North Carolina Adoptive Mother Accused of Child Murders, Daughter Alleges Forced Cover-Up

Tragedy strikes as 63-year-old adoptive mother Avantae Deven is linked to the tragic deaths of her two children, with a cover-up attempt involving her adopted daughter.

Authorities in North Carolina allege that a 63-year-old adoptive mother, Avantae Deven, killed two of her children and enlisted her adopted daughter in a harrowing cover-up. The disturbing case has shocked the Fayetteville community.

In June 2024, Deven was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of concealment of death, felony child abuse, and one count of kidnapping, following the deaths of Blake and London Deven. The children’s remains were found burned inside a barrel.

A chilling April 2022 phone recording obtained by Raleigh-based WRAL revealed shocking claims from an unidentified caller, later identified as Cherish Deven, one of the adoptive children. Cherish disclosed being coerced into dismembering her brother’s body.

“She literally had me buy a trash can to keep him in there for a month,” the caller said in the recording. “I had to watch his body burn. It’s been on my mind, and I don’t know what to do.”

Cherish, who was a teenager at the time, claimed her adoptive mother starved Blake to death and then demanded her compliance in disposing of his body. “She didn’t call the ambulance or the police. She just told me to do it,” Cherish said.

In an interview with WRAL, Cherish explained that her adoptive mother’s demands left her feeling powerless. “There was no asking,” she said. “It was, ‘You do it, or you’re in trouble.’ I was just a child thinking, ‘What do I do?’”

Investigators believe Blake, who was last seen alive in 2017 at age 10, was subjected to severe mental and physical abuse, including starvation, which ultimately led to his death. London, another victim, was a teenager with special needs requiring a caregiver.

Sgt. Jeff Locklear of the Fayetteville Police Department stated, “Blake’s body could not sustain the inhumane treatment. Avantae developed a plan to hide his remains and forced another person in the household to participate.”

Authorities have not filed charges against Cherish, citing her age at the time and the coercion involved. However, Cherish expressed lingering trauma: “It disgusts me that I can live with myself knowing what I’ve seen and done because someone forced me to as a child.”

Avantae Deven adopted five children, including three biologically related brothers and two unrelated girls. The case continues to unfold as investigators delve deeper into the tragic lives of the victims and the actions of their adoptive mother.