The Christmas Day bombings of three clinics where abortions were performed were meant “as a gift to Jesus on his birthday,” one of four persons accused in the attacks said Thursday.

Kaye Wiggins, 18, appearing close to tears at a news conference, said that she had tried unsuccessfully to dissuade her fiance, Matthew J. Goldsby, 21, from carrying out the bombings.

Wiggins, Goldsby, James T. Simmons, 21, and his wife, Kathy, 18, have been charged in the Dec. 25 bombings. The two men are also charged in the June 25 bombing of an abortion clinic.

When asked why the bombings were carried out on Christmas Day, Wiggins replied: “As a gift to Jesus on his birthday.”


Goldsby and Simmons are being held without bond on 16 counts of violating federal firearms and explosives laws.