BRUNSWICK COUNTY — The future of the capital murder case against alleged Southport shooter Nigel Max Edge now hinges on whether psychiatric treatment and medication can restore the defendant to mental competency.
Judge Jason Disbrow ruled on April 7 that Edge currently lacks the capacity to stand trial, but paved a potential path forward through a court-ordered medical treatment. Disbrow’s decision effectively pauses the prosecution of the September 2025 Southport waterfront shooting that left three dead and six others injured at the American Fish Company.
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The ruling was based on an 18-page state evaluation conducted by Dr. Matthew McNally of Central Regional Hospital in Butner, one of three state-run psychiatric facilities in North Carolina. McNally’s evaluation was ordered by the court in February after the defense requested a third, neutral competency assessment to ensure Edge was mentally fit before the state decided whether to seek the death penalty. While McNally found Edge is currently “incapable of proceeding” through a trial, he opined the defendant’s capacity can likely be restored through psychiatric medication and individual therapy.
District Attorney Jon David was there to pursue a Rule 24 hearing, to determine if the death penalty can be sought. David announced last September, shortly after Edge opened fire at American Fish Company, he would begin the death penalty review process; but first the courts have to determine if Edge can even withstand trial after being indicted on three counts of first degree murder, seven counts of attempted first-degree murder, seven counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, and one count of discharging a firearm into occupied property.
According to McNally’s report, sealed from the public but detailed in some capacity by Disbrow during Tuesday’s proceedings, Edge suffers from “prominent delusional beliefs” and “persecutory delusional ideas,” specifically a belief in a years-long conspiracy of others trying to harm him.
Edge has written in his memoir, “Headshot: Betrayal of a Nation,” and in numerous lawsuits filed against varied agencies and people — Oak Island Police Department, Brunswick Medical Center, Generations Church, and even “American Idol” star Kellie Pickler — that he has been tracked by military satellites, with federal agencies and local law enforcement monitoring his movements, and that there has been a coordinated effort to poison him.
In October, a gatekeeping order was filed, which prevents Edge from putting forth lawsuits deemed “abusive, vexatious … repetitive, frivolous, or nonsensical.”
During the hearing, David said he spoke with victims’ families and law enforcement to ensure they were fully briefed on McNally’s findings and understood the state is legally prohibited from moving forward with the prosecution until efforts to restore the defendant’s competency are made.
Edge, 40, a Marine veteran and Purple Heart recipient, appeared in the Brunswick County courtroom wearing an orange jumpsuit and a leg brace with a visible limp. Under the watch of eight Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office deputies stationed throughout the room, Edge’s capital public defender, Matt Geoffrion, specifically requested “reasonable accommodation” for Edge to keep the brace while in state custody. Geoffrion noted the device is required for the defendant’s mobility; Disbrow granted the request.
The defense has long maintained Edge’s PTSD and traumatic brain injury have rendered him delusional. Prior to the state’s evaluation, two defense experts, Dr. Jennifer Sapia and Dr. George Corbin, reviewed Edge’s mental health. Both reached the same conclusion that Edge was incompetent, with Corbin noting at the time Edge was “unlikely to regain competency” due to the fixed nature of his delusional state.
Because of Tuesday’s competency problems, the state elected to continue the Rule 24 hearing, delaying the decision. David noted a capital designation cannot responsibly be made while “fundamental questions about the defendant’s competency remain unresolved.”
Instead, the state will transfer Edge to Cherry Hospital in Goldsboro for clinicians to attempt to “medicate and educate” him. If he regains competency, he can assist in his own defense.
“This is a marathon, not a sprint,” David stated in a release he handed out to the media in court on Tuesday. When asked for a statement, David said he was unable to comment and directed the media to the release.
However, he emphasized in the statement the legal system must remain “slow, methodical, and deliberate” as it waits for medical experts to determine if Edge can eventually face a jury.
“The State retains the option of pursuing the death penalty should the facts and law warrant this designation,” David explained in the release. “We will continue to follow the truth wherever that leads. We owe that to the victims, their families, and to our community.”
Edge will be held at Central Prison in Raleigh until a bed becomes available at Cherry Hospital. David noted any timeline for Edge’s restoration is currently “indeterminate,” as the progress of the case now depends on the success of the medical treatment.
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