No Bail For Adoptive Mother in Double Murder of Children

[Webster]

Blake and London Deven both dead, adoptive mother charged with murder, abuse: Police

"Our evidence shows that both Blake and London Deven are deceased."

abc11.com

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- A woman who adopted several children has been arrested and charged with the murder of two of them who haven't been seen for years.

Police say Avantae Deven is the adoptive mother of Blake and London Deven. She was taken into custody Wednesday and faces numerous charges in connection to their disappearance and deaths.

"Our evidence shows that both Blake and London are deceased," Fayetteville Police Chief Kemberle Braden said at a Wednesday afternoon news conference. Braden said their adoptive mother is the person responsible for abusing and ultimately killing the children. He said part of the abuse included starvation.

Avantae Deven was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of concealment of death, one count of kidnapping related to London Deven's death, and two counts of felony child abuse related to Blake Deven's death. She was being held at the Cumberland County Detention Center with no bond.

Police say Deven tried to throw off detectives with different stories that prolonged the investigation. "Initially, she was giving us a story that Blake was possibly at a Buddhist retreat in the mountains," lead investigator Sgt. Jeff Locklear said.

Police said Deven didn't report Blake missing until this year. Blake Deven was last seen in 2022 at a Walmart on Ramsey Street, and London Deven was last seen in 2019 in Fayetteville....

 

[MrDawn]

This is horrible. I hope that justice prevails for the victims.