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A 17-year-old boy was charged with murder Friday in the death of a Maine paddleboarder.
Deven Young was charged in Knox County Juvenile Court with murder in the death of 48-year-old Sunshine Stewart, according to court records.
Her body was found July 3 after she failed to return from paddleboarding on Crawford Pond in Union.
Young, who is from Frankfort, was arrested Wednesday night.
During Friday’s court hearing in the Knox County courthouse in Rockland, Young’s defense attorney, Jeremy Pratt, asked Judge Eric Walker for a closed hearing, which was denied, according to the Midcoast Villager.
But police affidavits in the case will remain sealed for now. Young, who appeared in court via Zoom, denied the charge against him Friday, the Villager reported.
Prosecutors are asking for the case against Young to be moved to adult court, where he could face up to life in prison if convicted on the murder charge.
Young was ordered to continue to be detained at Long Creek Youth Correctional Facility in South Portland. He’s scheduled to appear in court again on Aug. 22.
The Maine medical examiner’s office ruled that 48-year-old Sunshine Stewart of Tenants Harbor died from strangulation and blunt force trauma, Shannon Moss, a spokesperson for the Maine Department of Public Safety, said Thursday.
That arrest is the culmination of the “relentless investigative work” by detectives and investigators since Stewart was found dead on Crawford Pond on July 3.
Stewart had gone out from Mic Mac Campground around 6 p.m. on July 2 for a solo paddleboard outing. But when she failed to return, authorities began searching for her early on the morning of July 3, when they found her body.
The lack of information made public around her death, which police ruled a homicide, put the small midcoast community on edge. Police said there was no threat to the public, but with so few disclosures, speculation ran rampant, including that Stewart was the victim of a serial killer. That prompted police to make a rare admonishment, calling such theories “irresponsible.”
It’s unclear whether this arrest will tamp down on that speculation as the public waits for answers about what happened to Stewart on July 2.
Friends remembered Stewart as a “strong” and “self-made” woman. She rehabbed her home in Tenants Harbor, where the community was shocked to learn of her death. Stewart also worked as a bartender, waitress, carpenter and fisherman.
She had planned to spend the summer at Mic Mac Campground in a rented camper.
Her death remains under investigation, and police aren’t releasing more information right now.
Anyone with information about Stewart’s death can call the Maine State Police at 207-624-7076 or text MESPTIP to 847411.
BDN writer Christopher Burns contributed to this report.