The strange case of a collar bomb and a robbery | Forensic Files

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on August 28 2003 the great lake city of Erie Pennsylvania was in the height of summer 46 year old Brian Wells did what
he had done most mornings for the previous 10 years he went to his lunchtime shift there's a pizza delivery
man and Mama Mia's pizza the pizza joint was a small unassuming place in a single-story red brick shopping plaza on
one of the area's main shopping strips peach tree hugging the edge of the car park there is a law firm a hair and nail
salon a dentist and a laundromat typical local stores the kanji drive past without knowing they're really there
cars pull in and out of the car park every minute the car that pulled out just after 1:30 p.m. that day was
Brian's off to deliver his last pizzas for the shift he pulled out in his old green Geo Metro hatchback and headed
south down busy peach Street three and a half miles down the road Brian turned left down a dirt access road arriving at
a quiet wooded area by the transmission tower for the local TV station he slowly
pulled to the side of the road and turned off his ignition stepping out of the car to deliver two small pizzas what
occurred next changed everything suddenly Brian was in a race against time [Music]
on the south shore of Lake Erie in northwestern Pennsylvania sits the city of Erie the third largest and
northernmost city in the state during the 1920s Erie was world-renowned for its fresh water and commercial fishing
as well as the region's famous Presque Isle State Park two hours west as cleveland two hours east as Buffalo and
two hours south as Pittsburgh the entire area which also includes Detroit four hours northwest is renowned for being
part of America's Rust Belt covering much of the Midwest and the Great Lakes region this area is known proudly as the
industrial heartland of North America with its abundance of transportation methods and its natural resources the
region thrived especially through most of the 20th century with coal and steel industries the port of year he became
the major shipping distribution center for international imports and exports resulting in around 60 truck rail motor
freight and air cargo companies servicing Erie traditionally Erie's major economic sectors have been in
manufacturing but also government services and retail trade manufacturing jobs have always made up a huge part of
its labor market but for all its industrial boom in the past Erie is one of 40 US cities known as the shrinking
city's dense cities that have experienced noticeable population loss many of these cities experienced huge
growth post-war and with the automotive and locomotive production boom when US homegrown manufacturing Pete
considerably between 1950 and 1970 Erie was put on the map the city boomed with the times and so did its population but
during the 1980s Erie fell victim to the economic downturn which hit many towns and cities where manufacturing was the
lifeblood Erie's economy its unemployment and his population all suffered considerably and although
things picked up a little in the nineties by mm things were on a steep decline by 2003 the population of Erie had
decreased from its 1960 heyday by 27% in the decade that followed would see it fall even further a considerable falling
population has financial and political implications for any region it usually changes state and federal funding
allocated to the local government for Public Programs and community projects during the 1990s Erie lost around 1
million dollars in funding for neighborhood grants as factories began to get smaller or closed entirely
buildings became harder to maintain money was stretched and soon Erie's manifesting landscape once bustling with
rows of red brick factories was starting to feel abandoned with the loss of what
a city is built on communities start to lose their identity in their purpose residents feel a sense of loss and
abandonment both by their employers as well as their governments by 2003 Erie had already been subjected to huge job
losses across all manufacturing sectors over a long period of torn GE transportation systems the city's
biggest employers in manufacturing had just laid off 1,000 workers the commercial fishing industry waned and
the International Paper plant which was founded in 1899 closed leaving 775 people out of work the city once Boyan
was sinking and 1/5 of the population lived below the poverty line hard-working blue-collar residents
became jaded with the idea of the American Dream people moved away to seek a better life in Deary no longer became
a destination for people to put down roots and to make their home traditionally acquired industrial center
Erie had a low murder rate the main problem for the Erie City Police Department by a long shot were robberies
and property thefts murder wasn't a problem it happens so rarely that when it did that took the police by surprise
just three murders were reported in Erie in 2003 and the following year just one
it was not a place where people saw death on the streets they didn't have their gang problems of other cities in
the US residents didn't walk the streets or drive to the shops and worry that they might be confronted with violence
or death Brian Douglas Wells was born on November 15 1956 to Harold and Rosemarie
wells growing up with five brothers and sisters the city of Erie was all Brian knew at 16 he dropped out of high school
he'd always performed well enough at school but his grades gradually went downhill as his father was suffering
from multiple sclerosis and things became increasingly difficult at home in a study conducted by Brian's high school
while he was still an adolescent it was noted that Brian was intelligent but troubled with evidence of some
