ROCKLAND, Maine — A grand jury indicted Deven Young for the July 2025 murder of Sunshine “Sunny” Stewart.
The indictment is dated Nov. 12.
The indictment comes a week after Young waived his right to a bind-over hearing that would have determined whether the 19-year-old would be tried as a juvenile or an adult.
The Maine Attorney General’s Office had filed the criminal complaint of murder against him following that hearing. In Maine, a grand jury must then issue an indictment for the case to proceed to a plea or trial.
The defense and prosecution agreed that Young would be held without bail. He was to be moved from the Long Creek Youth Development Center to the Knox County holding facility, although he may be transferred to Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset, with which Knox County has a contract to hold incarcerated people.
As an adult, he will face a minimum of 25 years and up to life in prison if convicted.
Young, 19, has been charged with the July 3, 2025, blunt force and strangulation murder of 48-year-old Stewart, whose body was found on 100-Acre Island in Crawford Pond, Union. Young turned 18 on Sept. 24, 2025, less than three months after Stewart was killed.
Judge Walker ruled April 29 that the defendant was “competent to proceed based on the court’s finding that the juvenile has a rational as well as a factual understanding of the proceedings and a sufficient present ability to consult with legal counsel with a reasonable degree of rational understanding.”
The probable cause affidavit that led to Young’s arrest remains sealed. Thus, it is not known whether Young made any incriminating statements to Maine State Police or others.
Stewart grew up in the Union area and attended Medomak Valley High School. She bought and restored her circa 1900 home on River Road in Tenants Harbor. Stewart also worked as a waitress, bartender, fisherman and carpenter. Her friends said she was a strong, self-made woman and could do anything she set her mind on.
State Police reviewed surveillance video from the campground. The footage showed Young going out in his aluminum boat before Stewart. The boat had both a motor and oars. Stewart left at 6 p.m. to go paddle boarding on Crawford Pond. Young later was seen returning to the campground in his boat.
Witnesses said that in the two weeks after Stewart’s murder, Young’s behavior did not raise suspicion. He offered to help other campers with loose pets and yard work and made wood crafts that he gave to others.
Young approached investigators and said he had information about the case. He went out on Crawford Pond in a boat with investigators and a game warden, leading them to the opposite end of 100-Acre Island from where Stewart’s body was found. When they returned to the campground, police continued interviewing him.
Investigators left the campground but returned later that night and went directly to the Youngs’ camper. Police interviewed the family for two hours before arresting the son on the night of July 16. Detective Erin James was the arresting officer.
Young is a resident of Frankfort. His family was at the Mic Mac Campground on Crawford Pond, where Stewart was also staying.
Young made his initial court appearance July 18, 2025, via Zoom from Long Creek. The hearing, held at the state court in Knox County, was open to the public at the request of the Midcoast Villager. Young entered a denial of the murder charge. He is represented by attorneys Pratt and Caitlyn Smith. Assistant Attorneys General Lisa Bogue and Suzanne Russell are prosecuting the case.
After that hearing, the defense requested a competency hearing. State law mandates that juvenile cases be sealed for felony and murder cases if a motion for competency determination is made. The entire court file was sealed until Judge Walker’s April 29 ruling that found Young competent to stand trial.
Following that ruling, the Maine Forensic Service in Augusta conducted a diagnostic evaluation of Young on June 16. Results of that evaluation were to have been used at the bind-over hearing to help determine whether he would be tried as an adult or juvenile. That evaluation could also be used to determine whether he can be held criminally responsible for the death if the case goes to trial.
Midcoast Villager successfully challenged in court the denial of access to police records maintained by the Waldo County Sheriff’s Office on calls that department made to Young’s home in Frankfort.
Those records showed that the parents discussed how they had sought services for Young, who spent two stints at Acadia Hospital — a psychiatric facility — in Bangor and how he did well in its day program. They said he had been on a waiting list for more than two years to get home counseling services but had not yet received those services. He was also getting therapy at Hampden Academy, according to the audio recording.
The father said if the teen kept up his actions he would end up in jail when he turned 18.