That would give the government something it sorely needs – a live witness who can describe some of the planning for the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history, and possibly give some insight on the perpetrators’ beliefs and motives as well. Although McVeigh, as this week’s NEWSWEEK interview reveals, has turned out to be a cagey suspect, there is every reason to believe the Feds have charged the right man in the bombing. Witnesses have placed him at the scene shortly before the explosion, and he has been reliably identified as the man who rented the Ryder truck used to transport the bomb. There is also no real doubt that he or Nichols bought a ton of ammonium-nitrate fertilizer from a Kansas farm-supply store, or that Nichols’s home contained pieces of primadet, a type of blasting cord that could have been used in the bomb. Sources say traces of a chemical found in such cord were found on the clothes McVeigh was wearing the day he was arrested in Perry, Okla. A receipt for fertilizer, found in Nichols’s home in Herington, Kans., bore McVeigh’s thumbprint. Add the trail of storage-locker rentals in various small towns in Kansas- lockers apparently used to slash the bomb ingredients-and a pattern of meticulous preparation begins to emerge. According to court documents, these preparations began as early as September 1994.
The investigation now in-eludes an unsolved robbery in Royal, Ark., as well. The robbery took place on Nov. 5, 1994, and the victim was Roger Moore, 59, a gun collector and munitions dealer who knew McVeigh from his travels on the national gun-show circuit. Moore told police he was robbed by a tall man wearing camouflage fatigues, combat boots and a ski mask. The robber, who may have had an accomplice, took eight pistols, 66 rifles, gold and silver coins and bullion, semiprecious gems and approximately $8,700 in cash. He also took a safe-deposit key that police say was later recovered in the FBI search of Terry Nichols’s home, along with gold and silver coins and bullion and $5,228 in cash. Investigators believe the robbery may have provided funds for the bomb attack–though McVeigh denied any involvement to NEWSWEEK.
The identity of “John Doe No. 2” remains a mystery, despite a $2 million reward and more than 16,000 concrete leads from the FBI’s telephone hot line. Investigators have ruled out an army enlisted man who closely resembles the artist’s sketch of john Doe No. 2. But NEWSWEEK has interviewed a number of witnesses who are certain they saw a beefy, dark-haired man with McVeigh around Junction City, Kans., shortly before the blast -and despite the confusion, the FBI is still hunting for another suspect.
Investigators aren’t saying whether others were involved or whom they see as the bomb plot’s mastermind. These and other questions may be answered when the Feds release the main indictment in the case sometime in early August. Until then, barring some sort of breakthrough, the biggest investigation in FBI history will probably continue to focus on the damning details about McVeigh and his circle of friends.
