They found that the bomb was indeed initiated before Brian walked into the bank, and it had an inbuilt timer, as well as a booby trap that would trigger it if anyone attempted to remove it. He desperately bargained with the police, telling them he had a bob around his neck that was put there by some people who jumped him when he was making a pizza delivery. 12 hours ago, by Alexis Jones Or, at least, that was the story, but in an interview for Netflix's 2018 mini-series about the case, Evil Genius, Hoopsick claimed that this wasn't actually true. On the stand, Marjorie gave a long and rambling testimony (possibly a symptom of bipolar). 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. In her youth, she was very well-liked and considered to be highly intelligent. Wells' brother, John Wells, 44, of Phoenix, said the family won't be happy until justice is meted out. 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. The PNC bank teller, shocked by the note Wells had handed her, told him that she wouldn't be able to produce $250,000 for him. Police arrested Diehl-Armstrong for the murder of James Roden, for which she was sentenced to 20 years in prison, according to All That's Interesting. He found it, according to All That's Interesting. They believe that he was an unfortunate hostage and merely forced to go along with the plot. It just got weirder and weirder as the years went on, and there are still some unanswered questions, too. Retired FBI agents Jim Fisher and Jerry Clark, who was prominently featured in Evil Genius, also believe Rothstein was responsible for the crime. I dont have a lot of time, he said, according to a video On top of her sentence for killing her boyfriend, Diehl-Armstrong, 68, was serving a life sentence after being convicted for her role in the robbery. We know all the details that led up to the death of Brian Wells and all the parties involved," the official said. By the end of 2004, Marjorie was determined as knowing the difference between right and wrong, and therefore declared competent able to stand trial. 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. The entire thing was caught on local news cameras, but contrary to popular belief, Wells' death was not broadcast live. Brian Douglas Wells died at 3:18 PM on August 28, 2003. Minutes before a bomb squad arrived, the device Wells was wearing exploded his death captured by local news cameras. He was a pizza delivery driver and he had a clean criminal record. The police called in the bomb squad. 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. The total was $8,702, far short of a quarter million dollars, according to Wired. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. Investigators ultimately determined the device, which included four locks and a combination dial, could never have been safely removed. Marjories high school sweetheart was a guy named Bill Rothstein. Wells went to deliver the pizzas himself, according to Wired. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. While investigating, the FBI got another tip involving Kenneth Barnes, who confirmed their suspicion that Marjorie was the mastermind. "I'm not lying. Police also took Wells' instructions and put together a route to follow. So it seemed like Brian had really been jumped, but the police obviously had to get to the bottom of it. The investigation into Wells' robbery and death will be covered in tonight's episode of "The Price of Duty," with former FBI detective Jerry Clark recounting how the diabolical bank heist changed his life forever.. 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. Forty-seven months later, however, in July 2007, law enforcement held a press conference where they announced the strangest twist yet: Brian Wells was not just an innocent bystander. Diehl-Armstrong had a history with police, as mentioned earlier. 'We know all the details'"The government knows what happened the day of the incident. 1 day ago. ), each is a little different in its own unique way. The keyholes on the collar did nothing. Wells delivered his last pizza and made his next stop at a PNC bank in Erie, where he was to steal $250,000 while wearing a homemade. From the 1960s to the early 1970s, Rothstein was in a romantic relationship with Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong. 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. 5. Direccin: Calzada de Guadalupe No. She has said she believed Wells was involved in the heist and that Rothstein was the brains behind the entire plot, not her. Watch the 23rd episode of Dateline: Secrets Uncovered season 8, which arrives exclusively on Oxygen on Wednesday, December 21, 2022, at 7.00 pm Eastern Time. Wells began to panic and squirm on the ground, pleading with police to help him. While most crime stories have a lot of commonalities (the husband did it, and DNA can prove it! A new Black Mirror episode called Shut Up And Dance also eerily dramatises a similar crime. She was also not unknown to Erie, PA law enforcement. They asked Ken to help with the timing mechanism on the bomb. Shortly after, authorities confronted him at the parking lot of a nearby Eyeglass World retail store. by Sarah Wasilak Can A Car Accident Lawyer Help Me Maximize Compensation? The papers were addressed to the Bomb Hostage and contained directions first to rob the bank and then to proceed on an elaborate scavenger hunt for keys and codes to disable the explosive Wells wore. 4) William Ansel "Bill" Rothstein and Kenneth Barnes were also involved in the crime. The indictment alleges that Diehl-Armstrong solicited Barnes in July 2003 to help rob a bank. Brian Douglas Wells was 46-years-old and wasn't a bank robber. A few years later, though, the footage did leak out thanks to a Washington, D.C. radio shock-jock, who obtained the video from an unknown source and posted it on his website. He knew this because he was going to be the one killing her dad--but for the fee of $250,000. Netflix's new docuseries Evil Genius might be your new true crime addiction, especially if you were obsessed with projects like Making a Murderer and The Keepers. State troopers found Wells inside a parked vehicle and handcuffed him. Wells then followed the next set steps of his instructions, which directed him to a McDonald's near the bank, where he'd find a note with more instructions under a stone in the parking lot. Here at Robert J. DeBry & Associates we analyze cases such as these and help those who need to build cases for wrongful death, injury and more. Around midday on August 28 2003, 46-year-old delivery driver Brian Wells clocked in for his usual lunchtime shift at Mama Mias Pizzeria in Erie, Pennsylvania. He was reportedly the putative creator of the collar bomb. The prosecution sold Marjorie as the catalyst for the entire robbery/bombing, despite Bill building the bomb, and her clear mental instability. 