New details emerge about mother, home in missing Fayetteville children case
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WNCN) – The bizarre case of the missing Deven children in Fayetteville has taken another strange turn.
Cumberland County property records show a domestic limited liability company in New Mexico is the owner of the home that Avantae Deven and her two missing adopted children live in. Nelson & Johnson LLC lists Deven as a member and organizer of the business on the New Mexico business license website.
Both Blake, 17, and London Deven, 27, have been missing for several years. CBS 17 obtained a 911 call made by Avantae on Jan. 19, 2024, calling to report Blake missing. She claimed he was a runaway and went to a religious retreat.
“He told me he was going to a Buddhist retreat and never called back,” Deven said.
The Fayetteville 911 dispatcher asked, where was the last place he was seen?
“Oh goodness.. uhh.. I would say a restaurant,” Deven said.
She told the dispatcher it’s been so long, and she couldn’t remember the restaurant. Then she said she’s trying to back-track. Then she said it was a Neighborhood Walmart on Ramsey and Pamalee in Fayetteville.
Earlier this month, Fayetteville police and the FBI searched the Deven’s Berridale home and their old home on Eichelberger Drive. We learned earlier this week through state documents, Blake and London were homeschooled. Deven Academy is registered with the state with the address of the Eichelberger Drive home. The religious homeschool program started in 2007 in Buncombe County.
Cumberland County court documents also show that Avantae was in court on April 24 regarding her 95-year-old mother, Leonie Maxwell. The elderly woman suffered from a brain injury while living with Avantae in 2023. She has been in the ICU at the hospital on a ventilator and unable to communicate.
Cape Fear Valley Medical Center said in the complaint that Avantae, who is Maxwell’s caregiver, has not responded to their calls regarding decisions about her mother’s health. Police were even sent to her Berridale home to do a wellness check. The Department of Social Services stepped in to file a court petition for a court appointed guardian for Maxwell. Wells Fargo has even frozen the 95-year-old’s bank account. DSS felt Avantae was potentially exploiting her ill mother.
The Fayetteville Police Department has not released any new information about this case in nearly two weeks. Investigators said human remains were found at an undisclosed location connected to this case. They’re waiting for the medical examiner to identify the remains.
CBS 17 has knocked on the door of Avantae Deven multiple times. While someone was at home, no one answered the door.
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