A North Carolina mother is in jail after the bodies of two of her adoptive children were discovered charred in a barrel — and they had been there for years, police say.

Avantae Deven, 63, faces two counts of first-degree murder, concealing of death, kidnapping, and criminal child abuse, according to a press statement from the Fayetteville Police Department. She is suspected of killing Blake and London Deven, the latter of whom had special needs. Blake had not been seen since 2022, and London Deven had last been seen in 2019, police initially believed. However, their mother didn’t report them missing until March.

According to Fayetteville Police Chief Kemberle Braden, the inquiry began in November when officers responded to the Deven house for someone experiencing a mental health crisis. The person who experienced the crisis later informed detectives that he hadn’t seen his brother Blake Deven in five years, and the last time he saw him, he had a broken arm, Braden said.

Police initiated an investigation and eventually discovered that another family member, London Deven, was also missing. The mother had adopted three boys and two daughters, including London Deven, who needed help.

According to Sgt. Jeff Locklear, Avantae Deven attempted to lead investigators astray.

“Initially, she was giving us a story that Blake was possibly at a Buddhist retreat in the mountains,” he reported.

The mother told the identical tale to a 911 dispatcher when she reported them missing in March.

“He is generally religious. He used to go back and forth about a Buddhist retreat…but this time he never called back. My daughter did one once for 6 months, and she called, so I thought OK. He’s really independent, strong and brave and bossy, so it’s not really unlikely of his character,” she said on the call obtained by Raleigh ABC affiliate WTVD .

Locklear claimed that further inquiry revealed this to be a falsehood. From November 2016 to June 2019, police searched the family’s house with the assistance of the FBI. Detectives discovered a fire barrel on the site that contained partial human remains, according to authorities. Last Monday, the examinations revealed that the bones belonged to two people: a female aged 15 to 19 and a man aged 7 to 10. According to Braden, the female was recognised as London Deven, and the guy is believed to be Blake Deven.

According to Locklear, authorities suspect the mother forced the children into a dark room and fed them little to no food. Avantae Deven allegedly stated that the children may earn food by writing hundreds of paragraphs to apologise for their actions. Locklear stated that when the boy and woman died, she had someone from the house assist her dispose of the bodies in the fire barrel. According to Lockyear, they most likely died before 2019, when they lived in the home where the remains were recovered.

Avantae Deven is being held in the Cumberland County Detention Centre without bond.