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. Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for the Netflix docuseries Evil Genius. And that was the end of him, Lamont King, a former Pennsylvania State Police supervisor, says in the documentary. Brian Douglas Wells (November 15, 1956 August 28, 2003) was an American man who died after being forced to be involved in a complex plot involving a bank robbery, a scavenger hunt, and a homemade explosive device. Wells was killed when an explosive collar detonated while he was surrounded by police in his hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania. Furthermore, they followed the trail to the second clue's location, where Wells was headed when apprehended by police, and found that the clue wasn't even there, according to All That's Interesting. Brian Wells, 46, told police before the bomb killed him in August 2003 that he was innocent and had been forced at gunpoint to wear the bomb. 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. If not for losing his life, he could have gotten a personal injury lawyer and built a case against them. According to testimony given during the trial, Wells was deeply in debt to Barnes for crack. 4. 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. In 2007, Diehl-Armstrong and Barnes were indicted for their roles in the deadly bank robbery. Many leads for potential suspects turned up empty until a local man named William Rothstein tipped off state police to a frozen body in his garage. Instead, it was Bill Rothstein pulling all the strings. 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. Kenneth Barnes was reportedly a retired TV repairman, a drug dealer, and a friend of Diehl-Armstrong's. It meant that anything she said might not be able to be used in court. WebBrian Wells. He, too, died in prison in 2019. Buchanan plans to meet once more with investigators to discuss evidence, witness availability and other logistical details before indictments are sought. Rothstein agreed to hide the body in his house and eventually dispose of it, but later changed his mind and called police. Until something clearly went wrong, that is. But the case has been solved and indictments are expected, likely by next month, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan was to make an official announcement at a Friday afternoon news conference. It was also Diehl-Armstrong who swapped the fake bomb for a real one. (She mistakenly believed he was wealthy.). The bomb collar was nothing at all like it was described in the instructions. A weird move for a guy who had a bomb unwillingly around his neck, forcing him to do the bidding of the people who forcibly put it there. He was also a part of the pizza collar bomb case. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. At a news conference announcing the indictments, Mary Beth Buchanan, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania at the time, said Wells had also been part of the plot. Its a weird line to draw when youre already ass-deep in a murder, and one that would ultimately put Marjorie in prison. After his death, police collected letters in his car that corroborated his claim that he was forced to rob the PNC Bank. She was an only child to two parents who ran a successful awning business. 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. This collar was attached to a box under his shirt, creating a large lump under the t-shirt. Relatives said she had fallen out of touch with her family, and several phone numbers provided by two of her latest attorneys were either disconnected or belonged to other people. It was a bank robbery? The scavenger hunt notes contained language like we and us, implying there were multiple conspirators involved. The state troopers kept a safe distance as Wells repeatedly warned them that the bomb would blow. your brain will thank you for it. They might be kidnappings, disappearances, or, yes, murders. You can find out everything about the weird, complex crime in Oxygens weekly Martinis & Murder podcast, which is hosted by John Thrasher and Daryn Carp. Barnes has said much the same. Evil Genius trailer. How Black Filmmakers Are Reclaiming Their History Onscreen. The bomb went off and Brian died with his chest crushed. The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections said Hoopsick had been in the state prison system for theft between May 2012 and July 2014, when she was paroled. Rothstein was trying to control the narrative and slowly reveal his plot. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Hoopsick, who was never officially deemed a conspirator, could not be reached for comment by TIME. She was deemed disabled due to her psychological condition, and got disability payments from Social Security, on top of the hospital pay out and help from her father, who bought her a house. As far as the public knew, things went quiet on Brian Wells' case. . The pizza delivery man, who was reportedly a hostage in the deadly crime, left the PNC bank in a petrified state as if someone was controlling his every movement. What Injuries Do Robert J. DeBry Car Accident Lawyers Accept? WebBrian Wells: The Pizza Bomber Case eponine aka epi 1.07K subscribers Subscribe 69 Share 10K views 3 years ago Welcome (back)! Pennsylvania pizza deliveryman Brian Wells, 46, leaned against a police car in handcuffs and begged authorities to defuse the explosive device locked around his neck. They used the time limits from the pages and found that it was physically impossible for someone to complete the steps necessary in the 55 total minutes allotted. She had also been diagnosed with cancer, the Erie Times-News reported at the time. In 2003, when the terrible incident took place, Brian was 46 years old. Wells, 46, never returned to the pizza shop. Collar-Bomb Case Charges in Bizarre 03 Bank Heist. Three minutes before the bomb squad arrived, the collar detonated, tearing a hole in Wells' chest and killing him within moments, according to All That's Interesting. They were engaged in their 20s, but it didnt last. WebBrian Wells collar bomb explosion. This was because of a technical issue, not a moral one, but the news station held the footage back and later turned it over to authorities. 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. Wells delivered his last pizza and made his next stop at a PNC bank in Erie, where he was to steal $250,000 while wearing a homemade collar bomb. 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