Union Teen Deemed Fit for Trial in Paddleboarder Slaying

UNION, Maine — Knox County District Court Judge Eric Walker ruled Wednesday that Deven Young, now 18, of Frankfort, is competent to stand trial on juvenile murder charges in the death of 48-year-old Sunshine "Sunny" Stewart. Stewart, a Tenants Harbor resident, was found dead on July 2, 2025, after paddleboarding on Crawford Pond in this quiet Knox County town. The Maine medical examiner ruled her death a homicide from strangulation and blunt force trauma.

Young was 17 at the time of Stewart's killing and has been charged with intentional or knowing or depraved indifference murder. He was arrested late on July 16, 2025, and held at Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland. Prosecutors seek to indict him as an adult, a move that would unseal his juvenile case. A scheduling conference is set for May 7 in Knox County Juvenile Court.

Unsealed court documents Thursday exposed Young's history of violence. Waldo County sheriff's deputies responded to his home on Jan. 15, 2023, after he allegedly assaulted a woman, leaving her face swollen and bruised. Interviews described Young suffering "bad spells" without medication for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and defiance disorder; he had punched holes in every room of his family's house and received treatment at Northern Light Acadia Hospital. Young frequently vacationed in Union to visit family.