A 63-year-old woman in the US has been arrested for murdering her two adopted children after their bodies were found inside a burning barrel. IndependentAvanta Deven’s two adopted children, Blake and London Deven, had not been seen for several years. London was last seen in 2019, but her mother never reported her missing. Blake has not been seen since 2022, but Deven did not report her missing until earlier this year.
Authorities in Fayetteville, North Carolina, became aware of the situation in 2023 after one of their surviving foster children made a mental health complaint to police. When police investigated several homes the family had lived in, they found remains in several homes. Detectives found a burn barrel with partial human remains inside. Forensic examinations revealed they belonged to a woman aged 15 to 19 and a boy aged 7 to 10.
Investigators believe Devon abused the children and eventually killed and dismembered them, according to the NBC affiliate WralLondon died of starvation and neglect while tests on the boy’s remains continue.
Even more shocking details released by authorities this week revealed that the siblings, along with three other adopted children, were living in brutal conditions while in DeVane’s care. Blake and London were adopted by DeVane in 2013 and 2011, respectively, according to court documents obtained by the agency. abc11,
They were kept in a small, dark room and given little or no food. They were reportedly able to “earn” food by writing hundreds of paragraphs apologizing for their behavior. The children told social workers that they were sometimes beaten so badly that they needed medical help.
During a press conference, police said they had forensic evidence supporting the allegations of torture, starvation and isolation.
”We believe he (Blake) was mentally tortured and starved. His body could not withstand the inhumane treatment. Then, Avanta hatched a plan to hide Blake’s remains. She forced someone else in the house to join in,” Sergeant Locklear said. London DeVane died ”in the same tragic way Blake did, from starvation and neglect,” Mr Locklear said.
According to the Fayetteville Police Department, Devon is now charged with first-degree murder, concealing a death, kidnapping and two counts of child abuse. He is being held at the Cumberland County Detention Center without bail.
Cumberland County District Attorney Billy West said, “We all have compassion for children, and cases involving children are some of the most difficult for us. What caught my attention first was the fact that these deaths involved allegations of abuse of the children, and particularly the nature of the allegations regarding how they died.”