Bail reduction sought in murder case
Leader
SANDPOINT — Defense counsel for a Bonner County man accused of murdering a woman and forcing a man at gunpoint to help dispose of the remains will seek a reduced bail during a preliminary hearing, court records show.
The preliminary hearing in Bradley Michael Leader's case is set for Wednesday in Bonner County Magistrate Court. He is being held at the Bonner County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail.
Leader is charged with second-degree murder, second-degree kidnapping and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Wednesday's hearing will determine if the state has enough evidence to justify trying Leader on the felony charges in 1st District Court.
Leader, 67, is accused of strangling and bludgeoning Eveline Ursula Pederson to death during an argument at her home off Gunsmoke Road northeast of Priest River on Aug. 17.
Leader is further accused of forcing a longtime acquaintance to help him conceal her remains. When the man objected, Leader allegedly drew back the hammer of .45-caliber revolver and told the man he would be fatally shot if he did not comply, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Pederson's body was moved from a woodpile on the property and dumped off the side of U.S. Forest Service Road No. 334, court documents indicate.
The acquaintance, who feared he was still going to be killed, managed to flee from Leader after they returned to Pederson's residence and alerted authorities, according to the affidavit.
Leader, the affidavit said, admitted punching Pederson in the face and strangled her with a length of bailing twine. Leader told investigators he bludgeoned Pederson with a piece of concrete to ensure she was dead, the affidavit said.
Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall said there was no known motive for the slaying.
The acquaintance, who feared he was still going to be killed, managed to flee from Leader after they returned to Pederson’s residence and alerted authorities, according to the affidavit.
Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall said there was no known motive for the slaying.
Leader was reportedly working on a mural at the home that Pederson shared with her boyfriend.
Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.