Fight between two N.S. men who were once lovers leads to stabbing

When police got to the stabbing scene, one man was bleeding outside on the street and his ex was still inside their Middle Sackville home.

It was 3:44 a.m. on June 16 when Mounties responded to the call.

“The complainant and victim later identified as Mr. Ian Keddy reported his ex-partner Mr. Taj Leppard stabbed him,” Const. Denis Chartrand said in his warrant application.

Keddy had a stab wound in his outer right thigh that was about 2.5 cm deep and just as long, and his hand was also injured, said the investigator, noting there was “significant blood all over the road.”

Police found Leppard “in the kitchen corner,” arrested him and put him in handcuffs.

“Mr. Leppard was only wearing gray/black pyjama pants which were covered in blood along with his face, hands and feet,” Chartrand said in information to obtain a warrant filed at Dartmouth provincial court.

Butcher knife lodged in wall 

There was a lot of blood in the kitchen and the hallway leading to the bedroom,

“The knife believed to be used was a butcher knife from the kitchen which was now lodged into the living room wall,” Chartrand said.

Police began first aid on Keddy and had wrapped up his wounds by the time an ambulance arrived on the scene.

An officer followed them to the QE II Hospital.

At the hospital, Keddy told police he and Leppard had been dating for about four years, “and off and on for the past nine months,” Chartrand said.

Returned ‘in a rage’

They were still living together at the time.

“Last night Mr. Kelly fell asleep on the couch while Mr. Leppard left for the night with a friend,” said the constable.

Leppard later “returned to the house in a rage and began yelling, screaming and banging doors,” the stabbing victim told police.

Keddy got up and went to see what was going on.

“Mr. Leppard approached Mr. Keddy and began choking and punching him while in the living room,” Chartrand said.

Moments later, Leppard left the living room and returned soon afterward holding a knife in his hand, said the constable.

Keddy told police he’d “tried to defend himself on the couch,” resulting in wounds to his hands.

‘It all happened very quickly’

He was stabbed in the leg and had bruising above the right side of his forehead.

“It all happened very quickly,” Keddy told investigators.

“All he remembers afterward was being outside and calling 911.”

Keddy believed Leppard had been drinking.

Leppard – who said he hadn’t drunk alcohol or taken any drugs that night – told Mounties Keddy “had been molesting him in his sleep,” Chartrand said.

‘He stuck up for himself’

Leppard told investigators Keddy was on the Sex Offender Registry and that “he stuck up for himself.” He couldn’t believe he was in police custody, said the constable.

Paramedics bandaged Leppard’s bleeding thumb, which needed stitches.

An officer took Leppard to hospital to get him patched up, as well. Besides the thumb injury, he had “scratch-like lacerations” on both sides of his neck, and the right side of his torso.

“While at the hospital, (the officer) could smell alcohol emanating from Mr. Leppard’s breath,” Chartrand said.

“Without prompt, Mr. Leppard would not stop talking.”

He told police he’d never been in trouble with the law.

Denied stabbing ex 

“He said he did not stab Mr. Keddy and believes Mr. Keddy’s injuries were self-inflicted,” said the constable.

Leppard told police he “makes money by going to Toronto and selling his ass to rich men,” Chartrand said.

He said Keddy owned the home where they lived.

Leppard told police he came home around midnight on the night of the stabbing.

‘Looked at him the wrong way’

“He went out with friends that night,” he told investigators.

“When he got home, Mr. Keddy looked at him the wrong way and he ‘lost it;’ he got worked up and began shouting; he doesn’t know how long they argued for.”

Leppard told investigators he smashed the TV.

But he also said he “never stabbed” Keddy, and he didn’t know how his ex’s hands got injured.

‘He kind of blacked out’

“He only grabbed the knife from the knife block and was probably waving it in the air and then stabbed the knife in the wall,” Chartrand said.

“The both of them were arguing and he kind of blacked out after the knife was picked up.”

He said: “Shit just got out of control.”

Leppard told police he probably kicked, hit and choked Keddy.

“He regrets pulling the knife and hurting him,” Chartrand said.

Said thumb injury was old 

Leppard told police the cut on his own thumb happened on his birthday, which was back in January, when he tried to grab a knife from Keddy, who had taken one from the knife block and started waving it around.

“His thumb was not properly healed and reopened from this morning,” he told police.

“He never got stitches initially.”

Police found a black iPhone on the bedside table after the stabbing, which they seized as evidence.

Chartrand convinced a justice of the peace to grant a warrant to conduct a forensic analysis of the mobile device.

‘Understand the dynamic’

He was looking for clues including electronic communications, files, notes, photos, videos, web browsing history and location data between May 16 and the night of the stabbing.

“This date range is based on allowing investigators to better understand the dynamic and relationship between Mr. Keddy and Mr. Leppard,” Chartrand said.

Police charged Leppard, 25, with aggravated assault, assault with a weapon, assault causing bodily harm and possession of weapon for dangerous purpose.

He’s slated to appear in Dartmouth provincial court next Monday for election and/or plea.

Victim also heading to court

Keddy is not facing any charges from the night of the stabbing, but he is facing a charge for failing to comply with an order made under the Sex Offender Information Registration Act. He’s slated to be arraigned on that charge next Wednesday.

A judge sentenced Keddy to nine months in jail in January of 2018 for possession of child pornography and voyeurism. The sentence included a 10-year firearms prohibition, 24 months of probation and a lifetime order under the Sex Offender Information Registration Act.

Keddy also had to forfeit the devices seized during that investigation.