This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Retired FBI agents Jim Fisher and Jerry Clark, who was prominently featured in Evil Genius, also believe Rothstein was responsible for the crime. Wells' brother, John Wells, 44, of Phoenix, said the family won't be happy until justice is meted out. Not only was his life at stake, but the lives of those around him and his family and friends. . Roden's killing led police to question Diehl-Armstrong in the Wells case because Roden's body was found in the freezer of a man named William Rothstein, who has since died. He told investigators he was the smartest guy in this room, and reeled of his impressive educational resume--including his degree in electrical engineering and that he was a substitute science teacher with the Erie school system, specializing in robotics. He claimed to have been attacked by a group of black men who he said tied the bomb to his body, court documents show. Around the 10-minute mark of the first episode, viewers are greeted by the actual video footage of the bomb which is locked around Brian Wells's neck like a Rothstein's letter had been incorrect James Roden's death was directly connected to the case. Like Diehl-Armstrong, Rothstein was highly intelligent and had a history of metalwork and machining, making it likely that he created the bomb collar itself. He had worked for 10 years at Mamma Mia's Pizza-Ria in Erie and was a Pennsylvania native, not a criminal mastermind. Federal prosecutors on Wednesday announced an indictment against Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, 58, and Kenneth Barnes, 53, for allegedly helping to plot and carry out the botched scheme that culminated on August 28, 2003, when Brian Wells was stopped by police after robbing an Erie bank. The weirdest part was Marjories reason for wanting to rob the bank: Ken said Marjorie wanted to rob the bank in order to kill her father to get an inheritance. They said that if he followed the instructions on the paper, he would be able to disarm the bomb and would be unhurt, but he had a time limit he had to follow. He was betrayed, though, and the false bomb was switched out with a real one, according to All That's Interesting. Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. The felony charges, announced during a press conference by U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan, answer some central questions about the case, foremost whether Wells was a willing participant or an innocent victim. The men jumped him, forced the bomb collar on him, and gave him several pages of instructions and the shotgun-cane. On the stand, Marjorie gave a long and rambling testimony (possibly a symptom of bipolar). He had a short cane in his right hand and A mans voice told them, I have a dead body in my freezer. The caller was Marjorie Diehl-Armstrongs former fianc, Bill Rothstein. She would then use proceeds from the robbery to pay Barnes to kill her father and collect an inheritance, the indictment says. They didn't think Rothstein was the mastermind, they thought she was. WebThe notes given to Wells. Her co-conspirators were her then-boyfriend James Roden, who she murdered in the course of the crime, her ex-fiance Bill Rothstein, and another friend, Ken Barnes. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Wells warned police that he was wearing a bomb and running out of time, but as bomb technicians were summoned the device exploded, killing Wells and leaving behind an odd lot of clues and characters. The story of Brian Wells is about a pizza delivery guy, a bomb collar, and a bank robbery. But then in August of 2003, the peace would be disturbed when Marjories neighbor heard gunshots coming from the house.. The debated question of Wells true involvement, as well as how the investigation unfolded, is re-examined in Netflixs four-part docu series Evil Genius: The True Story of Americas Most Diabolical Bank Heist, which is streaming now. Bank employees are trained to be aware of threats, to be on alert for anything that might be amiss. 10. The sentence would begin as soon as she finished serving her time, or was paroled, for killing James Roden. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! The bomb collar he wore was going to explode, Wells said. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. She wanted to kill her own father, who she accused of wasting a fortune that she was meant to inherit, according to Wired. The footage is shown or implied again several times in the docuseries, but the aforementioned instance in the premiere episode is the only one where the footage is unblurred. The FBI did not respond to requests for comment, and the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania declined to discuss the documentarys findings. When the investigators told her who they were, she went berserk according to State Police Supervisor Lamont King, screaming at them to get out of the house. FBI analysis found that the bomb was not amateur work--it was very well designed. After his death, police collected letters in his car