Terry Nichols biography

Synopsis

Early Life

Convicted murderer and conspirator Terry Lynn Nichols was born on April 1, 1955, near Lapeer, Michigan. Nichols became one of America’s most infamous domestic terrorists for his role in the 1995 bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City, which killed 168 people. He grew up on a family farm in Michigan, but his parents divorced around the time he graduated high school.

After a brief stint at Central Michigan University, Nichols worked a variety of jobs. In 1980, he met a real estate agent named Lana Walsh while buying some land near Decker, Michigan. They soon became a couple and married the next year. Their son, Josh, was born in 1982. Nichols proved to be a sensitive and caring husband and father, spending most of his time taking care of the cooking and cleaning and caring for Josh.

Military Service

Professionally, Nichols floundered. In 1988, despite being at least a decade older than most recruits, he joined the U.S. Army. He went to Fort Benning in Georgia for basic training where he met Timothy McVeigh. The two were later stationed together at Fort Riley in Kansas. But Nichols’ military career did not last long. His marriage had already fallen apart, but the couple became involved in a conflict over childcare. The army granted Nichols a hardship discharge and he returned home to look after Josh in 1989.

Nichols made a second attempt at marriage the following year when he wed a Filipino woman he met through a mail-order bride service. She was only 17 years old. Over the years, Nichols began to develop some antigovernment sentiments -- sentiments he shared with friend and Gulf War veteran Timothy McVeigh. The two had stayed in touch and, sometime after McVeigh left the army in 1991, they went into business together selling military surplus.

In 1992, Nichols was upset enough by the federal government that he tried to relinquish his citizenship. Along with McVeigh, he was also disturbed by the government’s assault of the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, the following year. In 1996, the two vented their anger by committing one of the deadliest acts of domestic terrorism in American history -- blowing up a federal building in Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma City Bombing

On the morning of April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh drove a rental truck to the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building and parked it outside. The vehicle contained a 4,000-pound bomb made of fertilizer, diesel and racing fuel. It went off shortly after 9 a.m., a time when most people had already arrived for work.