The man charged with setting off an explosion at the iconic Davie Poplar tree on the UNC – Chapel Hill campus in November 2017 was found not guilty on Wednesday by reason of insanity.

Orange County assistant district attorney Jeff Nieman, who was prosecuting the case, said after the hearing that experts for the defense and the state had reached similar conclusions that Joshua Daniel Edwards was legally insane at the time of the incident.

The explosion at the Davie Poplar scorched the tree, which was deemed overall healthy and has survived, set off a series of events. Edwards was quickly taken into custody. But his vehicle was in Carrboro, where authorities believed there could be another explosive device. After a large portion of downtown Carrboro was on lockdown for several hours, the all-clear was given.

Edwards was charged with several felonies, including malicious use of explosives to inflict injury and assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury.

Edwards, a former UNC student, underwent a mental evaluation before being released under a $1 million unsecured bond into the custody of his parents. His bond stipulated that he was to receive mental health treatment while out of custody, among other provisions.

Nieman said Wednesday that the case was initially considered an act of domestic terrorism and that the state was pursuing prison time. But the agreeing mental evaluations from the state and defense led to Wednesday’s hearing in front of Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour.

The criminal process in this case is now concluded. Edwards was involuntarily committed and will receive mental health treatment, Nieman said, until a judge deems he is no longer a threat to himself or others.

A UNC professor – Dan Reichart – tried to stamp out the fire when the small explosion occurred. He sustained burns and underwent surgery at UNC Hospitals at the time.

Photo via Charlie Soeder

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