A judge in North Carolina ordered a Marine veteran charged with three counts of first-degree murder to undergo psychiatric treatment after prosecutors said he is currently unable to understand the legal proceedings well enough to help his lawyers.
The decision came Tuesday in Brunswick County court for Nigel Max Edge, who was scheduled for a hearing where the local prosecutor planned to disclose whether he intended to seek the death penalty in the case, according to a statement from District Attorney Jon David. David said that prosecutors set aside part of the scheduled proceedings after questions about Edge’s “capacity to proceed” were raised by multiple mental health professionals.
David said “The defense has presented evaluations from two experts, and this office requested an independent evaluation by a state forensic examiner.” He said all three evaluations concluded that Edge “currently lacks the capacity to proceed to trial.”
On the basis of those findings, Superior Court Judge Jason Disbrow ordered that Edge be transferred to Cherry Hospital, a state psychiatric facility in Goldsboro, David said. David added that the state’s mental expert found Edge “may be restored to capacity through appropriate treatment, including medication and counseling,” with the implication that the criminal case could continue if his competency is restored.
Prosecutors said the judge’s order effectively suspends further litigation unless and until the defendant’s capacity is restored. David said the state could still seek the death penalty “should the facts and law warrant this designation,” even though Tuesday’s proceedings did not move forward as planned. He said Edge would remain in custody during treatment, which he described as for an “indeterminate” amount of time.
Prosecutors allege Edge, 41, piloted a small motorboat to a dockside cocktail bar in Southport on Sept. 27 last year and opened fire with a short-barreled semiautomatic rifle. Authorities said the shooting killed three people and injured several others.
In court filings described in the charging narrative, Edge also faces additional charges beyond the murder counts, and friends and family have said he has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and still has a bullet lodged in his brain. The prosecutor’s account states Edge was serving with an elite sniper unit in Iraq when he was shot four times, including once in the head.
A voicemail and email seeking comment were left for Edge’s public defender, Matthew Geoffrion.