed by the Fayetteville Police Department, I am more than willing to come to Fayetteville and testify, but I will say that testimony might include that I did not have a good feeling about this placement, but we don't rely on our gut instincts," Hubbard said. "We have to be able to tell a judge and four lawyers during the course of a case what we have factually found.”

The main question that lingers for Hubbard - how is it that three different Department of Social Services agencies allowed Avantae Deven to adopt these children?

WRAL Investigates reached out to Madison County, McDowell County, and Buncombe County social services. None of the agencies have responded.

In an effort to speak with Cumberland County DSS, the agency denied our request after talking with West.

Spotting signs of child abuse

The shocking nature of this story speaks to how important it is to know if child abuse is happening before it spirals out of control.

Child safety advocates shared some ways that people can help.

Every child has the right to grow up in an environment free from abuse and neglect. That's one of the core beliefs of the organization SAFE Child.

Executive Director Cristin DeRonja said children's safety is everyone's responsibility. For school employees, coaches, and counselors who interact with children frequently, warning signs to watch for include changes in mood, behavior and appearance.

"Take the time to talk with those children, and to see if you can get them to open up to you, see what's happening, what's going on," DeRonja said.

Even if you don't work with children, DeRonja said you can practice "proactive prevention." That includes being aware of your surroundings in parks, grocery stores and even your neighborhood.

"If you feel that there are children in your neighborhood that aren't ever seeming to go to school if they're school aged, and you don't know that they're being homeschooled, that could be really important," she said.

DeRonja also said to watch for children who are unsupervised, playing in unsafe areas or left in cars.

You can take action to help.

"You can report your concerns anonymously, and therefore then they can be assessed and determined by those professionals as to whether there's something concerning going on," DeRonja said.