Deaths of Deven children | Deaths and cruel abuse of adopted children lead to state investigation of Cumberland County Social Services

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) – A state investigation is underway into the deaths of Blake and London Deven in Fayetteville.

Her adoptive mother, Avantae Deven, was charged with murder in June.

According to Fayetteville police, the siblings disappeared years ago and were not reported missing until another adopted child alerted officers to a crisis call in November 2023.

A police investigation confirmed London’s death after remains found in a barrel were identified as hers. The other remains in the same barrel are still being examined, but police say they are the remains of Blake Deven.

According to charging documents, Avantae fabricated stories about the whereabouts of missing children, even going so far as to have a family friend pose as Blake during a visit to the Cumberland County Social Services Department.

On Tuesday, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) announced that it would conduct a service evaluation for the Deven family’s five adopted children.

All have reported the horrific abuse they suffered to police and social services. Police said forensic evidence from the two homes where they lived confirmed their stories, including what happened to Blake and London.

NCDHHS said agents will also review the process and decision to select Deven as an adoptive parent.

Warning: Graphic details are included in the information below

Blake Deven

Fayetteville police said the investigation began in November 2023 when officers responded to a call that someone was having a mental health crisis at a home on Berridale Drive where Avantae Deven lived with her adopted children. Police said the person having the crisis said he was Blake Deven’s brother and had not seen him in five years. He also told officers the last time he saw Blake, the boy had a broken arm.

The investigator confirmed that there were five children in the house who had been adopted from three different counties in North Carolina. These included three boys who were biologically related to each other and two girls who were not related to each other or the boys.

The police and the Department of Social Services (DSS) interviewed the children, and all of them gave vivid descriptions of the horrific treatment they had endured at the hands of their adoptive mother, Deven.

The children said they were kept in a small, dark room and given little to no food. They told police they could earn food by writing apologies for their behavior.

Police said the children were sometimes beaten so badly that they required medical attention. A detective who spoke at the news conference said they believed Blake’s body could no longer take the starvation and beating and he died. After his death, they said, Deven got someone to help cremate and dispose of his body when they lived at a home on Eichelberger Drive.

Officials said they found evidence of this in the house.

Investigators said forensic evidence supported allegations of torture, starvation and isolation.

London Deven

Investigators learned of London Devens’ death while investigating Blake’s death.

Police said during their investigation they found a metal barrel containing the remains of two children, a teenager aged 15 to 19 and a boy aged 7 to 10. Laboratory tests confirmed the girl’s remains were those of London Deven.

Interviews with the children reveal that London died in the same manner as Blake, namely from starvation, abuse and neglect. The children said that someone had to help dispose of London’s body.

They said London had special needs and was never officially reported missing by her adoptive mother, who is now blamed for her death.

The remaining remains are still being examined for clear identification.

WATCH | Blake and London Deven Case Timeline

REGARD | Fayetteville Police provide update on disappearance of Blake and London Deven

Fayetteville Police continue to ask the public for information that could help establish a timeline for the investigation into Blake and London’s deaths.

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