Tears of sorrow in penalty phase of Nichols trial

December 30, 1997

DENVER (CNN) -- A grandmother testified Tuesday that she wished she could "reach into heaven" to bring back the two boys she had been raising who were killed in the April 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building.

Testifying in the life or death sentencing phase trial of convicted bomb conspirator Terry Nichols, Jannie Coverdale said she had been in custody of her two grandsons Aaron, 5, and Elijah, 2, since shortly after Elijah was born and "tested positive for cocaine."

"He was my shadow," she said of the younger boy, and his big brother was her "protector."

"Since they died, I don't have a life. There's not a day goes by that I don't think of them, don't hear that explosion, don't wish I could reach into heaven and bring them back."

Jannie Coverdale lost her two grandsons in the blast

Kevin Gotshall, 33, a Kerr McGee worker who now lives in Houston, testified he and his wife Sheryl placed their 6 1/2-month-old son, Kevin Lee, in the Federal Building day-care center after a careful search because it was "a very clean, safe, loving environment to be in."

The couple were both at work a block away from the building when it was blown apart by a truck bomb.

"It's the worst feeling I think you can ever have in your life," he said. "The floors, they all collapsed upon the day-care center and it seemed to me that the area where the infant room was the most hardest hit ... We couldn't imagine any way our child could survive."

A dozen prosecution witnesses opened the penalty phase of Nichols' trial Monday with tales of horror, grief and loss, involving hopeless rescue efforts and the deaths of fathers, infants, pregnant wives and lifelong spouses.

Some of the witnesses cried, as did jurors, lawyers and others in a scene reminiscent of the Timothy McVeigh trial shortly before the jury sentenced him to death for the bombing.

Nichols, McVeigh's old Army buddy, was convicted of helping plan the attack and of involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of eight federal agents. McVeigh was found guilty of first-degree murder for the deaths.

Tigar arrives at court Tuesday

Chief defense attorney Michael Tigar has tried to distinguish between the two cases for the Nichols jury, contending Nichols was one of perhaps several minor participants in the plot that led to 168 deaths and hundreds more injuries.

"They want all 12 of you to sign a paper that says one morning, or afternoon, they will get Terry Nichols and kill him," Tigar said in his opening statement Monday. "We say that there are lots of reasons why all 12 of you should not sign such a paper."

The jury of seven women and five men can recommend that Nichols be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole, or it can leave it to U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch to order a lesser sentence.

Jurors will be asked to weigh aggravating factors, presented by the prosecution, against mitigating factors, offered by the defense, to determine if the death penalty is appropriate for Nichols.

The prosecution is expected to use all of this week to call 60 witnesses and show five video tapes. The defense will then call witnesses, including members of Nichols' family.

T H E   N I C H O L S   T R I A L  /   T H E   M c V E I G H   T R I A L
T H E   B O M B I N G  /   C N N   S T O R I E S   /   L I N K S

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