Man accused of setting fire to tree on UNC campus found not guilty by reason of insanity
The man accused of setting fire to the Davie Poplar tree on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus in 2017 was found not guilty by reason of insanity on Wednesday afternoon.
Court documents show that Joshua Daniel Edwards was found not guilty on felony charges after it was determined that he was found incapable of proceeding with the trial.
“Both his expert and our expert made reports offering the opinion that he was legally insane and not capable of understanding the nature and seriousness of his offense,” Assistant District Attorney Jeff Nieman said.
Edwards had been charged with malicious use of explosives to inflict injury, malicious use of explosives to damage property, assembling a weapon of mass destruction, setting fire to grass or a grassland, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury and filing a false police report after authorities said he detonated a device on Nov. 2, 2017, at the iconic Davie Poplar tree, which was planted when UNC-CH was founded.
Edwards’ attorney had previously said that she believed her client may have acted as a result of “psychosis,” but a request to lower his bond so that family could seek treatment for Edwards at a mental illness facility near his Davidson County home was denied in 2017.
In December 2017, Edwards was released from jail into the custody of his father, who promised to watch over his son and ensure he could receive mental health treatment.
Nieman said Edwards has been involuntarily committed to a mental health facility and will receive treatment until a judge determines that he is no longer a danger to himself or others.
UNC professor Dan Reichart sustained burns to his face and arms when the explosion caused a fireball to erupt around him as he tried to extinguish the fire at the tree.
The Davie Poplar tree sustained minimal damage in the incident and remains standing near McCorkle Place.
