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Updyke Reportedly Admits to Poisoning Trees

By Matthew Osborne
SouthernPigskin.com
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Harvey Updyke has pleaded not guilty to his current charges by reason of mental disease or defect.

According to a report from The Auburn Plainsman, 63-year old Harvey Updyke has confessed to poisoning the famed Toomer’s Corner trees at Auburn University.

Updyke, who is currently preparing to go on trial for charges that include criminal mischief and desecrating a venerable object, is accused of poisoning Auburn’s trees following their national championship season in 2010.

Updyke publically admitted that he was the individual responsible for calling the popular Paul Finebaum Show and posing as “Al from Dadeville” in January of 2011. In his approximately two minutes on the air, “Al from Dadeville” confessed to poisoning the trees at Toomer’s Corner using Spike 80 DF, a granular herbicide.

Although Updyke admitted that he was the voice behind “Al from Dadeville”, he had been steadfast in his claims that he was not the person responsible for actually poisoning the trees.

When approached by Plainsman community editor Andrew Yawn Tuesday afternoon, however, Updyke publically admitted for the first time that he was in fact the person responsible for poisoning the trees at Toomer’s Corner.

“Did I do it? Yes,” Updyke bluntly stated to Yawn.

Updyke has pleaded not guilty to his current charges by reason of mental disease or defect.

While he has entered a plea of not guilty, Updyke does not seem very optimistic about the chances of winning his trial.

“They're going to find me guilty... it's a done deal,” Updyke said. “I don't think I'm going to get a fair trial.”
 

Matthew Osborne - With an extensive background in both writing and high school recruiting, Matt serves as the Editor and Director of Recruiting for Southern Pigskin. Once serving as the South Region Senior Scout for a national scouting service, Matt is very familiar with the top football prospects in the south. If it is a weekend in the fall, you can rest assured that Matt is on the road watching some of the top high school and college games in the region. To keep up with all of the latest recruiting news in the south, be sure to follow Matt on Twitter: @MattOsborneSP. You can email him at matt@southernpigskin.com.