The Oklahoma City Bombing

Josh Nichols had been in Kansas visiting his father for the Easter break when the bomb exploded. Terry Nichols also has two other children from a second marriage. They could not be reached for comment. Saving a box of letters Dr. Charles P. Ewing, a University at Buffalo distinguished service professor emeritus who specialized in criminal law and child psychology, says incarcerated parents often try to patch up broken relationships with their children. “It is not uncommon for parents who have gone to prison for much less heinous offenses to be rejected by their children,” Ewing said. Padilla says she is saving Nichols’ unread letters to their son. “I have a little box with all the letters from Terry and I hope Josh will read them someday,” Padilla said. “I hope one day they will reunite, but I don’t know if it is too late for that.”

In the 25 years since the bombing, few details have emerged on Nichols’ life behind bars. He has written letters to bombing victims who have reached out to him and, early on, reportedly complained about prison conditions. Padilla says he is fond of quoting or paraphrasing scriptures from the Bible to make a point in his letters. Nichols has also portrayed himself as a spiritual individual in letters to other individuals. In a letter to Mike Nations, who lived a block away from the Murrah building, Nichols wrote: "...may He bring to your heart the peace & comfort which only He can do. Be well. And keep your faith & hope in God. Your friend, Terry." In another letter, Nichols told Nations that his "work" in prison includes letter writing and "Bible study." Nichols did not respond to a letter from The Buffalo News seeking an interview. U.S. Bureau of Prisons officials declined to release any information on whether he has visitors, makes pho

A journalist's reflections on Timothy McVeigh 25 years after Oklahoma City bombing . Oklahoma City bomber Timothy J. McVeigh told me he did not know what he would encounter on the other side, once the chemicals from the lethal injection killed him. But on the chance the Pendleton native had an express ticket to hell, he defiantly said he would be in the company of many generals and world leaders who murdered their opposition. As the first and only journalist to repeatedly interview McVeigh face to face, my job was to keep him talking. My colleague Dan Herbeck and I needed every scintilla of his thought process, no matter how outrageous, so that we could provide a window into the worst domestic terrorist in U.S. history. We were working on writing a book, “American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing.” Time was short. McVeigh had a date with the executioner. He had been convicted of delivering a homemade, 7,000-pound truck bomb that killed 168 innoc

Thanking God for my beautiful daughter, her amazing teachers and sweet friends who survived in the YMCA Daycare on April 19, 1995 at 9:02 a.m., when cowards murdered 168 people across the street. Forever etched in my memory. I will always remember those killed, those who survived and those whose lives were changed forever. Today marks 25 years, but for those of us who experienced it first hand, it never goes away and feels like yesterday.  Some of my memories are in slow motion, but the images...the things I saw, heard, felt, even the smells...they never go away.  One bang from a dumpster being dropped Downtown OKC, still makes my insides tremble. Seeing a Ryder truck, even though they're not yellow anymore...things like that immediately send me back to the alley where I was trying to get to my 5 year old, had a huge gun pointed at me in an alley and was yelled at, "ATF!! Get the ---- out of here!!  NOW!!!!" Second alley I tried, same thing.  Tried to run.  Could not.