In 1995, Timothy McVeigh was responsible for making a bomb and blowing up a federal building in Oklahoma, which earned him the title of the most prolific mass murder in America (Saferstein, 2105). Using a moving truck to house and transport the bomb, he parked it at the federal building and simply walked away (Saferstein, 2105). Shortly after, the truck bomb exploded with such force, it killed 168 people and completely ruined the building (Saferstein, 2105). As fate would have it, he was stopped driving a vehicle by a state trooper for having no license plate later that same morning and arrested for transporting a firearm (Saferstein, 2105). This was fortunate for investigators to take custody of McVeigh after they discovered evidence that …show more content…
Even though the destruction was massive, the truck provided valuable evidence (The Oklahoma City, 2015). Investigators were able to retrieve the VIN number, which gave them the rental location and resulted in the FBI being able to release a sketch of their suspect the very next day (The Oklahoma City, 2015). The motel owner where McVeigh stayed at identified the sketch. This was fortunate because McVeigh was in jail as he was stopped by a state trooper shortly after blowing up the building and arrested for a weapons violation (The Oklahoma City, 2015). The FBI was able to do a simple search and learned the jail he was currently incarcerated in, making for an easy arrest. McVeigh had a close friend from the Army that shred his hatred for the federal government. His name was Terry Nichols (The Oklahoma City, 2015). The address McVeigh used belonged to Terry’s brother. This connection allowed investigators to determine that Nichols assisted McVeigh in acquiring material and making the bomb (The Oklahoma City, 2015). The FBI also learned that McVeigh had another Army friend in Arizona where he spent time-sharing his plans. This friend, Michael Fortier helped finance the plot by selling stolen weapons (The Oklahoma City, 2015). Other evidence included residue from the cloths McVeigh had on when arrested. This residue matched the chemical used in the bomb (The Oklahoma City, 2015). Also, McVeigh’s fingerprints were discovered on a receipt for 2000lbs of fertilizer. This was a crucial element in making the bomb (The Oklahoma City, 2015). The FBI’s investigation was extremely thorough and also included interviewing over 28,000 people (The Oklahoma City, 2015). The jury found McVeigh guilty on all his charges in 1997, and then in 2001 he was executed (The Oklahoma City,