Disturbing new details emerge in the case of mom-of-five who 'tortured and murdered her two adopted children'
Disturbing new details have emerged in the case of the North Carolina mother-of-five who allegedly tortured and murdered her two adopted children.
Avantae Deven, 63, of Fayetteville, who is accused of murdering siblings Blake and London Deven, allegedly coerced another one of her other children to help dismember their bodies.
She reportedly asked them to 'take the blame' if they were caught because their sentence would be less severe, WRAL News reported.
Chilling court documents reveal that Deven had one of the children purchase supplies and items from a local store to dismember Blake, the arrest warrant alleges.
A surveillance video showed Deven out with two of her other children purchasing a red cooler. Investigators believe the cooler is where London's remains were kept, as per court documents, the news outlet revealed.
Avantae Deven's mugshot on June 23. She was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of child abuse causing serious bodily injury, two counts of destroying human remains/concealing an unnatural death and one count of kidnapping
Court records reveal the lengths she took to keep the murders hidden, including recruiting a family friend to impersonate her son during a home visit when the Cumberland County Department of Social Services stopped by for a visit, as per the news outlet.
Both siblings had not been seen for years, but were never reported missing by Deven, their adoptive mother. All five of Deven's children were adopted, an official said.
On June 23, she was arrested and charged in the death of her daughter, London , and the disappearance of her son, Blake, who is presumed dead, according to Fayetteville Police.
She was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of child abuse causing serious bodily injury, two counts of destroying human remains/concealing an unnatural death and one count of kidnapping.
In April, two sets of remains were found in a metal burn barrel on Beaver Dam Road in Autryville, a town in North Carolina, WRAL reported.
One set was determined to be London. The other remains are undergoing further testing, but a 'preliminary' report shows they belong to Blake, according to court records obtained by The Fayetteville Observer.
Blake Deven is believed to be deceased after his adoptive mother horrifically 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 approximately 12 years-old. She would have been 27-years of age now
Deven allegedly created a sick plan to dispose of Blake's body and reportedly told one of her other children who was forced to assist in the horror.
'If this ever gets found out,you need to take the blame because I will get the death penalty,' she told the youngster, 'and because of your age you won't get in trouble if you take the blame.'
It is alleged that Deven then incinerated Blake's remains in a burn barrel in the backyard of the Eichelberger Drive home and removed any evidence of the boy's death from the home, according to the affidavit, The Independent reported.
'Avantae developed a plan to hide Blake's remains, and she forced another person in the household to participate,' he added. 'They dismembered him and burned his remains.'
In June, she went before Judge Caitlin Evans in Cumberland County District Court in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
If convicted, she could face the death penalty, WRAL News reported.
She is currently being held without bond at the Cumberland County Detention Center until her next hearing that is scheduled for July 17.
In April, detectives searched Deven's home where the siblings reportedly lived - and made the gruesome discovery of the metal burn battle containing partial human remains.
Investigators believe they had been tortured, and physically abused by their adoptive mother for years and revealed the horror the children had to endure in her care.
London Deven, the older child, was reported to have been neglected and starved, investigators said.
They also believe 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 appalled by the heinous acts.
'The allegations are certainly some of the worst that I've seen in the almost 25 years that I've been doing this.'
Deven's defense attorney said: 'I know the allegations can't be any worse. I do have complete trust and confidence in our judiciary.'
Sgt. Jeff Locklear answers questions about the arrest of Avantae Deven in connection with the disappearance of Blake Deven and London Deven
Investigators were tipped off to Blake's disappearance in November 2023, when officers responded to a call from a child living at the home who was attempting suicide, according to a lead investigator in the case.
The child told police chilling details in which he told them that 'he 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 Blake is now dead.'
At that time, there was no missing persons report filed on Blake, but investigators said Deven filed one after they began to probe.
Upon hearing the inhumane treatment they endured, the children's biological mother told WRAL News: 'I'm so sorry son you didn't deserve this.'
Deven moved to the Fayetteville 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, according to ABC11 News.
The children had been interviewed by police and Department of Social Services (DSS) who shared the horrific and sick treatment they endured at the hands of their adoptive mother.
They also told officials what they believe may have happened to their siblings - Blake and London.
According to the children, they were kept in a dark, small room and given little, or no food, and if they wrote apology letters for their behavior they could earn food.
ABC11 reported that forensic evidence supported the allegations of torture, starvation, and isolation by investigators.
According to police, Deven gave authorities different stories to prolong the investigation being done. One of those tales included that Blake was 'possibly at a Buddhist retreat in the mountains,' said Sgt. Jeff Locklear, a lead investigator.
In another twisted detail, police said when the DSS came to the house for a visit, Deven had a family acquaintance pretend to be Blake.
Detectives tracked down the person who admitted he took part in the impersonation at Deven's request.
Speaking with others, investigators learned other heinous acts of torture, abuse and neglect, including no hygiene, and were forced to use a small plastic container for restroom purposes for days, weeks or months at a time.
A person who once lived in the home told police that Blake died in 2017 after being tortured for years, starved and neglected that rendered him unconscious.
Deven refused to get her son medical help, despite pleas from her other kids.
The person told officials, that she came up with a plan to hide the boy's remains until she could decide how to get rid of them permanently, eventually putting them in a burn pit in the backyard.
Deven also told one of the children who had been in her care that left the home at one point that she had to put London in a 'mental institution,' as per documents, when they asked.
