Co-defendant’s ex-wife still has faith in Nichols

Cathy Scott

Tuesday, June 3, 1997 | 11:32 a.m.

The former wife of Oklahoma City bombing defendant Terry Nichols still can't believe that the father of their 14-year-old son could have committed such a horrible act.

"I have attempted with all of my strength to comprehend this horrendous act," Lana Padilla of Las Vegas said, "and still cannot bring myself to believe that a person who presented himself as a best friend, a man I was married to and loved, could have committed such an act."

She said she was "hoping against hope for my son's sake that the evidence would prove to the world and to me that Timothy McVeigh was not the monster he was made out to be."

Padilla and her son watched television Monday as the verdict came in on McVeigh, who was convicted of 11 counts in connection with the bombing.

"The guilty verdict on McVeigh does not change my feelings," she told the SUN. Concerning her ex-husband's upcoming trial, "I believe you're innocent until proven guilty."

Padilla, 48, said she didn't want to talk to reporters but because she received so many calls, she held a news conference Monday at the southeast valley home of Ron Delpit, a friend who co-authored a book with her about her life with Nichols. Padilla is a real estate agent.

Nichols, 42, and Padilla were married for nine years until their divorce in 1990.

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, a freshman at Silverado High School in Las Vegas, had spent the spring break in their home just days before the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people and injured more than 500.

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

Padilla and her son are expected to be called as witnesses during Nichols' trial. They were on the witness list for the McVeigh trial but were never called to testify. Padilla said she and Josh haven't been subpoenaed but have been told they should expect to take the witness stand.

Padilla, who last spoke to Nichols over the weekend, said she believes the question in everyone's minds following the McVeigh decision is "how will this verdict affect Terry's case?" She said she still believes in his innocence.

"I still believe that the Terry Nichols I was once married to could not have done something like this," she said. "I can only take one day at a time, and I know that it will take a long time for me to understand this, if ever."

Nichols, who met McVeigh in the Army, has been charged with murder and conspiracy in the bombing.

Padilla said she believes the jury "made the only decision they could in light of the overwhelming evidence."