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McVeigh prosecution loses crucial witnesses
February 16, 1997Web posted at: 9:30 p.m. EST
From Correspondent Tony Clark
DENVER (CNN) -- The only remaining eyewitness who might place Timothy McVeigh at the Oklahoma City bombing scene has been dropped from the case, CNN has learned.
One by one, each of the eyewitnesses the FBI said it had to link McVeigh to the the bombing scene where 168 died is fading away. Now, there are none.
The first witness to disappear was a driver who the FBI said recognized a composite sketch of McVeigh shown on television as the man he had seen walking away from a Ryder truck in front of the federal building.
That witness could not pick McVeigh out of a police lineup held shortly after his arrest, CNN has learned.
Story not credible
The next to go was a witness who said he saw McVeigh speeding away from the scene. The FBI decided that story was not quite believable.
On the eyewitness list submitted for the trial: Only one man from the scene, a passing motorist, William Dunlap. The prosecution quoted him as saying he saw a man standing behind the bomb truck and thought it was McVeigh.
But he wasn't sure. CNN has been told the prosecution now has taken Dunlap off its list.
The prosecution did not say why it had removed Dunlap, but CNN has learned prosecutors never asked Dunlap to identify McVeigh in a police lineup.
The loss of Dunlap leaves the government with no one to place McVeigh at the scene of the crime. And such a setback could prove costly to the prosecution, which has seen more and more of its evidence evaporate before it ever gets to trial.
"I think it's an important element of our case that the government, after all of this publicity, has decided not to call a single person from Oklahoma City who can positively identify Tim McVeigh," said Stephen Jones, McVeigh's attorney.
Junction City witness under fire
Next to come under attack are the eyewitnesses at a Ryder office in Junction City, Kansas, where the bomb truck had been rented.
The owner and a mechanic identified McVeigh as the man who rented the truck that carried the bomb, but McVeigh's attorney contends the FBI botched the identification process. Both men have identified McVeigh as the man who rented the truck with a phony driver's license. However, there are discrepancies in what they remember and how many men they saw that day.
The two are scheduled to appear at a hearing Tuesday in Denver to decide whether they can testify in the trial. The defense is challenging a half-dozen prosecution witnesses.
CNN has learned the mechanic who helped the FBI prepare a sketch of the suspect has troubles of his own, having been arrested several times recently.
The only witness to take the stand to try to place McVeigh near the bomb scene will be a gas station attendant from a truck stop about 80 miles north of Oklahoma City. That witness has identified McVeigh as the man who paid cash to buy gas for a Ryder truck sometime after 1 a.m. on the morning of the bombing. However, CNN has been told, that witness once filed a compensation claim for blurred vision.
McVeigh's trial is scheduled to begin March 31. He faces charges of terrorism, murder and conspiracy in what is the nation's worst terrorism attack ever.
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Related stories:
- 'John Doe No. 2' is identified - January 29, 1997
- It's OK with Nichols if bomb victims attend his trial - January 24, 1997
- Witness could tie McVeigh to crucial phone calls - January 4, 1997
- McVeigh's trial set to begin March 31 - November 15, 1996
- Oklahoma bombing judge mulls closed-circuit TV admission - November 14, 1996
- Prosecutors in Oklahoma bombing accused of delay tactics - Novmber 13, 1996
- Oklahoma City bombing defendants to be tried separately - October 25, 1996
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