Late Thursday night, Harvey Updyke's legal team filed a notice with the Lee County Circuit Court saying they had just received word that the accused Toomer's Corner tree poisoner was in poor health that "may affect the defendant's ability to participate in the scheduled proceedings."
Formerly of Dadeville, Updyke, 63, now sees Louisiana physician Dr. John R. Goff who said he is suffering from "poorly controlled diabetes" and "passing out spells."
The notice, filed by attorney Louis J. Willie III, said the spells he was coming under struck Goff as "neurologic" and would require "neurologic evaluation which would have to be done next week."
Updyke's trial is scheduled to begin after a June 18 deposition of a soil analyst from Mississippi State University who has been running tests on samples related to the poisoning.
Updyke is charged with felony criminal mischief and other related charges stemming from the poisoning of the Toomer's Corner oaks.
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