A look at the events on the day of the Oklahoma City bombing and beyond:
April 19, 1995
8:57 A.M.
Normal traffic
A security camera captures an image of a Ryder truck being parked outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.
9:00 A.M.
Day begins
A Water Resources Board meeting begins in a neighboring building. An audio tape captures the sounds of the blast a couple minutes after the meeting began.
9:02 A.M.
Deadly blast
McVeigh drives into downtown Oklahoma Cityand ignites a massive fertilizer bomb. The blast rips apart the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, killing 168 people.
9:22 A.M.
Another bomb
Police bomb squad dispatched to Robert S. Kerr and Robinson to investigate a suspicious briefcase.
9:30 A.M.
Treating the victims
Triage established at 6th and Robinson.
10:15 A.M.
Blood drive begins
Blood drive started at Tinker Air Force Base by base hospital and Oklahoma Blood Institute.
10:17 A.M.
McVeigh stopped
A state trooper stops McVeigh 78 miles north of Oklahoma City because his car is missing its tag. McVeigh is jailed for concealing a loaded handgun underneath his jacket.
10:28 A.M.
Another evacuation
Fear of a second bomb causes the blast site to be evacuated.
10:34 A.M.
New triage
Triage moved to NW 3 and Harvey.
10:35 A.M.
DOD brings equipment
Department of Defense provides bomb-sniffing dogs, surgeons, equipment, medivac aircraft and body bags.
2 P.M.
Rescue materials sought
Tinker receives request for all cots, blankets, sleeping bags, tents, and associated materials to support long-term seach and rescue.
10:35 P.M.
Emergency declared
President Clinton signs an Emergency Declaration.
April 20, 1995
The FBI releases sketches of 2 suspects.
Authorities say the suspects may have rented the bomb truck. The sketches are dubbed "John Doe No. 1" and "John Doe No. 2."
McVeigh arrested
FBI agents arrest McVeigh in jail in Perry for the bombing. A crowd outside the Noble County Courthouse boos as he walks out stone-faced.
Nichols questioned
Terry Nichols hears his name on news coverage about the bombing and goes to the police in Herington with his wife and daughter. FBI agents question him there for hours. "In my eyes, I did not do anything wrong but I can see how lawyers can turn stuff around." he tells agents. "I did not know anything."
April 22, 1995
Nichols arrested
Nichols is arrested, at first as a material witness. At his first court hearing, he tells a Kansas judge, "It?s all a jumble in my brain right now."
April 23, 1995
Prayer service
President Clinton attends a prayer service in Oklahoma City. "My fellow Americans, a tree takes a long time to grow and wounds take a long time to heal, but we must begin," Clinton says. 'Those who are lost now belong to God.'
May 23, 1995
Demolition
At 7:01 a.m., 150 pounds of charges set by demolition experts cracked the warm air, collapsing what remained of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.
June 14, 1995
ID clarified
Justice Department announces the man depicted in "John Doe No. 2" sketch has been identified and had nothing to do with the bombing. Prosecutors later say he was an army private who helped a friend rent a truck a day after the bomb truck was picked up.
August 10, 1995
Two indicted
A federal grand jury in Oklahoma City indicts McVeigh and Nichols on 11 felony counts that blame them for the bombing and the deaths of eight federal agents. The grand jury says McVeigh and Nichols conspired "with others unknown."
Fortier guilty
The grand jury indicts Michael Fortier for four crimes. Fortier pleads guilty in Oklahoma City federal court. Fortier admits that he failed to warn anyone of the bomb plot and lied to FBI agents after the attack. He also admits he helped McVeigh move and sell stolen guns. He begins time in custody.
December 1, 1995
Judge removed
Oklahoma City federal Judge Wayne E. Alley is taken off the case by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
December 4, 1995
Matsch assigned
U.S. District Judge Richard P. Matsch of Denver is assigned to take over bombing case.
February 20, 1996
Trial moved
The new judge moves the case to Denver, ruling the defendants cannot get a fair trial in Oklahoma. They have been demonized, Matsch rules.
October 25, 1996
Separate trials
Separate trials are ordered.
February 28, 1997
Report: Confession
The Dallas Morning News reports that McVeigh confessed to the bombing in defense interviews. The report touches off a furor.
March 17, 1997
No delay
The judge refuses to delay the trial, ruling jurors will be fair-minded even if exposed to news stories reporting McVeigh confessed.
March 31, 1997
Trial begins
McVeigh's trial begins, with jury selection.
June 2, 1997
McVeigh guilty
Jurors find McVeigh guilty on all counts. He is convicted of the bombing, the bomb plot and the first-degree murder of eight federal agents. Hundreds gather outside the courthouse to applaud the jury's verdict.
June 13, 1997
McVeigh gets death
Jurors choose a death sentence as McVeigh?s punishment. "We asked ourselves, 'Why, why would somebody do this?' and we never could come to an answer," juror Vera Chubb said.
August 14, 1997
McVeigh sentenced
McVeigh is formally sentenced, lashing out at the federal government by saying "for good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example."
September 29, 1997
Trial begins
Nichols' federal trial begins with jury selection.
