Maine 18-year-old charged in death of paddleboarder ruled competent to
stand trial
[May 02, 2026]
By PATRICK WHITTLE
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A judge has ruled an 18-year-old man charged with
murder in the killing of a paddleboarder in Maine is competent to stand
trial.
The death of Sunshine “Sunny” Stewart, 48, of St. George, last year
shocked the community around Crawford Pond in rural Union, Maine.
Authorities charged Deven Young of Frankfort, Maine, with murder in
Stewart's death in July, about two weeks after Stewart's body was
discovered.
The court system has thus far treated Young as a juvenile. Prosecutors
in the state want to charge Young, who was 17 at the time of Stewart's
death and is 18 now, as an adult. First, he needed to be deemed
competent to stand trial, and a judge ruled this week that he is.
"The court finds that the defendant is 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," wrote Maine District Court Judge Eric J. Walker on
Wednesday.
Young is due back in court on May 7. Police have said a medical examiner
determined Stewart's cause of death was strangulation and blunt force
trauma.
Jeremy Pratt, an attorney for Young, declined to comment on Thursday.
Prosecutors in the case also declined to comment Thursday.
Authorities have not publicly stated a possible motive in the case.
Court documents about the case, which were briefly made public before
being removed from the state's courts website, contained little detail
other than stating that Young “did intentionally or knowingly cause the
death of another human being, namely Sunshine Stewart.”
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Acquaintances of Sunshine Stewart sit on the bow of a lobster boat
during a memorial service for the slain paddleboarder, Sunday, Aug.
10, 2025, off the coast of St. George, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F.
Bukaty, File)
Audio recordings by the Waldo County Sheriff's Office that were
obtained by news agencies earlier this year provided details about
Young's history of violent behavior and mental health challenges
prior to Stewart's death. The Portland Press Herald reported that
Young had been waiting for behavioral health services from the
state.
Stewart went missing at Crawford Pond, where she was paddleboarding,
on July 2 and her body was found the next day. The pond is a popular
summertime attraction for swimming, boating and fishing. Stewart
lived about 21 miles (34 kilometers) from the pond in the Tenants
Harbor neighborhood in St. George.
Stewart's friends and family celebrated her life with a maritime
service last August. The memorial included a procession of boats,
some decked out with flowers, in Tenants Harbor.
On the boats were pictures of Stewart smiling and a large sign that
read, “Shine On.” Over the years, Stewart worked as a fisherman,
boat captain, biologist, carpenter and bartender, friends have said.
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