psychopathic tendencies when Brian was 33 his father passed away shortly after Brian was charged and pled guilty after
getting into a dispute with neighbors which resulted in him threatening to shoot a magistrate
according to reports by 2003 Brian had spent around 30 years as a pizza delivery man and he had been working at
mamma mias for the past ten years the customers were mainly construction workers and young families and being on
a busy street there was a popular pit stop in his spare time Brian enjoyed watching movies doing
jigsaw puzzles playing the guitar having a punt on a lottery caring for his three
cats and working on building his own car from spare parts he also looked forward to participating
in a competition run by the local newspaper every year called the great ki hunt readers would have to decipher
clues that were published in the paper that would lead them to keys hidden at different locations the final key led
the successful person to a box containing two and a half thousand dollars cash Brian was an uncomplicated guy who
enjoyed the simple things but he also had his personal struggles he was known to have battled alcohol abuse and drug
use he lived on his own and didn't have any children or a partner when he got home from a shift
he enjoyed time in front of the TV and time with his three cats he visited or had visits from sex workers a couple of
times a month and his social circle was small he kept mostly to himself but had a couple of friends his boss knew about
one was a woman named HSE and another was a woman named Angie who used to visit him at work mostly to ask for
money Brian was also friends with another delivery driver and nominees Robert Panetti but where Brian was considered a
very reliable worker Robert who also had issues with drugs and alcohol and was heavily in debt wasn't exactly a model
employee and regularly missed his shifts Brian was described by those who knew him as a laid-back quiet guy whose
morning routine often involved going out to McDonald's for breakfast getting the
paper and returning home before starting his delivery shift from 11:00 a.m. until
2:00 p.m. Brian's landlady Linda described him as the perfect tenant and even though some
people thought him shy he was a friendly neighbor sometimes calling in to visit Linda before starting his shift he
didn't like guns or violence he was polite and often helped window with odd jobs around the house nothing much out
of the ordinary happened in Brian's life and he liked it that way he wasn't the type of person who drew attention to
himself [Music] on August 28 2003 brian had made plans after work to watch videos and eat pizza
with his mother at 1:15 p.m. 2 hours and 15 minutes into brian's shift the phone
rang at Mullen ears brian's boss Tony answered the caller's voice was muffled and Tony couldn't
understand what the person wanted so he handed the phone over to Brian Brian wrote down their order to small
pepperoni and sausage pizzas the delivery address was a clearing near the transmission tower of local TV station
WS a e TV located at the end of a dirt road three and a half miles down Peachtree Brian made the delivery and by
this time his shift was finished he got back in his car and set off back down the dirt road in the town after arriving
back in town Brian turned into the car park of the PNC Bank at 2:27 p.m. CCTV footage showed Brian walking in boring
with small Tufts of grain hair on the sides and back wearing glasses with a calm and straight face
Brian carried what initially looked like an elaborate walking cane but on closer
look the walking cane was a clunky homemade shotgun with a curved handle every day of Brian's life he blended in
but that afternoon he was immediately noticeable he was wearing a white t-shirt with a large guest brand logo
and it was clear he had something underneath it it was so bulky that he sure protruded out in front and whatever
the item was it looked to be attached to his neck with a metal type of collar without any expression Bryan approached
the counter and handed a four-page handwritten note to the teller part of which read gather employees with access
codes the vault and work fast to fill back with 250,000 dollars you have only 15 minutes act now think later or you
will die as the teller ran her eyes over the note Bryan asked to speak to the manager who was at lunch and wouldn't be
back for another half an hour Bryan lifted his shirt and the teller saw a box locked device hanging from a
locked metal collar the Box looked crude and had locks on it she knew instantly what it was a bomb she told Bryan our
would be impossible to get access to the vault until her manager was back but she
took all the money in her drawer and other teller drawers a total of eight thousand seven hundred and two dollars
and stuffed head into his canvas bag by this time another customer had walked into the bank and atella signaled to
them to call 9-1-1 Bryan took the money and walked out of the bank CCTV showed him exiting at 2:38 p.m.
carrying the bag of cash and sucking on a lollipop he had grabbed from a basket on the counter
he showed no signs of stress as he left another customer watched him go to his car he sat in the front seat
and calmly picked up a bunch of paperwork and started reading she watched him put the papers down on the
passenger seat and start the car by this time three calls had been made to 9-1-1
and pennsylvania state police had been dispatched it was 2:40 p.m. Brian turned onto the
main road and headed towards summit town center when he approached the McDonald's
parking lot he pulled over and got out as others in the carpark watched on he walked over to the garden
bed where the drive-through sign was located and picked up a rock that had a note stuck to the bottom after reading
the note Brian got back in his car drove behind McDonald's and stopped in the eyeglass world parking lot at 2:49 p.m.
