Arkansas woman shares quest to unearth bombing plot

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) An Arkansas woman whose two grandsons died in the Oklahoma bombing says she's serving as a conduit for statements from convicted conspirator Terry Nichols because she hopes he

Friday, May 6th 2005, 6:28 am

By: News On 6

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) An Arkansas woman whose two grandsons died in the Oklahoma bombing says she's serving as a conduit for statements from convicted conspirator Terry Nichols because she hopes he will reveal more about the nation's worst act of domestic terrorism.

Kathy Sanders told The Associated Press on Thursday that she regularly corresponds with Nichols and believes he wants to tell her the untold story behind the bombing. This week, Sanders released a letter from Nichols claiming Arkansas gun collector Roger Moore gave explosives to Timothy McVeigh and also provided additional bomb components recently found in Nichols' former Kansas home.

``He wants me to come to the prison and he wants me to tell his story. He's a quiet and introverted little man. He doesn't want to be in the bright lights, but he wants to set the record straight,'' Sanders said.

Sanders' grandsons, 3-year-old Chase Smith and 2-year-old Colton Smith, died in the bombing. She recently published a book, ``After Oklahoma City,'' which explores her 10-year investigation into bombing conspiracy theories.

Sanders has long been an outspoken critic of the government's investigation of the bombing. Her quest for information has garnered extensive publicity including a 2002 documentary in which she spent two years visiting white supremacist camps and terrorist training compounds where McVeigh allegedly developed his anti-government views.

Some bombing survivors said Thursday they understand Sanders' desire for information but don't agree with her tactics. Jim Denny's two children survived the blast in the America's Kids day care center.

``We know Kathy. She's a nice lady and she's been involved in this conspiracy stuff for 10 years,'' said Denny, who lives in Oklahoma City.

But Denny said he doesn't believe anything Nichols has to say.

``If this gun dealer was involved, he passed a polygraph. Maybe people from the grassy knoll in Dallas were involved in it, too. They are still trying to prove that.''

Denny said he and his wife have talked with their children, Brandon and Rebecca, now 12 and 13, about the bombing conspiracy theories and told them they will likely live with the theories their entire lives.

``We will let them read the information and make up their own minds as they grow older,'' he said.

Bombing survivor Dennis Purifoy of Oklahoma City also does not believe Nichols.

``Everything Roger Moore has said has been verified, he was into guns but he wasn't into explosives. Everything Terry Nichols has said has been proven to be lies. Terry Nichols veracity is questionable. He has never, not one time, told the whole truth in all this time,'' Purifoy said.

An FBI spokesman in Kansas City has said the Nichols letter will not lead to a new investigation and there was no indication Moore provided explosives to Nichols and McVeigh. Prosecutors say Nichols stole an estimated $63,000 in weapons and other items from Moore's home that were then sold to help finance the terror plot.

Moore, who underwent months of questioning after the bombing and who now lives in Roseland, Fla., was never charged and says he never gave explosives to Nichols or McVeigh. He denies any involvement with the pair or the bombing.

But Sanders said Moore's statements have been inconsistent and she believes he was never fully investigated.

``They never delved further into it,'' she said.

Sanders said her book serves the dual purpose of keeping her quest for information before the public and qualifying her as journalist so federal authorities will allow her to interview Nichols at the federal maximum-security prison in Colorado where he is serving a life sentence.

She talked with Nichols by telephone two to three times a week while he was in custody in Oklahoma for trial on state murder charges. After all these years and lengthy state and federal trials, she said he was now ready to tell the full story behind the bombing and he will only tell it to her because of the trust she has built with him.

``Terry Nichols asked me to be a spokesperson for him and I am willing to do that,'' she said.

So far, federal prison officials have turned down her requests to interview Nichols, saying it would be too disruptive.