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 if court-ordered medical treatment helps improve Edge’s capacity. 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 in the case. David announced last September, shortly after Edge opened fire from his boat into the crowd at American Fish Company, the DA’s office would begin the death penalty review process; first, the courts had to determine if Edge can even withstand trial.
Edge has been 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 that others have engaged in a years-long conspiracy to harm him.
Edge has written in his memoir, “Headshot: Betrayal of a Nation,” and in numerous lawsuits filed against varied agencies and people — including 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.”
On Tuesday, 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, has maintained the Iraq War veteran’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.
Tuesday, the state elected to continue the Rule 24 hearing, effectively delaying the decision. 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.
Geoffrion requested “reasonable accommodation” for Edge to keep on his leg brace while in state custody, expalining the device is required for the defendant’s mobility. Disbrow granted the request.
When asked for a statement, David said he was unable to comment but handed out a press release to the media in court.
“This is a marathon, not a sprint,” David stated in a release, also emphasizing in the release the legal system must remain “slow, methodical, and deliberate” as it waits for medical experts to determine if Edge can eventually face a jury. Should that day come, the release added the state will continue to pursue the death penalty “should the facts and law warrant this designation.”
“We will continue to follow the truth wherever that leads,” David added. “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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