state troopers Victoria Weibull and Chris Stafford pulled Brian over in the parking lot the troopers cuffed Brian's
hands behind his back after ordering him to kneel on the ground their guns were drawn as Brian sat cross-legged on the
ground other state troopers started to arrive Brian told them he was wearing a bomb around his neck officer white will
immediately called the bomb squad and the director of the FBI in Erie it was 304 p.m. 15 minutes after pulling Brian
over into 32 minutes after the first 9-1-1 call took place troopers James Szymanski and Terrance
thought he arrived as they approached Brian he started talking to them in a high-pitched voice
he appeared nervous Brian told the troopers that when he delivered the pizzas to the TV tower he made his way
up the dirt road on foot towards a clearing when he was suddenly accosted by a group of three unidentified black
men he wrestled with the men and tried to escape down the road but one of them fired a gun as a threat in the scuffle
he was knocked to the ground and the device was locked around his neck he said that men gave him a stack of
written instructions and ordered him to complete a series of tasks or they would
kill him each task like a treasure hunt would lead him to a key and further instructions if he completed the tasks
in time and retrieved the keys he would be able to use them in unison to unlock the device and escape from certain death
the first task was to rob the bank Brian said that the device attached to his neck was a bomb and that the men
gave him the homemade shotgun disguised as a cane he was instructed to use the shotgun if he encountered resistance at
the bank by Starr for customers Brian said he was under surveillance from at least three people to make sure he
robbed the bank the troopers knew it wasn't uncommon to get calls about bombs from time to time but these had always
turned out to be hoaxes officer Szymanski touched the t-shirt Brian was wearing and he used a knife to cut and
pull most of it away to expose the bomb from what Szymanski could see a gray box
was hanging from the collar around Brian's neck which was similar to a large handcuff the book Pizza bomber by
Jerry Clark in Deadpool atella details how a white plastic digital clock was mounted sideways on the lower corner of
the box instill mesh covered the opening that featured red green and yellow wires
the locking mechanism of the bomb was complicated the smaller box on the collar has the three dial combination
lock similar to a luggage lock and to there were four smaller keyhole locks a metal panel carried and engraved the
warning that said do not open do not remove and there was a sticker with the following written on it riveted
construction produces deadly shrapnel Killzone equals 100 yards hidden and exposed booby traps the role of the
first responders was not to disarm the bomb or to try and remove it from Brian's body they didn't have the
training or the know-how and any attempt to tamper with it had the potential to set it off they had to wait for
specialist bomb squad officers to arrive obtaining as much information as they could with parameter so that when the
bomb squad arrived they could work as efficiently as possible to disarm it a crowd had started to gather in what was
one of the most congested shopping areas of Erie Officer Szymanski had parked not too far
away from Brian he took cover behind her the cruisers opened front door while officer dougherty was at the rear of the
vehicle Brian called out information about the timer to them and asked them to keep following the clues so they
could find the keys and unlock the device Brian told them who he was where he worked and asked them to call his
boss to verify he was out on a delivery when he was attacked if Brian was correct about the timing of the bomb
they only had a few minutes left before it detonated and the bomb squad had still not arrived there were six miles
away stuck in heavy traffic and still had to collect their equipment as they were off duty when the call came in a
camera crew from the local TV station arrived and began broadcasting live from the scene they had no idea how long the
standoff would continue but wanted to capture any developments by this time local FBI agents Jerry Clark and Bob
Rhoads arrived on the scene agent raj was the head of the FBI office in Erie and agent Clark was highly experienced
in investigating bank robbery and violent crime prior to working for the FBI he was a special agent for both the
DEA and NCIS Brian started complaining that the bomb around his neck was getting heavy and it was worried it was
going that night soon he wanted to stand up but was instructed to remain on the ground one of the state troopers told
him that if this was [ __ ] he'd better end it now but Brian swore it wasn't he asked for a cigarette and
to say a priest both requests were declined Brian then pleaded why isn't anyone trying to come get this thing off
me I don't have a lot of time Brian started a panic and talked about the guy who'd struck the bomb around his neck
quote he pulled a key out and started a timer I heard the thing ticking when he did it
it's gonna go off I'm not lying did you call my boss Brian started shifting uncomfortably on the ground the
bomb was heavy into awkward then the device started to make a beeping noise Brian tried to shuffle backwards
it was 3:18 p.m. 25 minutes after police and first pulled him over as the local police state troopers FBI the media and
members of the public watched on the bomb suddenly exploded Brian was thrown backwards the bomb
ripping a softball sized butterfly shaped hole in his chest shrapnel landed 50 feet behind officer
dougherty who was still taking cover behind the police cruiser Brian took a few last shallow breaths and died three
minutes later the bomb squad arrived thankfully even though the standoff was being broadcast live to air the
technical difficulty with the TV crew saved Brian's death from being broadcast for everyone to see
