The 73-year-old Whitehorse man accused of mailing a bomb to his brother has died in custody – not long after facing new and more severe charges.

On Sunday, the Yukon Coroner’s Service and Whitehorse RCMP responded to a call of inmate Leon Nepper in medical distress, according to a Coroner’s Service release issued late this morning.

Nepper was transported to Whitehorse General Hospital, where he died at 1:25 p.m.

There will be an autopsy performed at Vancouver General Hospital this week.

The Coroner’s Service was not able to provide a cause of death nor release any further details.

Nepper’s death occurred just two days after the Crown announced he would be facing one count of attempted murder and one count of aggravated assault during what would be his final territorial court appearance on Friday afternoon, before deputy judge William Digby.

Nepper was represented by duty counsel Bob Dick, who told the court Nepper was taking steps to retain a lawyer.

Digby ordered Nepper to remain in custody until his next court date on Oct. 5.

Nepper also faced one count of sending an explosive device with intent to cause bodily harm and one count of possessing an e Crown prosecutor Ludovic Gouaillier explained the new charges after court.

Nepper could no-longer seek bail in territorial court, as attempted murder falls under the jurisdiction of the Yukon Supreme Court.

“If he wishes to seek his release in relation to this charge, he’ll have to do it in the Supreme Court,” Gouaillier said.

The upgraded charges meant Nepper could have faced a more severe sentence had he been convicted.

The new charges are dated between Aug. 14 and Sept. 11. Gouaillier explained this takes into account the time the bomb spent in transit in the postal system from Whitehorse to Port Alice, B.C., which is on Vancouver Island.

Gouaillier said the Crown had planned to proceed by indictment.

He also said the matter would have been heard in Whitehorse, not in British Columbia.

He said there is a provision in the Criminal Code of Canada which would have allowed the case to be heard in either jurisdiction.

This provision covers cases where an offender uses the mail system to commit his or her crime.

Gouaillier explained that the counts of the possession of an explosive device and sending an explosive device with intent to cause bodily harm, were not able to proceed in B.C., while attempted murder and aggravated assault charges could have.

If the case would have been heard in B.C., it would have split the prosecution.

“It was preferable for this to proceed as a single matter here in the Yukon,” Gouaillier said.

The Crown was not able to share any information about the case at this time.

The no-contact order between Nepper and his brother, Roger Nepper, and his sister-in-law, Shirley Bowick, had remained in place.

Roger suffered injuries to his right arm when the bomb went off.

Bowick told news outlet CHEK that her husband’s “fingertips were basically blown off.”

He was taken to the local hospital by his neighbour, Shannon MacGregor. He did not sustain life-threatening injuries.

Bowick told MyCampbellRiverNow.com she feels this incident could have been the result of a financial dispute between the two brothers.

Leon was arrested at his residence in the Greenwood Place seniors’ facility in downtown Whitehorse on Sept. 13.