Fractured families of OKC bombing

August 11, 1995

From Correspondent Susan Candiotti

OKLAHOMA CITY (CNN) -- Along with the 168 deaths in the Oklahoma City bombing, the tragedy highlights a number of troubled families.

The day following his father's indictment brings a special sadness for Josh Nichols. Not only is it Josh's 13th birthday, a day on which his dad always baked him a cake, but every recent Thursday has broughta call from his father in prison. On indictment day, the phone never rang.

The family fall out surrounding the Oklahoma City bombing reveals an intriguing patchwork of troubled homes. The trial might pit sister against brother, son against father. For example, Josh, whose parents were divorced long ago, said this about his father last June, "They think my dad's involved in the bombing which I don't think he is." Now, Josh's opinion seems to be changing. In his mother's words Josh is now finally coming to grips with the fact that his father is guilty.

What's more, Josh might have to testify against his father. Terry Nichols' defense attorney Michael Tigar says, "We have nothing to fear from the truthful testimony of Josh Nichols or Marife Nichols or anyone who was with Terry Nichols in those crucial days before the bombing."

On their family farm in Michigan, Terry Nichols doesn't appear to be getting much sympathy from his older brother James against whom explosives charges were dropped Thursday. When asked if he was planning to visit his brother in prison, James said this, "My work comes first. If i don't get my crops in, I go broke."

Back in May, Terry's father, Robert Nichols' was the classic picture of a parent in distress, trying to sort things out. He says, "I don't think he's capable of what took place out there..."

And what of Michael Fortier's family? At first, Timothy Mcveigh's ex-army buddy protested his innocence, so did his mother. Emphatically his mother says, "He doesn't need an attorney. My son didn't do anything wrong." Now, Fortier has admitted he lied. Not only did he know about the bombing, but he says he was also involved in selling stolen weapons to pay for it.

Then, there's the matter of Timothy Mcveigh's sister Jennifer. Theirs was a broken home, but Jennifer has always stuck by her brother.
She was compelled to testify against him before a grand jury. Mcveigh's attorney Stephen Jones says, "Jennifer Mcveigh was humiliated, shouted at, criticized and treated unfairly in the grand jury room." Jennifer's attorney says she will be a reluctant witness at trial.

For relatives of the bombing suspects, the emotional impact can be a struggle between loyalty, truth, and guilt. Clinical social worker Vicki Fritz Bertoch says, "Anytime there is a tragedy in a family, we always go back over our relationship with that person and say, 'what can i have done differently?'"

The trial ahead is bound to further deepen the emotional trauma.

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Fractured families of OKC bombing

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