away from the scene State Police and the FBI descended on the side of the dirt road and TV tower where Brian said he
was attacked while delivering pizzas soya truck impressions including those from Brian's car insuring prescience
including Brian's were lifted but there was no sign of any men or any paraphernalia associated with weapons
law enforcement and the community was shocked how did a pizza delivery driver end up with a bomb strapped to him was
Brian lying about his three attackers and did he do this to himself if he was telling the truth was it a
random attack or something more orchestrated was it a terrorist attack nobody had any answers
when police searched Brian's car they found a nine pages of notes that were similar in writing style and lettering
to the ones left at the bank they also contained drawings and maps intended to lead Bryant on a crude scavenger hunt
the bank was the first of four locations Brian was directed to drive to which would eventually lead him to the keys
that would deactivate the bomb but the notes made it clear that Brian only had a limited amount of time in which to
complete the hunt ensuring that all the evidence was collided and preserved from
the blast site was a huge job a task force which included the FBI the ATF and the state and local police was created
there were over 150 items recovered from the scene and catalogued by investigators including a battery broken
shards from kitchen timers a toy cell phone and a bone fragment from Brian's up a neck the next step was for agents
from the ATF to x-ray the caller still around Brian's neck to ensure there was no further device armed to set off a
secondary explosion the phone call ordering the pizzas was traced to a phone box outside a nearby Shell gas
station on peachtree the handset was cut from the phone and taken into evidence remnants of the bomb and the notes found
in Brian's car were analyzed that FBI headquarters in Quantico seventy-nine fingerprints were lifted from the notes
seventy seven of which were Brian's the remaining two were from a bomb squad member the notes have been typed and
then traced over with a blank piece of paper on top earlier that day Brian's sister Jean had
just returned home from downtown she had gone out to run an errand but couldn't as police had blocked the road
it wasn't until late that evening as she discovered wire quote more kids are sitting on the couch and then the story
years of this bank robbery and a man came into the bank with a bomb on him my brother sitting there with this bomb
on him and I'm thinking okay the police have him that we'll find out who did this team then as it goes on it was like
it was Brian exploded you know the bomb went off Brian's dead and I'm like I can't believe this
that's how I found out about it nobody called us earlier I watched the news report at 10 o'clock so I'm sitting
there and then I heard that he blew up and then I called all my brothers and sisters and tell them what I think I saw
and do they think I'm nuts because Brian's not a bank robber Brian's are said quote Brian was
definitely a victim there is no way such a kind gentle thoughtful and wonderful boy could do that he had too much to
live for and his family was too meaningful to him local TV news cameraman Dan Holland who
was on the scene while Brian was still alive said that he was extremely calm for someone with a ticking time bomb
around his neck he believed that Brian was acting like a man who had intentionally struck the bomb to himself
and was pulling the strings but this observation was in contrast to the news footage which showed Brian pleading with
the police and crying out why isn't anyone trying to get this thing off me in the early hours of August 29 the day
after the explosion a search warrant was executed on Brian's house at 24 21 Loveland Avenue in Mill Creek there was
no evidence of any bomb-making at all Brian's house was neat and tidy but sparsely furnished a mattress was on the
floor where he slept that same day local paper the Erie Times news sent a reporter and a photographer to the TV
tower at the clearing at the end of the dirt road off pay street where Brian said he was attacked and had the bomb
placed on him the road had been cordoned off but the reporter saw a tall solidly
built men who looked the beanies 50s at the front of the house next to the entrance to the dirt road
the man was happy to speak and told the reporter that his name was bill rothstein bill was unmarried and had
lived in Erie all his life an eccentric man bill worked as a handyman and substitute high school shop teacher but
his true passion was electronics he was well-spoken and didn't appear too concerned by the flurry of interest in
the area behind his house bill was happy to show the reporters the way to the clearing via his back yard bill also
spoke to the FBI who knocked on his door that same day he told them that he didn't know anything about the bombing
and the agents left it at that a hotline was quickly established so members of the public could call in tips the other
agent joining Jerry Clark in heading up the investigation was ATF Special Agent Jason wick from Pittsburgh agent wick
was experienced in all manner of firearms and explosive devices including pot bombs he was no stranger to
high-profile cases either he had been with the ATF since 1989 and worked on the hijacking of United
Airlines flight 93 on September 11 as well as the 1993 bombing at the World Trade Center the bomb that killed Brian
wells in agent wicks experience was one of the most complex improvised explosive
devices he'd ever seen pot bombs are a common type of improvised explosive device due to the relatively simple
design and construction process and the materials required being readily available but the bomb when Brian Wells
was different although the workmanship appeared rudimentary the design of it was complex the bomb is described in the
book Peter bomber by Jerry Clark and Edie Paula teller consisting of two parts that had a four
