A North Carolina woman, Avantae Deven, has been accused of horrific crimes against her adopted children, according to law enforcement.
Now, one of her adopted daughters has come forward with shocking claims about being forced to cover up the crimes... Continue reading here ▶
In June 2024, 63-year-old Deven was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, concealment of death, felony child abuse, and one count of kidnapping.
The charges are connected to the deaths of her adopted children, Blake and London Deven, as announced by the Fayetteville Police Department.
In September 2024, a disturbing recording from April 2022 surfaced. In the recording, a caller admits to helping dismember 10-year-old Blake’s body after his death.
“She made me buy a trash can to keep his body in for a month,” the caller said. “I had to watch his body burn. It’s been haunting me, and I don’t know what to do.”
The caller also revealed how Blake died, claiming Deven starved him to death. “She starved him so much that she killed him, and then she didn’t call an ambulance or the police,” the caller said.
The person behind the call was later identified as Cherish Deven, another of Avantae’s adopted children. Now an adult, Cherish described being 16 or 17 when she was allegedly forced to dismember her brother’s body.
“She made me buy a saw to cut him up and get rid of the body,” Cherish said in the recording. “There was no asking. She just said, ‘You’re doing it. If not, you’re in trouble.’ I didn’t know what to do.”
Cherish claims she was coerced and never acted willingly. “I was a child. Detectives know this. Everybody knows this. It disgusts me that I had to do something so horrible,” she said.
Investigators believe Blake suffered severe abuse and starvation before his body gave out. Sgt. Jeff Locklear said, “We believe he was mentally abused and starved to the point of torture. His body couldn’t handle the inhumane treatment.”
Blake was last seen alive in 2017 at the age of 10. London, who had special needs, was a teenager when she died. Both children’s burned remains were found in a barrel.
Avantae Deven, who adopted five children in total, allegedly created a plan to hide Blake’s remains and forced others in the household to help.
Cherish has expressed deep anger toward her adoptive mother. “I hate you,” she said. “You told me you loved me, that you were my mother, but you never were.”
Authorities say the five children Deven adopted included three biologically related boys and two unrelated girls. The investigation is ongoing, but no charges have been filed against Cherish for her involvement.
