Oklahoma City – Kathy Sanders, the grandmother of two boys who perished in the 1995 Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing, filed a civil suit on Tuesday against the chief medical examiner of Oklahoma County. The suit seeks the release of all records related to an unidentified leg that was recovered from the blast site, including DNA test results, lab notes and the final investigative report.
Decades‑long search for closure
Sanders, who lost her grandsons Chase and Colton Smith in the attack that claimed 168 lives, said she has spent more than three decades trying to learn who the leg belonged to. “I just would like to have the results of the DNA testing, because I would like to know who that person was,” she told KOCO 5.
The leg was discovered among the debris after the bombing and, at one point, investigators believed it might belong to a different victim whose remains were later exhumed. In 1996, the medical examiner traveled to New Orleans with the leg, only to learn that the remains it was paired with belonged to someone else. Subsequent DNA testing has never yielded a definitive identification.
Legal action to obtain records
Sanders’ lawsuit asks the medical examiner’s office to provide the full investigative file: the DNA testing results, laboratory records, chain‑of‑custody documentation, and any other reports generated during the investigation. She also attached a letter she says was sent by the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office over the summer, which classified the matter as an open investigation, and a response from the medical examiner indicating that documents would only be released after the investigation concludes.
“I lost both of my grandchildren,” Sanders said. “I can’t find closure without being able to see more answers.” The lawsuit aims to compel the office to release the information so she can finally understand what happened to the unidentified leg.
Officials have not responded
KOCO 5 has reached out to the Oklahoma County Medical Examiner’s Office for comment and to request the full report, but has not yet received a response. The office’s standard policy, as noted in a prior letter, is to withhold documentation until an investigation is officially closed.
The case underscores the lingering pain that many families of bombing victims continue to feel. While the nation has largely moved on from the tragedy, the unanswered questions surrounding unidentified remains keep the memory of the loss alive for those directly affected.
What this means for the community
For Oklahoma City residents, the lawsuit highlights the importance of transparency in government agencies handling sensitive forensic evidence. It also serves as a reminder that the repercussions of the 1995 bombing still reverberate in the lives of families who lost loved ones.
As the legal process unfolds, Sanders hopes the release of the DNA results will bring a measure of peace to her family and perhaps provide closure to another unknown victim of the tragedy.
Original reporting: Oklahoma City News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