key locking mechanism and one dial combination locking mechanism two timers parallel circuits and a green and beige
circuit board the color which resembled the design of a large handcuff with spring loaded with fixed and hinged
semicircular arms three copper wires were twisted around a thin tube of blue liquid which went around at the outside
of the collar the middle box hanging off the collar measured approximately six inches by ten and a half inches and
contained two six-inch pipe bombs loaded with enough double-bass smokeless powder
to fill 273 shotgun shells the same type of powder found inside the 12-gauge shotgun shell in the cane gun Brian
Wells was carrying shells that were sold exclusively at Walmart the plastic pipe
sat next to each other inside the box vertically and was sealed to be airtight by a series of plates bolts and rods so
it would explode when pressure was applied the wires running through the bomb weren't connected to anything they
were just a decoy as was the liquid in the tube around at the outside of the collar totally harmless but designed to
confuse anyone who tried to disarm the bomb the timer's controlled one circuit and
provided 55 minutes of time each 110 minutes in total however because one timer wasn't
activated this reduced the time available to Brian to just 55 minutes the timer was found to have been made by
a company that distributed them exclusively to Walmart stores like the shotgun shells the timer was available
for purchase at the Erie Walmart mesh that was wired to the battery pack inside the metal box protected the other
circuit of the bomb the mesh was in front of the timers and pipe bombs but if it came into contact with the metal
box it would trigger the pipe bombs to ignite as explained in the book pizza bomber Agent wick was quietly relieved
that the arrival of the bomb squad was delayed on the day as any attempt by bomb technicians to access the inner
workings of the device the disarming would have disturbed the mesh almost certainly resulting in a greater loss of
life unlocking the collar required two keys to be inserted into two of the four keyholes
the reason only two keys were required is because only two of the key holes actually worked the other two were just
decoys inside the metal box was a metal arm controlled by a padlock the metal arm was the kill arm of the device if
the padlock was opened with the correct key the kill arm would have stopped the timers and disabled detonation
despite an extensive search of the blast site and each stop on the scavenger hunt
the keys for the padlock and the locks that would have opened the caller would not recovered the Cain gun that Brian
was carrying was homemade the trigger was hidden inside the handle and it was designed to fire a single round only
that still wasn't confirmed at the time of the autopsy whether the color remained the booby-trapped forensics
couldn't guarantee even though they considered improbable that there wouldn't be a further explosion if they
cut through the collar to remove it from Brian's body not to mention this would also partially destroy one of the best
pieces of evidence in order to circumvent both these issues forensics made the difficult decision to remove
Brian's head at the neck keeping the collar intact the autopsy that day revealed that when the bomb detonated
and ripped the hole in Brian's chest the cutting through his heart fractured his
ribs and sternum and shattered his left ear drum bruises on Brian's right thigh surrounded an open wound where a shotgun
pellet and shrapnel had been embedded as a result of one of the pipe bomb blasts
no defensive wounds were located on brian at all such as additional bruising or scratches that may have suggested a
struggle when the bomb was placed around his neck there was no alcohol or other drugs in his system Brian's brother John
refuted the idea that Brian was part of the plan and blamed the police for the delay in the bomb squad arriving the FBI
was the lead investigative agency due to the bank robbery the ATF were involved due to the incident involving a bomb in
state police were responsible for investigating the homicide by the Tom local police and the Erie County
District Attorney's Office were factored into the equation this was as challenging a multi-jurisdictional
matter as you could get the task force was able to eliminate early on the possibility that Brian
would have been able to successfully complete the list of tasks and survive the instructions indicated his next stop
was to drive several miles up Peachtree get onto the interstate 90 followed by the interstate 79 get off at exit 180
and drive to a wooded area once there a container with orange tape specified the
next set of instructions Brian never completed that part but when investigators followed the instructions
and located the container with the orange tape they found another note instructing they
drive two miles south to a road sign from the Keene township the next clue was supposed to be contained in a jar in
the nearby woods but when police found the jar there was empty no further instructions or containers were
recovered and no keys were found whoever had designed the bomb and strapped it to
Brian knew they were sending him to his death but whether Brian knew this wasn't clear
when police raided Brian's cottage they found his address book which included the names of two local female sex
workers Angie and Jessica angie was the woman who used to visit brian at work to
ask him for money Jessica or Jesse as Brian called her was 24 years old and addicted to crack cocaine when
questioned by police Jesse denied knowing Brian or anything about the day he died
Angie told police that Brian was her cousin not a client the only real lead police hurt however
dubious was Brian's claim that three black men had struck - the bomb around his neck and forced him to rob the bank
police looked further into Angie as she was the one who reportedly always visited Brian at work asking for money
they discovered she had a boyfriend named - JJ who was a former Marine with munitions experience and he was black at
