Fayetteville murder suspect contacted adopted child's birth mom days before arrest

In 2024, Fayetteville woman Avantae Deven was arrested in the murders of her two adopted children, Blake and London. It’s a story WRAL has covered extensively.

Deven was indicted in March 2026, and if she stands trial, that wouldn't happen until next year. She’s facing the death penalty in this case.

WRAL Investigates has learned, just days before her arrest, that the birth mother of Blake Deven, Felicia Chandler, said Avantae Deven reached out to her. Chandler said the last time she heard from the murder suspect was more than a decade ago, when her three boys went to live with Avantae Deven.

“When she finally contacted me, it felt like the ground had disappeared from beneath me,” Chandler said.

That first contact after much time passed came in the form of a Facebook message on June 18, 2024:

Hello Felicia, do you have a private e-mail?

 Chandler provided her email and the next day, June 19, 2024, Chandler received an email from Deven:

Please hang on. . I may not speak about what is going on right now. Trust me, this is best for the outcome.

If it is not to painful for you, I can send a few photos of the others that they wanted me to take.

I am asking you to hold on. Everything is being worked on.

Feel free, you only, to contact me at any time. Pleaseprivately relay the message to Moriah's mother. Moriah was living with her stepmom since 2001 until, I met her. I sawthis lady online a few times at meetings.

Please don't believe the podcasts. Although it is unbelievable pain, hang in there for the best outcome. We will talk. I will not ignore you.

Moriah is the birth name of London Deven, the second adopted child Avantae Deven is accused of killing.

To receive so much information after going so long without so much as a phone call, Chandler says she became overwhelmed.

“All this brought up a flood of emotions to me,” said Chandler.

As for the emails, Felicia responded to the first email she received from Avantae Deven and said she’d love to see photos of her boys. A response came an hour later along with photos, but because the boys were minors in the foster care system at the time, we’re not sharing those photos in this story. Seeing the photos did Chandler a world of good after not having any new images of her sons for years.

"As their mother, I was just grateful seeing my boys' faces,” Chandler said. “But there was also heartbreak because there were none of Trenton. So many years, and not one photo."

Chandler took the absence of any photos featuring Blake as a red flag.

"I had so many thoughts going through my mind,” Chandler said. “The fact that she gets arrested right when I get in contact with this woman after waiting for 13 years, it's like, yeah, I want things to go into the justice system and be done correctly and right and justice for my children, but I need answers. I want her to tell me. I want her to face me. I want her to look at me.”

In her second email to Chandler, Deven insisted on Chandler staying in contact.

“Hello Felicia, Please keep this e-mail for you only. I am trusting you in order that we may connect. Again, please contact me anytime you need to. As soon as I am able, I will.”

Deven goes on to mention the "concerns" of one Blake’s brothers and said child services came to their home for three months “without issue with these two.”

She also wrote that an in-home therapist visited. As for specifics on the case of the missing children, Deven remained tightly lipped on what she knew.

“Again, I know what you want to ask, and I just can’t speak about the case.”

Deven also provided a brief update on the health on the boys saying they were “up to date” regarding their physicals.

By this point, she appears to continue the conversation from a  email address.

Felicia Chandler replied the next day on June 20, 2024, expressing joy in seeing the photos of two of her sons. She also asked about how Deven was doing.

“I couldn't not respond,” Chandler said. “ I was hoping she was keeping these boys safe and happy. I was hoping contact would was gonna remain like it was supposed to been."

In response to how she was doing, Deven replied, “don’t even ask” to which Chandler was not thrilled to read.

“I had to take a long deep breath," Chandler said. "I had to step away."

As for why these emails are only being revealed now, two years after Deven’s arrest, Chandler says she didn’t feel comfortable doing so before. However, she also says she’s committed to ensuring people are aware what happened to her son and what she knows about the woman accused in his murder.

The Deven killings were the jumping-off point for the WRAL Documentary, "Broken: Foster Care in North Carolina," an Emmy and National Association of Broadcasters award-winning documentary.

Watch: Broken: Foster Care in North Carolina | A WRAL Documentary

Long-form history of the Avantae Deven case: Click or tap here