A Maine teenager who offered to assist police in investigating the murder of a female paddle boarder has now been accused of committing the crime himself, according to authorities.
Deven Young, 17, was arrested Wednesday and charged with the murder of 48-year-old Sunshine Stewart. Stewart’s body was discovered in Union, Maine, on July 3, having been severely beaten and strangled to death.
Young is currently being held in a Youth Detention Center in South Portland, awaiting trial.
Stewart, who was staying at the Mic Mac Campground, left on the evening of July 2 to paddleboard at Crawford Pond.
Katherine Lunt, the campground’s owner, reported Stewart missing after she failed to return to her campsite. Stewart’s body was discovered in what authorities described as “unusual circumstances” during the search.
As news of the death spread throughout Union’s close-knit community, authorities began searching for the suspect.
During this time, Young continued to post on Facebook on a regular basis, uploading images of himself and his surroundings and responding to comments with a lighthearted tone.
His Facebook page has been deleted.
Lunt stated that Young spent a significant amount of time at her campsite and that his behavior was never inappropriate.
“He would offer to help other campers with their loose pets, yard work, and make wood crafts, which he would distribute to other campers.
We, as a campground community, are devastated that he continued to camp among us as if nothing had happened,” said Lunt.
“It is heart-wrenching and terrifying that we had no idea the murderer was amongst us as we were looking for a stranger,” she says.
What evidence law enforcement has against Young is unknown, but hours before his arrest, officers went door to door collecting DNA samples from men in the area.
Furthermore, Young informed authorities that he had information regarding Stewart’s death on July 16.
