A Salt Lake City man believes his brother was killed by FBI agents, who believed he was a suspect in the Oklahoma City bombing. Attorney Jesse Trentadue said his brother, Kenneth, died in a federal holding cell under questionable circumstances. In the process of investigating his brother’s death, Jesse determined his brother was likely killed during interrogation.
Jesse believes the Federal Bureau of Investigation possesses surveillance footage — which proves Timothy McVeigh was not alone. He further asserts that his brother closely resembled a police sketch of “John Doe No. 2,” who was identified by numerous witnesses.
On April 19, 1995, the Murrah Federal Building was destroyed by a truck bomb. Nearly 700 people were injured and 168 killed in the devastating blast. Authorities eventually identified Timothy McVeigh as the primary suspect. They later identified Terry Nichols, Michael Fortier, and Lori Fortier as accomplices.
Although several witnesses admitted seeing an additional suspect, authorities concluded Timothy McVeigh was alone at the scene of the crime. Jesse Trentadue believes the FBI is hiding surveillance footage, which proves there was an additional accomplice in the Oklahoma City bombing. Jesse further believes the footage will prove “John Doe No. 2” clearly resembled his brother Kenneth.
Representatives with the Federal Bureau of Investigation have dismissed Jesse’s claims as a wild conspiracy theory . However, U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups is not convinced. Waddoups has ordered the FBI to produce the surveillance footage of the Oklahoma City bombing or explain why it is not available.
The FBI claims the footage simply does not exist. As reported by ABC News , the agency provided Jesse with numerous tapes. However, the footage does not include McVeigh’s arrival at the Murrah Federal Building.
Jesse is concerned, as a secret Service Log specifically mentions surveillance footage of McVeigh’s arrival at the scene. According to the log, McVeigh was not alone when arrived at the Murrah Federal Building.
In 2004, Secret Service agent testified that the log does in fact exist. Despite the existence of the log, and its content, authorities contend there was no surveillance footage.
Although Kenneth Trentadue’s cause of death was determined to be suicide , Jesse said his brother’s body was covered in dozens of unexplained wounds. He believes his brother was tortured, and eventually killed, by federal agents during interrogation.
The questions surrounding Kenneth’s death prompted Jesse to file a lawsuit against the FBI. As reported by The Columbian , Jesse claims the agency is willfully violating the Freedom of Information Act .
It may never be known whether Kenneth Trentadue was a suspect in the Oklahoma City bombing. However, Jesse hopes the FBI will be forced to provide him with the information he needs to further his investigation.
[Image via Daily Beast ]
