McVeigh's Sister Reveals Identity in North Carolina

MONROE, N.C. – The sister of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh has been teaching at a middle school with a new name in North Carolina since August, school officials said Friday.

Jennifer Hill, who legally changed her last name from McVeigh, teaches seventh-grade language arts at Weddington Middle School.

Superintendent Jerry Thomas said Hill revealed her identity to officials in April, after a television crew turned up at the school.

Administrators initially honored Hill's request to keep the information private but went public in advance of an "Inside Edition" segment on McVeigh's family that ran Friday.

Hill did not immediately return a telephone message left at her home by The Associated Press.

Timothy McVeigh is scheduled to die June 11 for the April 1995 bombing that killed 168 people and injured more than 500.

During his trial, Jennifer McVeigh, then 23, was granted immunity in return for her testimony. She testified her brother grew increasingly angry about the 1993 FBI raid at Waco, Texas, started stockpiling explosives and decided to begin the "action stage." Timothy McVeigh wrote his sister weeks before the bombing that "something big is going to happen."

Thomas said Hill has been an exemplary teacher, and the school system is standing behind her.

"She has done nothing wrong," he said.

On Friday, Hill talked with colleagues and students about her brother, and the school sent home a letter to parents. As news spread, several parents said they're happy to have Hill at the school and worry that she is suffering.

Margo Abdallah, a parent of an eighth-grader at the middle school, said she supports Hill but thinks the school should have notified parents earlier.

"When you hide something, it makes you think, `Well, why are they hiding? Was there something to hide?"' she said. "But there's nothing to hide."