Skip to content

Yukon man facing new attempted murder charge in B.C. exploding mail case

Leon Nepper, 73, is now facing one charge each of aggravated assault and attempted murder
13656441_web1_180913_YKN_weekend_1434web
A member of the Yukon RCMP emergency response team, left, and another officer talk after the arrest of Leon Nepper in Whitehorse on Sept. 13. Nepper is now charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault for allegedly mailing an exploding package to his brother. (Crystal Schick/Yukon News)

A Whitehorse man accused of mailing an exploding package to his brother and sister-in-law in Port Alice, B.C., is now facing two more criminal charges related to the incident.

Leon Nepper, 73, is now facing one charge each of aggravated assault and attempted murder in relation to a Sept. 11 incident where his brother, Roger, and his brother’s wife, Shirley Bowick, were injured after a package they opened in their Port Alice home exploded.

Roger received serious but non-life-threatening injuries from the explosion while his wife received minor burns.

Nepper, who was arrested in Whitehorse Sept. 13, was previously charged with one count each of sending an improvised explosive device to someone with the intent of causing bodily harm and unlawful possession of an explosive substance.

READ MORE: 2 injured in Port Alice mail explosion, believed to be targeted

READ MORE: Port Alice’s new RCMP officers going through clearance process

Crown attorney Ludovic Gouaillier entered a new information containing all four charges in Whitehorse court the afternoon of Sept. 21.

Defence lawyer Robert Dick said Nepper, who appeared to be wearing the same grey sweatshirt he wore at his three previous court appearances, was not seeking bail at the moment.

The 73-year-old appeared frail, hunching over as he walked and gripping on to the door and paneling in the prisoner’s box for support as he sat down and stood up.

Nepper will appear in court next on Oct. 5.

Jackie Hong is a reporter at our sister paper Yukon News.