Deven Young, a 17-year-old from Frankfort, Maine, has been charged with murder for the death of paddleboarder, Sunshine 'Sunny' Stewart, on July 2. Young was identified as the murder suspect from court documents on Friday. He was arrested without incident in Maine on July 16 and denied the charges in a virtual court appearance.
Maine State Police said that Young was responsible for the death of Stewart, 48, by "strangulation and blunt force trauma," per the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta, Maine. Stewart was reported missing on the evening of July 2, and her body was found early morning on July 3, near the 100 Acre Island, a wooded preserve in Union accessible only by water.
Who is Deven Young?
Deven Young was charged for "intentionally or knowingly causing the death” of Sunshine Stewart and acting with “depraved indifference.” Court documents revealed that Young, with his parents, spent their summers in Crawford Pond.
When Sunshine Stewart was murdered, Deven Young and his family were staying at the Mic Mac Family Campground near the pond in Union. Their home in Frankfort is located around 30 miles from the Crawford Pond area.
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{{/usCountry}}Unverified social media posts claimed to have identified by the parents of Young. Many of their supposed photos were also seen in the Facebook profile of Deven Young, which still remains active. As of now, no official documents and reports have identified Deven Young's parents. The profile also reveals that Hampden Academy but that remains unconfirmed. His profile photo with AR-15 rifles has also sparked outrage.
Deven Young appeared virtually in the Knox County court and denied the charges. His next hearing is scheduled on August 22. It is not clear is Deven Young will be tried as an adult, as he will turn 18 in September this year. Jeremy Pratt, an attorney from Camden, will be representing the teen.
Maine State Police say that the case still remains active with a lot of answers yet to come. Despite Deven Young's arrest, a motive has not been identified yet; then, there is no information if Deven Young's DNA was found at the scene of the murder.