A Cumberland County grand jury has indicted a Fayetteville woman on allegations she forced her adopted daughter into involuntary servitude before starving and killing her — accusations that also detail the earlier starvation death and dismemberment of the woman’s adopted son years before either sibling was reported missing.
The indictments allege Avantae Deven, 65, unlawfully confined London Deven and held her captive between June 1, 2020, and May 31, 2021, before killing her and destroying her remains in an effort to conceal the death.
In a separate set of charges, prosecutors allege Deven murdered her adopted son, Blake Deven, years earlier — between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2017 — by intentionally inflicting serious bodily injury through starvation and malnutrition. The indictment further accuses her of later dismembering and destroying his remains…