Padilla lives with concern over tragedy

Cathy Scott

Thursday, April 18, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Lana Padilla, ex-wife of Oklahoma City bombing suspect Terry Nichols, and her 13-year-old son, Josh Nichols, are wishing the best for the survivors and families of those who died one year ago.

The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was bombed April 19, 1995, killing 168 people and injuring more than 500.

Discussing Friday's an niversary, Padi lla, a Las Vegan who turns 47 today, said she wants to focus on the victims and does not want "to be the center of attention for this."

"I have chills up my spine when I think I live in a country where this has happened," Padilla said this week. "I wish there was a way I could reach out to these people."

Padilla was married to 41-year-old Terry Nichols for nine years, until 1990. Nichols and co-defendant Timothy McVeigh face the death penalty if convicted on murder and conspiracy charges.

And while she wishes those affected by the bombing well, she still stands by her ex-husband.

"I have a very difficult time believing that he had anything to do with it," Padilla said. "He's my son's father. I can't believe he is a murderer.

"But there are a lot of unanswered questions. The jury will have to decide."

Nichols had just purchased a new house in Herington, Kan., with his current wife, Marife Torres Nichols, and their young son when the bombing occurred. Josh had visited his father at his Kansas home from April 11-17.

"I still stand with the fact that he just bought a home and moved a family in," Padilla said. "I don't think he did it.

"My other two sons (from a former marriage) hurt very much. Terry was the father they knew for nine years. He was there for them."

Josh "is in constant contact with his father" and is having a difficult time adjusting, Padilla said.

As soon as Nichols was named a suspect, Josh was whisked out of town by the FBI and out of school. He had tutors and was schooled at home for a while. But this school year, he returned as an eighth-grader at Cannon Middle School.

"He's having a hard time in school," Padilla said. "He is in and out of school."

Josh lived with his father for five years until the boy moved to Las Vegas about four years ago to be with his mother. Nichols lived in Las Vegas off and on in 1991, 1993 and 1994.

The last year has been difficult for Padilla as well, she said. She pulled out of the Esquire Real Estate office she opened three years ago with a longtime friend and partner. She is now selling real estate out of Vegas Starlight Realty, which is closer to her southeast Las Vegas home.

After the bombing, Padilla wrote a book, "By Blood Betrayed," in which she says she believes Nichols is innocent but that she could provide testimony that could "put a stake in his heart."

Padilla says she has many nagging questions about Nichols, including why he used aliases so often in the months before the bombing.

"Why did Terry need aliases, such as Ted Parker and Mike Havens? It wasn't illegal to use an alias, but normal people didn't have any reason to," she wrote.

Federal authorities allege that Nichols used those names and others in planning the bombing.

While emphasizing her belief that Nichols is innocent, Padilla says if he were involved, "Terry would have to have been the mastermind." She says McVeigh "wasn't smart enough."

The trial in Denver promises to be a difficult time, Padilla said. "We have a long year ahead of us."

Lana Padilla