the time of Brian's death JJ worked at an eerie plastics factory it's not known whether he did this with
the knowledge of his employer but he worked on personal construction projects after work using factory materials
JJ claimed he didn't know Brian and on the day Brian died he was at home waxing his car a police raid of JJ in the
engies apartment failed to turn up any explosives firearms or ammunition the police did take JJ's computer and tools
three days after the bombing Brian's friend and co-worker at Mama Mia's Robert Panetti was found a dead in his
mother's house from a drug overdose Robert was said to have been distressed about Brian's death and told relatives
who was frightened about doing his job the FBI had attempted to interview Robert two days after Brian's death but
they didn't get very far Robert blew them off and the agents never got a chance to conduct a
follow-up interview at the time of his death Robert Panetti had been taking prescription
anti-anxiety medication however the autopsy also revealed the presence of methadone in his body
this was puzzling given Robert didn't use methadone and was not addicted to heroin even though Robert's death was
ruled accidental the FBI and ATF wanted to know the exact nature of his relationship with Brian wells was
Robert's death a bizarre coincidence or was there something more to it that law enforcement was yet to uncover tips
started to trickle in from the public including a tip-off that led investigators to a garage on the west
side of Erie on September 5 investigators searched the two car detached garage adjacent to a property
owned by a woman called Marilyn Marilyn claimed that only family members had access to her garage but police had been
tipped off that someone else used it Jimmie Johnson Angie's boyfriend JJ police were convinced they had found
their man on the basis that plexiglass attached to the front shield of the bomb was believed to have come from a sheet
from the factory where JJ worked however this failed to lead anywhere and JJ was later completely eliminated from
the investigation investigators were back to square one investigators started to wonder about Brian's claim he was
forced into the robbery and had the bomb strapped to him by three black men maybe
Brian had been lying about his attackers nearly one month after Brian Wells death
police received a phone call from a man named Bill Rothstein Bill told the police that he knew a woman whom they
might want to question bill said that he had hopes the woman named Marjorie deal
to do stuff he shouldn't have done bill made it clear he hadn't killed anyone but he did have a body in the
freezer in his garage bill provided his address and police quickly realized there was the property that back gone to
the TV transmission tower site where Brian Wells said it was attacked bill Rothstein was the man who local news
reporters and FBI agents had spoken to the day after the bomb 54 year old Marjorie Diehl had grown up in here e
with hardworking and successful parents she developed what some described as an obsession with money from a very early
age and always believed there being an only child she would eventually inherit money Marjorie had an overinflated view
of herself and often treated others as being well below her working class families populated her neighborhood and
she quickly came to consider herself superior to all of them when she was 21 her friend introduced Marjorie to 26
year old bill Rothstein now 33 years later bill was calling the police about a body in his freezer and he was naming
Marjorie as being involved but when they first met bill was six foot two and a jack-of-all-trades a substitute teacher
handyman and electrician he knew a lot of people through his interest in amateur radio photography community
theater and computer programming he didn't drink or smoke and he liked to lie to people and tell them he was a
member of Mensa bill was loyal to his friends and a joker but not always the good-natured kind he got a kick out of
secretly taping phone calls which in Pennsylvania is illegal this made bill feel like it was always
one up on people he also liked to make it hard for people to track him down you could only find him in the phonebook
under the name William Deshmukh bill and Marjorie went rollerskating on their first date and from then on were
inseparable they considered themselves intellectually superior to those around them by this stage Marjorie was heavily
absorbed in astrology and voodoo and a bill in numerology they were engaged for a while in 1970 but it didn't work out
and they broke up in later years Marjorie acknowledged that by that stage an emerging mental health condition for
her had started to worsen in 1971 Marjorie met 29 year-old Vietnam veteran Bob Thomas bob was separated from his
wife at the time there were allegations of domestic violence against him and like Marjorie bob was said to have
mental health issues suffering PTSD and schizophrenia with paranoid behavior in 1972
Marjorie sought treatment for her mental health condition as a hospital outpatient she said she felt unable to
trust others was paranoid and anxious as our lined in the book mania and marjorie
diehl-armstrong by Jerry Clark and Edie Paula tella Marjorie was eventually diagnosed with a bipolar disorder with
passive aggressive personality traits and hysterical features and a deep-seated hatred of men
Marjorie accepted and even embraced her diagnosis of bipolar disorder which at the time was known as manic depression
however she despised being described as a man hater Marjorie worked in secretarial roles and got a job in an
eerie Counseling Center she then attended Gannon College near Gannon University graduating in 1975 with a
master's degree in education focusing on guidance and counseling Marjorie worked
as a guidance counselor and also gained employment as a substitute American history teacher as well as a private
music teacher in 1980 she had a steady job as a counselor for a nonprofit organization she founded the Erie
