CRIME

Adoptive Fayetteville mother accused in deaths of two of her children appears in court

Fayetteville Observer

A Fayetteville woman charged with murder in the death of her adopted daughter and the presumed death of her adopted son will remain in custody without bail, a judge determined Thursday.

Avantae Deven, 63, is 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 the death of London Deven and presumed death of Blake Deven.

In announcing the adoptive mother's arrest, Fayetteville Police Sgt. Jeff Locklear said Wednesday that investigators believed Blake died when he was about 10 years old and the family lived at home on Eichelberger Drive. He said it's believed that London died in 2019 after the family moved to Avantae Deven's current home on Berriedale Drive.

Locklear said that after the two died of starvation and abuse, Avantae Deven forced another family member to help her dismember the bodies and dispose of the remains.

District Attorney Billy West asks Judge Caitlin Evans to keep Avantae Deven in custody without bail in the death of adopted daughter London and presumed death of adopted son Blake. Police accuse Deven of starving and abusing the two and then disposing of their bodies.

Human remains found in April in a metal burn barrel on a property in Autryville were determined to belong to a boy between the ages of 7 and 10 and a girl between the ages of 15 and 19. Locklear said that last week that some of the remains were confirmed to belong to London. Testing is ongoing to determine the identity of the other remains.

Avantae Deven was arrested at her home about 2 p.m. Wednesday, some six months after reporting she last saw Blake in 2022 as he was leaving to attend an out-of-state Buddhist retreat.

Locklear said the Deven never reported London missing and police only learned about her disappearance in 2019 during the hunt for Blake.

In addition to the missing children, Deven's family consisted of three other adopted children — two of Blake's biological brothers and another unrelated girl — and Deven's elderly mother, Leonie Beverly Aileen Maxwell, who died after an extended illness at the age of 95 on May 31.

Maxwell's death came less than three weeks after a Cumberland County judge granted an emergency petition to the Department of Social Services for control over Maxwell's medical care as she languished in the hospital following a stroke and resulting brain injury in November.

Fayetteville Police Chief Kemberle Braden talks about the arrest of Avantae Deven in connection with the disappearance of Blake Deven and London Deven.

The most recent photo of London Deven, now 28, pictured in 2007 when she was likely 12 years old.

Deven's first appearance in court

On Thursday, as District Court Judge Caitlin Evans read the charges against Deven inside a courtroom at the Cumberland County jail, Deven seemed concerned by the proceedings, at times furrowing her brow or looking emotional. At one point, she shook her head slightly as if to disagree.

District Attorney Billy West requested she be held without bond and her attorney Bernard Condlin didn't argue the point.

After the first appearance, West spoke briefly outside the courtroom.

Fayetteville Police Chief Kemberle Braden and Sgt. Jeff Locklear answer questions about the arrest of Avantae Deven in connection with the disappearance of Blake Deven and London Deven.

The most recent photo of Blake Deven, now 17, in 2012 when he was likely 5 years old.

More:Timeline of events in the Fayetteville case of two missing adopted siblings

"Obviously, the allegations are very disturbing and concerning and I just want to credit the Fayetteville Police Department and all the other agencies, the FBI. They've been working on this case for several months to get us to this point," he said.

When asked if anyone else would be charged with the disposal of the bodies, West said he would not comment.

"I don’t want to comment on any of the facts, or whether or not anyone will be charged," West said. "What we will do is wait for the investigation to be complete and for that investigation to be given in total to our office and we’ll go through it and make the appropriate decisions."

He said the case is disturbing.

"The allegations are certainly some of the worst that I've seen in doing this almost 25 years now," West said. "(It's) Very troubling and concerning and we're very motivated to get justice in this case."

Condlin also spoke briefly after the hearing, noting he met briefly with Deven before they appeared in court together but admitted he knew little about the facts of the case at this point.

"I know the allegations can’t be any worse. They are very serious," he said. "I’m going to have to learn stuff pretty much as you guys are."

Public safety reporter Joseph Pierre can be reached at jpierre@gannett.com.