that corroborated his claim that he was forced to rob the PNC Bank. Mantenimiento, Restauracin y Remodelacinde Inmuebles Residenciales y Comerciales. The device was attached to his neck like a large handcuff, and was beeping. Officers had to restrain her, and they found James in the freezer as described. Why is no one coming to get this thing off of me? he asked authorities. They said he had, in fact, helped plot part of the same scheme that led to his death. According to testimony given during the trial, Wells was deeply in debt to Barnes for crack. Marjories first boyfriend was named Rob Thomas. Brian had given the police little detail aside from his name and place of work, and the accusation that someone had set him up. As Clark predicted, this was no ordinary bank robbery.. When questioned, Marjorie tried to pin Rothstein as the mastermind since he had already died. Bill went to the police station for questioning, and explained how he and Marjorie had been friends for years, and that she would often call on him for help, which is how he ended up with a dead dude in his freezer. At the time, police didn't make anything of it, but as they uncovered more clues in the case, they found this hoarding to be a recurring theme in their investigation. They turned their attention to the bomb instead. So what happened in that four year gap that led police to conclude that Wells was a collaborator and not a hostage? You can find out everything about the weird, complex crime in Oxygens weekly. He was born on November 15, 1956, to Rose Wells and Harold Wells in Warren, Pennsylvania. The first steps of the instructions told him to drive back across town, go into a specific PNC bank, and hand a note to the teller. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. He died of lymphoma less than a year after his phone call to police. The co-conspirators watched from a distance until Wells was stopped by police, at which time they fled. She was convicted with conspiracy to commit bank robbery with the utilization of a destructive device, and she was sentenced to life in prison on February 28th 2011. Initially, Wells thought he was an active planner in the robbery but would realize that his diabolical accomplices Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, Bill Rothstein, and Kenneth Barnes made him an unwilling participant. The story feels almost too insane to be real if it were a fictional movie plot, you might think: "Eh, this feels like a bit of a stretch.". Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! At 1:30 PM, he was called to deliver two pizzas at an address at the end of a dirt road on Peach Street. When police arrived at Rothstein's residence, they found Rothstein himself, the dead man in the freezer, later identified as James Roden, and a suicide note from Rothstein (who had not even attempted suicide) that, peculiarly and completely unprompted, stated in its intro that the body in the freezer had nothing to do with Brian Wells' case, according to Wired. Marjorie was apparently devastated by the death, and despite settling for $250,000 with the hospital in a medical malpractice case, Marjorie began to struggle even more with her mental illnesses. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. Diehl-Armstrong had a history with police, as mentioned earlier. The riveting episode airs exclusively on the popular true crime network Oxygen on Wednesday, December 21, 2022, at 7 pm Eastern Time (ET). 11 hours ago, by Eden Arielle Gordon After Brian Wells was dead, police picked up two key pieces of evidence: The instructions provided by his attackers and the remnants of the bomb itself. The FBI thought one possible scenario was that the maker was a shop teacher with a background in electronics, and had a workshop at their house. Compatriots of the plotters were watching him every step of the way and could remotely detonate the bomb if he didn't follow instructions. Watch on What happened? The entire plan was executed under her supervision. There was no remote detonator. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong died of breast cancer in 2017 while still in prison. The Bizzare Collar Bomb Bank Robbery A free documentary about Brian Wells by Buzzfeed Unsolved Netwoemrk. A 46-year-old pizza delivery man named Brian Wells, from Erie, Pennsylvania, was murdered in cold blood with a metal collar explosive tied around his Later on, it was disclosed that a woman named Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong planned the entire crime. Wells and Barnes never knew each other until Barnes began looking for a patsy for Diehl-Armstrong's bomb plot. They had run-ins with her on more than one occasion. Brian Douglas Wells died at 3:18 PM on August 28, 2003. In this photo released Sept. 17, 2005, by the FBI, Brian Wells, 46, of Erie, Pa., carries a plastic bag of cash after robbing the PNC Bank in Summit Towne Centre in Erie on Aug. 28, 2003. The movie 30 Minutes Or Less basically has the same plot as this crime. Unfortunately, there was no DNA or fingerprint evidence on the bomb that could link it to its maker. They were engaged in their 20s, but it didnt last. Buchanan met for about three hours Friday with federal investigators about the evidence compiled so far. Some people out there disagree, though. In January, Hoopsick was sentenced over a drug charge but paid a $100 fine and did not have to serve time, according to Michael Dejohn, her public defender at the time. Barnes was a misfit friend of Marjories. Brian Wells' life tragically ended when he was forced to take part in a PNC Bank heist with a metal collar explosive around his neck. 1513 N. Hill Field Road, Suite 01-080, Layton, UT 84041, 180 North University Avenue, Suite 270 - #9220, Provo, UT 84601. 