Women's Center Marjorie took on the role of fertility counselor and the center also arranged
the termination of pregnancies in Buffalo Marjorie was arrested for attempted theft by deception for falsely telling a
female she was pregnant and making an appointment for termination of the pregnancy costing 150 dollars she was
sentenced to two years probation and 60 hours community service Marjorie agreed to a deal with the DA
and accepted a position in a rehab program for first-time offenders she successfully completed the program and
as a result escaped a criminal conviction but her involvement with the Women's Center was the last time
Marjorie had full-time work she shopped around for a doctor who helped her be deemed permanently unfit to work due to
her condition therefore becoming eligible to receive permanent disability benefits and public housing at this time
she was still in a relationship with the volatile and violent veteran Bob Thomas
Marjorie was now eligible to access food from food banks and in July 1984 she met
a woman named Donna while waiting in line for cheese at a food bank Donna had recently been released from a state
correctional facility and confided in Marjorie about how her boyfriend had assaulted and sexually abused her
Marjorie identified with Donna's story and claimed that her boyfriend Bob Thomas treated her the same way
since becoming eligible to access food from food banks Marjorie had been squirreling hers away donor and Marjorie
discussed plans for Marjorie to sell surplus butter and cheese she had accumulated there wasn't uncommon for
food bank recipients the double dip which quickly created a black market for food bank items Donna gave Marjorie her
address and said to get in touch if she ever needed help with anything Donna didn't think anything more of the
gesture but got a surprise when Marjorie turned up on her doorstep holding two bags of various personal items and
documents that wasn't the only surprise Marjorie told Donna she'd shot her boyfriend Bob Thomas that morning and
she needed to get rid of his body Marjorie often done her $25,000 to help her out Donna at first thought Marjorie
was joking until she showed her $18,000 cash on the spot Marjorie wasn't joking earlier that day she had shot Bob dead
Donna was stunned as Marjorie explained how she'd shot him after he'd beaten her
they discussed at length the best way to dispose of Bob's body Donna was scared so she called her sister Susan who drove
over Marjorie then offered Susan the same amount of money to help her dispose of Bob's body susan was horrified the
sisters were able to part ways with Marjorie and then call their mother who contacted the police Marjorie was
arrested later that day and confessed the shooting Bob but said it was in self-defense when police in the County
Health Department attended Marjorie's property that were confronted with a house completely overflowing with items
in the kitchen boxes of food was strewn across the sink and table not only were the cupboards overflowing with food but
so were two refrigerators and a freezer the rear bedroom didn't contain any furniture it was piled high with
mountains of clothing books magazines papers and rubbish 600 wire coat hangers were counted as well as a larger man of
war magazines there was an enormous amount of articles relating to mental illness it appeared that Marjorie had
been very well read on many aspects of her mental illness the stench of rotting government surplus food stored in
cupboards closets and the Attic disturbed all those who entered the house the place was also overrun by rats
they found that Marjorie had been visiting food banks three to five times per week over the preceding four months
with fraudulent notes giving permission for her to collect food for others pour tons of food was disposed of from her
house given it was considered a health risk the total value was estimated at just
under ten thousand dollars Bob Thomas was found all been shot six times at close range
his body was lying on his right side on the couch with his feet on the floor and
his head lying on the armrest his lower body was covered by a blanket Marjorie's legal team considered
mounting an insanity defense but chose to be sure defense that she was incompetent to stand trial due to her
mental illness her legal team quickly realized she felt she was smarter than they were and she was extremely
uncooperative poor psychiatric evaluations occurred between 1984 and 1987 and all concluded
that Marjorie was incompetent to stand trial she was however ordered to have a state hospital evaluation every 90 days
during this time Marjorie continued to blame everyone but herself for the position in which she
found herself in late January 1988 Marjorie was eventually found competent to stand trial for first-degree murder
after a 10 day trial she was found not guilty of homicide and possessing an instrument of crime but found guilty of
carrying a firearm without a license she was sentenced to 15 months probation for
the firearms charge after her acquittal Marjorie went on to meet another soul mate Richard Armstrong they shared a
love of music and a keen interest in psychology Richard had a criminal history in their relationship just as
those Marjorie had before it was violent and dysfunctional Richard was diagnosed
with paranoid schizophrenia and had a difficult time holding down any work he was so obsessed with cleanliness and he
began drinking bleach with his meals during one intense argument Richard threw bricks at Marjorie into a car
injuring her legs he also threatened to kill her and set fire to her car Richard was arrested and convicted of
assault he was sentenced to a maximum of 12 months in prison upon his release their relationship continued until
Richard was found on the floor after collapsing and hitting his head he died in hospital from a stroke two days later
Marjorie was devastated and she wanted someone to pay for losing her soulmate she filed a malpractice and wrongful
