In a long-awaited ruling, a Maine judge found this week that Deven Young, 18, is competent to stand trial in the brutal killing of Sunshine “Sunny” Stewart last summer on a pond in the Midcoast town of Union.
District Court Judge Eric Walker’s April 29 ruling is the most significant development in the case since Young was charged with Stewart’s murder last July. Because Young was 17 at the time, the matter has proceeded behind closed doors in juvenile court.
The Maine Attorney General’s Office has sought to move the case to adult court, but that process has been stalled by the question of competency. If convicted as an adult, Young would face 25 years to life in prison. If tried as a minor, he could only be held in a juvenile detention facility until age 21.
Young has entered a denial to the charge, equivalent to a not-guilty plea. His attorney, Jeremy Pratt, did not immediately return a request for comment.
According to the Midcoast Villager, which first reported news of the ruling, the judge found Young “has a rational as well as a factual understanding of the proceedings” and is able to communicate with his lawyers “with a reasonable degree of rational understanding.”
A scheduling conference in the case is set for May 7 in Knox County Superior Court in Rockland.
Stewart’s death rattled the Midcoast region last summer and drew national attention to the Crawford Pond campground, where she planned to spend the summer.
Stewart, a 48-year-old contractor from coastal Maine, set off paddleboarding on the evening of July 2. Her body was found early the next morning close to an island. The state medical examiner found she died due to strangulation and blunt force trauma.
Her death set off a two-week search for suspects. On July 16, police arrested Young, of Frankfort, who had been staying at Mic Mac Cove Family Campground with his parents.
Though little information in the case has been publicly released, police reports obtained by the Villager and the Globe show that Young struggled with multiple behavioral disorders, faced bullying and physical violence, and did not receive sufficient mental health treatment. The records recount an episode of domestic violence in Young’s household during his childhood and describe him showing up to school with a black eye at 15.
“He was really aggressive all the time — like, angry all the time,” Jaxon Mushero, a close friend of Young’s, told the Globe earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Stewart’s friends and family have been mourning the loss of a woman they’ve described as a “Jill of all trades,” who worked as a ship captain, a lobsterwoman and a bartender on a beach in the Virgin Islands. They have described her as a fierce advocate for loved ones, with a personality that matched her name.
Friends have bemoaned the slow pace of the legal process and the dearth of information they’ve received in the case.
“Your brain can’t grieve in the normal way,” Bethany Parmley, a lifelong friend, told the Globe. “And it’s never-ending.”
Paul Heintz can be reached at paul.heintz@globe.com. Follow him on X @paulheintz.