12 hours ago, by Alexis Jones The Price of Duty 102: Face to Face with the Pizza Bomber. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. By Subject- Art Theft - Civil Rights - Counterterrorism - Crimes Against Children - Criminal Justice Information Services - Cyber Crimes - Director/FBI Leadership - Field Cases - Foreign Counterintelligence - General - History - Intelligence - International - Lab/Operational Technology - Linguist/Translation Program - Major Thefts/Violent Crime - Organized Crime/Drugs - Partnerships - Public/Community Outreach - Public Corruption - Recruiting/Diversity - Responding to Your Concerns - Technology - Training - White-Collar Crime. Police found two notes from Brians car explaining how to remove the bomb along with the phrase, 'act She was also not unknown to Erie, PA law enforcement. While investigating, the FBI got another tip involving Kenneth Barnes, who confirmed their suspicion that Marjorie was the mastermind. (She mistakenly believed he was wealthy.). So the police traced the call for the two pepperoni pizzas to the transmission tower site and found Brians shoe impressions and tire marks there, but here the trail went cold. Wells, 46, never returned to the pizza shop. Sign up for our Celebrity & Entertainment newsletter. The three Black men that Wells claimed forced the collar on him never existed. "I get a call, 'Hey we got a new bank robbery at 7200 Peach Street, [and there is] a potential bomb utilized during the robbery.' All Rights Reserved. But at first, no one noticed the man, whose name was Brian Douglas Wells. Authorities, according to the Plain Dealer, have described Rothstein as helping plan the robbery and bombing. Investigators from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI and Pennsylvania State Police traveled coast to coast to interview witnesses and chase down leads, the official said. He, too, died in prison in 2019. After investigation, it was revealed that even if Wells had completed the scavenger hunt, the bomb was rigged in a way that it would have detonated if he Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. Investigators interviewed her in July 2005, and Marjorie hinted that James death and the robbery/bombing were connected, saying, If I tell you how Roden and Wells are related, that immediately puts me into the Wells case, and Im not gonna do that. But Marjorie did give up one detail, a name: Ken Barnes. State troopers found Wells inside a parked vehicle and handcuffed him. Rothstein's house was near the TV tower. Wells had told police he had been forced to rob the bank. A witness pointed authorities to a man named Kenneth Barnes (another compulsive hoarder), a close friend of Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, claiming that Barnes had been involved in the bomb collar case. Netflixs new four-part docuseries Evil Genius: The True Story of Americas Most Diabolical Bank Heist, dives into a high-profile 2003 crime known as the collar bomb case. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. The treasure hunt, as authorities later called it, involved Wells going to specific locations to find items and four special keys that the instructions said would unlock the collar around his neck. On October 12th, 2010, Marjorie stood trial for the robbery/bombing. Instead, she gathered all the money she could from behind the counter and placed it in a bag for Wells. On August 28th, Wells entered the Erie, Pennsylvania branch of PNC Financial Services, wearing a bomb around his neck and carrying an unusual shotgun shaped like a walking stick. If not for losing his life, he could have gotten a personal injury lawyer and built a case against them. By bragging, Bill willingly admitted to police he fit the exact profile of their bomb maker they were looking for. Diehl-Armstrong and Barnes are currently serving unrelated sentences in prisonDiehl-Armstrong for killing her boyfriend in 2003 and Barnes for a drug-related offense. Please logout and login again. Across testimony given by Bill Rothstein, Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, Kenneth Barnes, and Jessica Hoopsick, none agree with each other 100 percent. If youre a fan of the Netflix show Black Mirror, the latest season has an episode where the plot revolves around an unseen person controlling others to do their bidding. 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