Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 8, 1995 TAG: 9508080071
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: OKLAHOMA CITY LENGTH: Medium
The leg, which has not been matched to any of the known victims or survivors of the April 19 bombing that killed 168 people, was discovered May 30. The last three known victims were recovered May 29.
``We just haven't been able to associate it with anyone yet,'' said Ray Blakeney, chief of operations for the state medical examiner's office.
The discovery of the leg was not disclosed by investigators until Monday, after Stephen Jones, the head of McVeigh's defense team, told reporters about it.
``It just doesn't fit into the government's neat theory that they are packaging that three people with little or no formal training in explosives carried this off,'' Jones said.
``It certainly raises that possibility,'' Jones said when asked if the discovery of the leg could indicate that the bomber died in the blast.
The limb probably belonged to a light-skinned man under the age of 30 with dark hair, Chief Medical Examiner Fred B. Jordan said in a statement. The leg was wearing the boot, two socks and an olive-drab elastic blousing strap, which is used to snug the cuffs of fatigues over boot-tops.
Blakeney said the medical examiner's office is checking DNA and going through all of its cases to see if the leg belonged to one of the known victims.
A grand jury is expected to indict McVeigh and fellow suspect Terry Nichols on federal terrorism charges by the Friday deadline. Michael Fortier, an Army friend of the two men, is trying to make a deal with prosecutors. Federal officials say Fortier has admitted casing the building with McVeigh in December.
Jones sent a letter Monday to the foreman of the grand jury investigating the bombing, saying McVeigh was declining an invitation to appear before the panel either today or Wednesday.
Also Monday, Chief U.S. District Judge David Russell rejected defense arguments that McVeigh's Fifth Amendment rights would be violated if he provided handwriting samples to the grand jury.
McVeigh, who usually prints, had refused to provide the samples in an appearance before the grand jury last month. His lawyers argued that writing in an unfamiliar style would reveal his thought processes, violating his right against self-incrimination.
Prosecutors didn't ask for the judge for a contempt finding. Rather, they asked for a ruling that McVeigh had refused to supply the handwriting sample - evidence that the government could present to the jury during a trial.
Also Monday, news media reported that Fortier's wife, Lori, had been granted immunity and would testify before the grand jury today.
by CNB