McVeigh jury hears blast, sees aftermath

'Can you help me?'

Later, a 4 1/2-minute videotape of the immediate aftermath of the bombing was shown in court. The scenes were shot by Phil Monahan, a photographer for CNN affiliate KOCO-TV.

Monahan said that as he was shooting video of the carnage, a woman tapped him on the shoulder and said, "My baby is in the day care. Can you help me?"

Tears interrupted the testimony of Susan Hunt, office manager for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which lost 35 of its employees -- the highest death toll of any federal agency.

Hunt said she had just exchanged morning greetings with many of those victims; she escaped by walking down an emergency stairwell with six other survivors. She tearfully read for the court the names of those who died, having to stop at times because she was crying so hard.

Jurors listened intently throughout the graphic and emotional testimony, as did McVeigh, who was seated at the defense table wearing a long-sleeve white shirt.

McVeigh is being tried in the deaths of eight federal workers. He will be tried separately in the other deaths.

Witness dropped

A planned prosecution witness whose description of the man who rented the Ryder truck helped lead to McVeigh's arrest has been dropped, CNN learned Friday.

Tom Kessinger, a mechanic at Elliott's Body Shop in Junction City, Kansas, gave investigators the description that led to the suspect sketches called John Doe No. 1 and John Doe No. 2. Authorities later matched McVeigh to the John Doe No. 1 sketch.

The man depicted in the sketch of John Doe No. 2, sought as an accomplice in the case, turned out to be another customer who had been in the store on a different day. He was later ruled out as a suspect in the Oklahoma City bombing.

Although that was a case of mistaken identity, Kessinger's contention that another man was with McVeigh when he rented the truck is still an unresolved aspect of the case.

Also, Kessinger has a criminal record and has had several run-ins with the law. Recently he was in court in a dispute with his landlord.

Instead of using Kessinger to identify McVeigh as the man who rented the truck, the prosecution will rely on Eldon Elliott, the owner of the rental office, sources tell CNN.

Elliott says he saw McVeigh when he came to reserve the truck and later when he picked it up.

Before court resumed Friday, CNN learned that Lori Fortier, wife of government informant and star witness Michael Fortier, may testify as early as next week. She will take the stand under a grant of immunity.