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Man accused of mailing bomb to his brother in B.C. has died

Leon Nepper was found in ‘medical distress’ at the Whitehorse Correctional Centre on Sunday
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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)

Leon Nepper, the man accused of mailing a bomb to his brother in British Columbia, has died, according to Yukon’s Coroner Service.

Nepper, 73, was found in “medical distress” at the Whitehorse Correctional Centre on Sept. 23, the release says, and later died at the city’s hospital in the early afternoon.

An autopsy will be performed this week in Vancouver.

“Yukon Coroner’s Service, with assistance of RCMP, continue our investigation. No further information is available at this time,” the release says.

Last week, Nepper was charged with two additional counts in relation to allegedly sending an exploding package to his brother and sister-in-law in Port Alice, B.C. on Sept. 11.

Related: Yukon suspect in B.C. mail bombing makes court appearance

Related: Whitehorse man accused of mailing exploding package to his brother facing attempted murder charge

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

Those new charges included one charge each of aggravated assault and attempted murder.

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.

Contact Julien Gignac at julien.gignac@yukon-news.com

With files from Jackie Hong

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Yukoner Leon Nepper, accused of mailing a bomb to his brother in Port Alice, B.C., was found “in medical distress” at Whitehorse Correctional Centre on Sunday. He was transported to hospital and died at 1:25 p.m.