December 23, 1997
Nichols convicted
Nichols is convicted of the bombing conspiracy but acquitted of any direct blame for the attack. Jurors also finds him guilty of involuntary manslaughter instead of murder for the deaths of eight federal agents.
January 7, 1998
Spared death
The federal trial ends. Jurors can't agree on punishment, a deadlock that spares Nichols from execution in his federal case.
March 23, 1998
Nichols' letter
Nichols denies wrongdoing in a letter sent to Matsch. "I would not do a horrible thing such as a terrorist bombing," he wrote.
May 27, 1998
Fortier sentenced
Fortier is sentenced in Oklahoma City to 12 years in prison and fined $200,000. "I was terribly wrong," he told Kansas federal Judge G. Thomas Van Bebber, who chose the punishment. "I deeply regret not taking the information I had to the police.... I sometimes daydream that I did do this and became a hero, but reality is that I am not."
June 4, 1998
Nichols sentenced
Matsch sentences Nichols to life in prison without the possibility of release. The judge calls Nichols "an enemy of the Constitution."
December 30, 1998
No new suspects
An Oklahoma County grand jury investigating other theories about the bombing wraps up without naming any new suspects.
March 8, 1999
Appeal lost
McVeigh loses his appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
March 29, 1999
State brings charges
Nichols is charged at the state level in Oklahoma. Prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty.
June 11, 1999
Hoffman indicted
David Hoffman, the only person indicted by the grand jury investigating the Oklahoma City bombing, pleaded guilty and received a suspended sentence and 200 hours of community service. He admitted sending one of the alternate grand jurors a letter copy of book on conspiracy theories about the bombing.
June 30, 1999
Appeal won
Fortier wins his appeal of his sentence. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules the judge used excessively strict sentencing guidelines.
October 8, 1999
Resentenced
Fortier is resentenced to the same time in prison - 12 years. His new fine is $75,000.
October 12, 1999
Appeal rejected
The U.S. Supreme Court rejects Nichols' first appeal. He eventually loses all his federal appeals.
January 30-31, 2000
Nichols moved
Nichols is moved to the Oklahoma County jail from a federal prison in Colorado.
October 16, 2000
Macy removed
Oklahoma County District Attorney Bob Macy is removed from the Nichols case for improper comments to the media.
December 12, 2000
Execution requested
McVeigh asks to be executed, giving up on his appeals.
March 21, 2001
Motion dismissed
A judge denies defense motion to dismiss Nichols' state charge, ruling it does not violate "double jeopardy" rights against being tried twice for same offense.
April 10, 2001
No apology
McVeigh meets with his father for the last time and refuses again to say he is sorry. "Dad, if I did, I wouldn't be telling the truth," he said.
May 11, 2001
Execution postponed
Ashcroft postpones execution until June 11.
June 11, 2001
McVeigh is executed
McVeigh is executed at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind.
September 5, 2001
New district attorney
Wes Lane announces the state case will go forward, in part because victims worry Nichols might win his federal appeals. "I will not roll the dice on this issue. There is simply too much at stake," Lane said.
September 11, 2001
9/11
Twenty minutes after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, a bomb truck was stationed in downtown Oklahoma City. An Oklahoma County Sheriff's Department command post was activated where Terry Nichols was being held.
October 15, 2001
Fortier refused
U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Fortier's complaints about his second sentencing.
October 28, 2002
Court clears way
The state Supreme Court clears the way for Nichols' state case to resume by resolving a dispute over defense funding.
January 21, 2003
Emotions resurface
Raw emotions that had been put away with 1994 and 1995 tax returns surfaced again for some surviving spouses and representatives of the Oklahoma City bombing victims when the IRS offered a special tax claim worth at least $10,000. To get the money, old tax returns had to be located and refiled.
May 5-14, 2003
Hearing held
Nichols' long-delayed preliminary hearing is held. Judge Allen McCall concludes the evidence is sufficient for a trial.
September 8, 2003
Trial moves to McAlester
Judge Steven Taylor rules the state trial will be held in McAlester.
February 17, 2004
Plea offer rejected
Nichols reveals he is willing to plead no contest. Prosecutors respond that is unacceptable.
March 1, 2004
Trial begins
The state trial begins with jury selection.
May 26, 2004
Nichols guilty
Nichols is found guilty on all counts - 161 of first-degree murder, one of first-degree arson and one of conspiracy to commit arson.
June 11, 2004
Jurors deadlock
Jurors deadlock on punishment after three days of deliberations. They are stuck at 8-4, then 7-5, for death. The deadlock spares Nichols, again, from a death sentence.
August 9, 2004
Nichols sentenced
Nichols is formally sentenced for the murders in the state bombing Judge Steven Taylor imposes consecutive sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
August 19, 2004
No appeal
Nichols does not appeal his state conviction, letting deadline to begin pass.
August 24, 2004
Nichols returned to Colorado
Nichols is returned by plane to federal prison in Colorado to serve his federal sentence.
November 28, 2004
A secret plea
The Oklahoman reveals that Nichols had confessed during secret plea negotiations in 2003.