Fayetteville police charged Avantae Deven, 63, the adoptive mother of Blake Deven and London Deven, with two counts of first-degree murder. She also faces charges of child abuse, kidnapping and concealing death.
Police announced the arrest and charges Wednesday after months of investigating the disappearance of the pair.
Family members told police and the FBI Blake Deven had not been seen for "several years." London was last seen in 2019, according to authorities. Both lived with the same adoptive family, who moved to Fayetteville in 2015.
In a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Fayetteville police said they found two sets of human remains in a metal barrel, one of which has already been confirmed as belonging to London Deven. They said she likely died between the ages of 15 and 19, and London would have been around 27 years old this year.
Officials said their investigation showed the children lived in "appalling conditions," and were often starved and beaten by their adoptive mother. Blake Deven was said to have died as a result of the ongoing abuse. His remains were dismembered and burned in the metal barrel discovered by authorities, according to officials.
Police said Avantae Deven has adopted five children in total, three boys and two girls, from three different counties in North Carolina. The three boys were biologically related, and the two girls were unrelated to each other and unrelated to the boys.
In November of last year, officials said they responded to a report of a mental health crisis at the Deven household on Berridale Drive in Fayetteville. The victim later told them that he hadn't seen his brother, Blake Deven, in five years, that the last time he saw him he had a broken arm and that he was now dead.
Avantae Deven did not report Blake missing until after the investigation had begun, though police said he had been missing since 2017. She never reported London missing.
When asked why she wasn't arrested sooner, authorities said Avantae initially told investigators that it was possible Blake was at a Buddhist retreat in the mountians.
"While conducting interviews in a separate police investigation, several members of Blake's family reported they have not seen him in several years. On March 27, 2024, the Fayetteville Police Department and the FBI searched three locations in Fayetteville, North Carolina, as part of the expanding investigation to find Blake," FBI officials said.
Felicia Chandler, Blake’s biological mother, posted on Facebook in April, asking for the public’s help to find her son. She said Blake’s birth name is Trenton Dewayne Shuler, and was changed when “he was tak[en] from me” and given to a foster family.
After investigating the disappearance of Blake, authorities identified London Deven as a possible missing relative of Blake Deven on April 4. The most recent photo available to investigators is from approximately 2007. London Deven was likely 12 years old.
The last photo of Blake Deven available to investigators is from around 2012. Police say while conducting interviews in a separate investigation, members of Blake's family reported that they had not seen him in "several years." It's not clear how long it's been since he was last seen.
"Due to the unusual circumstances of his reported disappearance, the Fayetteville Police Department's Homicide Unit, which also investigates missing and endangered persons, is leading the investigation," police said.
The FBI added posters of Blake and London Deven to its missing persons webpage.