The Southport mass shooting that killed three people in 2025 will be treated as a capital offense by the state, with the death penalty sought for defendant Nigel Edge.
Brunswick County Superior Court Judge Jason Disbrow said at a hearing at the Judge Ola M. Lewis Brunswick County Courthouse in Bolivia Oct. 7 that the state offered enough factors to proceed as a capital offense case.
The decision came at a so-called Rule 24 motion hearing to determine if the state intends to seek the death penalty against the 41-year-old Oak Island man if he is found guilty. Two earlier scheduled Rule 24 motion hearings were postponed and a motion by defense attorney Matthew Geoffrion to have the Oct. 7 hearing continued was denied by Disbrow.
“Our duty is to follow
the facts and the law, wherever the truth is,” District Attorney Jon David said. “This is an incident where maximum justice cries out.”
The case was put on indefinite hold April 7 when Disbrow ruled that Edge did not have the capacity to stand trial. Edge was ordered to undergo psychiatric treatment in the hope that it will restore his ability to assist in his defense. He is being treated at Cherry Hospital, a psychiatric hospital in Goldsboro.
State doctors examined Edge and found he is incapable to proceed, but restoration of capacity is possible, David said.
The night of the shooting
Edge is alleged to have fired a gun from a boat into the American Fish Company, an outdoor bar in the Southport Yacht Basin on the night of Sept. 27, 2025. Solomon Banjo, 36, of Charlottesville, Virginia; Michael Durbin, 56, of Galena, Ohio; and Joy Rogers, 64, of Southport were killed. At least eight others were injured, according to the Southport Police Department.
Edge has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder, seven counts of attempted murder, seven counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, and one count of discharging a weapon into occupied property.
Edge, who was previously known as Sean William Debevoise, is a Marine veteran who was wounded in Iraq in 2006, according to court records.
“He was shot in the head with a high-powered machine gun while he served his country, and this is ultimately where the capacity issue comes from,” Geoffrion said.
The defendant is disabled and cannot walk without a leg brace, Geoffrion said.
“I just don’t think that it’s appropriate,” Geoffrion said of the Rule 24 motion at this point. “It’s not a matter of bar; it’s a matter of appropriateness. This case is so awful — and I acknowledge that — for so many people, but there is nothing to be gained by declaring this case capital at this point.”
The defense counsel’s concerns
Geoffrion raised the fact that there will be a new district attorney Jan. 1, 2027, as David is not seeking reelection.
“One of the things that I think we really got to consider, are we really going to be able to move forward if in fact the new district attorney is not going to be able to participate?” he asked. “Is that a reasonable thing to do?”
Geoffrion said a judicial determination that Edge is not competent to proceed based on the evaluations of psychologists should also be considered.
“I think we should all wonder whether this case should judicially move forward, and I would say unlikely,” the attorney said. “You cannot prosecute somebody who is unable to move forward in the legal system.”
Explaining the prosecution’s call for the death penalty if Edge is convicted, David said: “This is a mass casualty event. There were numerous, blameless victims. It was done in a public place in a highly premeditated fashion.”
He said: “We are not blind to who this defendant is. He served the country in Iraq as a Marine, suffered a traumatic brain injury, and has struggled with serious mental illness. Those facts are important and they were weighed but must be balanced against the circumstances of the crime.”
David said the decision to pursue the death penalty was made by a team of prosecutors after careful review of the facts and the law. He said it was an initial determination, not a final decision.
“If evidence emerges bearing on Mr. Edge’s sanity at the time of the offense, we will reassess,” he said. “If he is never restored to capacity, the death penalty would not be a lawful sentence and would be removed from consideration.”
Bob Liepa is the city of Wilmington and public safety reporter for the StarNews. You can reach him at RLiepa@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: State seeks death penalty for suspect in Southport mass shooting
