Grand jury indicts Fayetteville mother Avantae Deven in deaths of adopted children Blake and London

A grand jury on Monday indicted Avantae Deven, a Fayetteville mother charged with the murder of  two of her adopted children, Blake and London Deven.

Avantae Deven, who was arrested in June 2024, is charged with seven crimes, including two counts of murder, two counts of concealing a death, kidnapping and child abuse

She is accused of murdering Blake and London, two of the five children she adopted when she was a licensed foster parent between 2007 and 2013. See a timeline of the case and when the children were reported missing.

Avantae Deven was indicted on several charges Monday, including first-degree murder for the death of 11-year-old Blake, her adopted son. She was also charged with concealing Blake's death, intentional child abuse and negligent child abuse.

The indictment states Avantae Deven "unlawfully, willfully and feloniously did of malice aforethought kill and murder Blake Deven," accusing her of concealing the evidence by "knowingly and willfully dismembering and destroying human remains."

According to the indictment, Deven intentionally deprived Blake of food, "failing to adequately feed and care" for the boy and inflicting serious bodily injury.

Avante Deven is also charged with murder for the death of her adopted daughter, London, who was not mentioned in the indictment.

WRAL News contacted the Cumberland County district attorney, who said there was a computer issue and that Deven was also indicted in London's death.

The district attorney said the clerk's office should be updating that information soon.

Relevant documents in this case appear to be sealed, but Avantae Deven's court records show warrants that were returned. The descriptions for them vary but say the properties where Deven lived were searched and a phone and two laptops she owned were seized.

The documents also mention a storage unit in Fayetteville and "purchases made at" a Harbor Freight.

The case is expected to go to trial in 2027.

The WRAL Documentary “Broken: Foster Care in North Carolina” covered the adoptions and deaths of Blake and London Deven. The documentary dives into the challenges our state's foster care system faces. It prompted the state lawmakers to pass a law that provides sweeping foster-care reforms aimed at giving the state more oversight of North Carolina's foster care system.