Deven Young is an alleged teen killer from Maine who has been charged in the murder of Sunshine Stewart
According to police reports the body of Sunshine Stewart was found in the Crawford Pond in Union Maine earlier this month, July 2025. Authorities would search the pond after the woman went missing while paddle boarding. When her body was discovered police would later reveal that she died from strangulation and blunt force trauma.
Deven Young name was withheld initially as he is only seventeen however that would later change when he was formally charged with one count of murder
Deven Young News
A 17-year-old male has been arrested in the killing of a woman whose body was discovered hours after she went paddleboarding on a wooded pond this month near coastal Maine.
Sunshine “Sunny” Stewart, 48, died from strangulation and blunt force trauma, Maine State Police said in a statement Thursday.
Investigators said she had gone paddleboarding alone the evening of July 2 on Crawford Pond in Union. After she didn’t return hours later, someone reported her missing. Her body was found near an island in the middle of the pond sometime after 1 a.m. on July 3.
Police said they arrested the teen in Union on Wednesday night without incident. He was taken to the Long Creek Youth Development Center — a juvenile detention facility in South Portland, Maine.
Under Maine law the identity of juvenile offenders is typically not made public.
A spokesperson for the Maine State Police declined to comment when reached by CNN for additional information.
Stewart lived in Tenants Harbor, a neighborhood in the town of St. George about 20 miles south of Crawford Pond.
Her friend, Rachael Blumenberg, who was staying with her, said she got home the night she went missing and found Stewart’s dog alone. She knew something was wrong.
“The house was completely dark, and her dog was there, and she’s very devoted to her dog,” Blumenberg told CNN affiliate WMTW.
Stewart was planning to host family for the Fourth of July weekend, her friends said. The arrest brought a rush of conflicting emotions.
“I am floored with elation and grief,” Blumenberg told WMTW
The lack of information after her killing prompted residents’ concern as police warned the community to stay vigilant. After news of her killing emerged, Gus Williams told CNN affiliate WMTW that Crawford Pond is so safe, people who live in the area don’t lock their doors.
“Like, ever, it definitely feels … just intrusive and, I don’t know, terrifying,” he said before the arrest.
Stewart left a campground on the north shore of the pond alone at about 6 p.m. on July 2 to go paddling. The 600-acre pond is surrounded by private property and is home to loons, smallmouth bass and other aquatic life
Sheriff’s deputies, firefighters and other law enforcement officials alerted the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit after they found her body because of the “circumstances” of the discovery, police said then without going into further detail.
Her sister, Kim Ware, described Stewart as an active woman and a boat captain who once sailed all the way to the Caribbean.
“Sunny loved the outdoors, hiking, boating, paddleboarding and yoga,” she told the affiliate. “To know Sunny is an amazing blessing. My sister and my best friend. The aunt that stepped up to help me raise her nephews,” Ware added.
“Anyone blessed to be in her presence was in awe of her, her strength, courage, character, her energy and light.”
Stewart had been through a lot but kept pushing forward, one of her friends, Sarah Vokey, told WMTW.
“Her life was not an easy one, but she strode through it with her head held high with that beaming all-encompassing smile on her face,” Vokey said. “One of the many reasons I admired, loved, and appreciated her. One of the hardest things I have ever written was the text I sent to my son: ‘Sunshine was murdered.’”
Meanwhile, law enforcement remains tight-lipped about the evidence they have collected since her death. The investigation is ongoing, and no more information will be released at this time, police said.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/17/us/sunshine-stewart-paddleboarder-death-arrest-cec
Deven Young More News
Court documents obtained by Maine’s Total Coverage reveal that 17-year-old Deven Young, of Frankfort, Maine, has been charged with murder in connection with the July 2 death of Sunshine “Sunny” Stewart at Crawford Pond in Union.
Young was arrested without incident at about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday in Union and transported to the Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland.
An official familiar with the investigation told ABC News that Young spends vacation time in the Crawford Pond area each summer with his family. Young’s home in Frankfort is approximately 38 miles from the pond.
Deven Young appeared virtually for his arraignment Friday at the Knox County Courthouse in Rockland, as he remains held at the Long Creek Youth Development Center.
The court documents state that Deven Young “did intentionally or knowingly cause the death of another human being, namely Sunshine Stewart, or did engage in conduct that manifested a depraved indifference to the value of human life and which in fact cause the death of Sunshine Stewart.”
According to those court documents, Young will turn 18 in September.
Stewart, 48, of Tenants Harbor, Maine, was staying at the Mic Mac Cove Family Campground near the pond and was preparing to host family members for Fourth of July weekend.
She went paddleboarding on Crawford Pond the evening of July 2, and when she did not return hours later, someone called police to report her missing. Stewart’s body was found early on the morning of July 3 near what is known as 100 Acre Island, which sits in the middle of Crawford Pond and can only be accessed via the water.
Maine State Police officials announced on July 5 that Stewart’s death had been ruled a homicide, but did not reveal the cause of her death. On Thursday, state police revealed that Stewart’s cause of death was strangulation and blunt force trauma.
Maine’s Total Coverage discovered that Deven Young was still active on Facebook as recently as Saturday, July 12, which was more than a week after Stewart’s death. Deven Young posted a photo of a sunset and when someone commented on the picture and asked him how he was doing, he replied: “I’m doing good.”
Deven Young’s Facebook page indicates he attended Hampden Academy, but not since 2023.
The court documents state Deven Young will remain held at a juvenile facility ahead of his next court appearance, which is scheduled for Aug. 22.
https://www.wmtw.com/article/union-maine-murder-suspect-deven-young-what-we-know/65450665