death suit against the health center Richard a bane Ian for failing to diagnose his condition properly the suit
settled for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars and after paying 75 thousand dollars in legal costs
Marjorie received a 175,000 despite having more money than she'd ever had in her life she felt she should have
received more in the settlement Marjorie spent the next 10 years to 2003 with a man named Jim Roden who she told often
would never live up to her previous partner Richard Armstrong again this relationship was full of violence broken
restraining orders and prison time after which they returned to each other's arms
by this time Marjorie was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder in addition to
her existing diagnosis of bipolar disorder when Marjorie's mother died she fought her father for administration of
the estate and access to her mother's deposit box her parents had been diligent savers and smart with their
money they had a combined marital estate valued at 1.8 million dollars Madri lost the claim for administration
of the estate she became obsessed not only with the fear of missing out on her inheritance but with getting revenge on
the PNC Bank for not allowing her access to her mother's deposit box even though Marjorie had accumulated
plenty of assets herself by this time soon after losing the battle to her mother's estate Marjorie and her
boyfriend Jim Roden met 51 year old Ken Barnes ken was a local TV repairman and handyman well versed in computers and
electronics he was also a convicted drug dealer who lived in squalor just like Marjorie and Jim Ken sold crack cocaine
from his house he also rented rooms in his property out to sex workers and their clients in exchange for drugs and
cash one of the sex workers was Jessica the woman who was friends with Brian wills so in 2003 Brian wells were
spending time at Ken's place and Kent was spending time at Marjorie in Jim's place where he would sometimes see Brian
deliver pizzas in May 2003 two months before the collar bomb inciden Ken Barnes was driving around Erie with
Marjorie and Jim when their car broke down Marjorie called her ex-fiance bill Rothstein to come and help them Marjorie
and Bill had continued to see each other on and off over the years and she relied
on him for handyman work bill had never married and had continued to declare his
love for Marjorie but she never committed to him again after their engagement ended all those years ago
in the weeks leading up to the events of August 28 2003 Marjorie reported a break-in at her property where she
claims she had a few thousand dollars stolen after this alleged break-in Marjorie purchased the 12-gauge shotgun
from the local newspaper when she turned up at the sellers house to pay in cash and collect the gun the seller noticed
Marjorie smelt strongly of cat urine looked anxious and tired and was carrying lots of cash mostly $20 bills
Marjorie flames she needed the gun for personal protection due to a recent break-in it was what happened following
the purchase of the shotgun the Marjorie's ex-fiance bill Rothstein was calling the police about the reason why
he had a body in his freezer [Music] thanks for listening to today's episode we'll be back soon
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after purchasing the shotgun marjorie returned home and shot her boyfriend jim Roden twice in the back as he lay
facedown in bed Jim's body remained there for two days before Marjorie turned up at bill
rothstein house telling him she had shot him because it wasn't helping her find the person who had broken into their
house bill told police that Marjorie gave him 78 thousand dollars cash to help dispose of Jim's body and the
murder weapon and a bill accepted the shooting murder of Jim Roden happened two weeks before the caller bombing of
Brian wells but it wasn't until weeks after the caller bombing that bill Rothstein called the police about Jim
Oden Bill's admission that Jim's body was stored in the freezer in his garage was confirmed by police on September 21
2003 Marjorie was a Bill's house when the police arrived and things didn't look good for her this was a woman who
had been acquitted for the shooting murder of her previous boyfriend Bob Thomas back in 1984 Marjorie was
arrested for homicide aggravated assault possession of an instrument of crime tampering with evidence criminal
conspiracy to tamper with evidence and abuse of a corpse she was detained without bail at the county prison where
an inmate dubbed her the freezer Queen Bill Rothstein's housed in carrots were in such a squalor state that when police
conducted the initial search they had to wear masks and hazmat suits to fend off
fleas and the smell of feces during the search police found a suicide note written by Bill that he hadn't yet acted
on the note read police my body is in the bedroom on first floor in southeast corner of the house one this has nothing
to do with the world's case to the body in the freezer in the garage is Jim Roden three I did not kill him nor
participate in his death for my apologies to those who cared for or about me I am sorry that I let them down
five I'm sorry to leave you this mess in bills garage police found a Jim rodent stereo his bicycle and his
bloodied mattress a search of bills event turned up two walkie-talkies and a 38 caliber Smith & Wesson revolver
police felt bill had great potential as a prosecution witness against Marjorie for Jim Rodin's death he accompanied
police on a search of both his and Marjorie's homes and explained how he found Jim's body and how hey aunt
Marjorie cleaned up after the fact they moved to Jim's mattress to Bill's garage
bill disposed of Jim's bed frame and bloodied vinyl flooring underneath at a nearby landfill bill used a saw to
destroy the shotgun and then an acetylene torch to melt the fragments later he went for a drive and through
the scraps out of his car window Marjorie and Bill then wrapped Jim's body in plastic and transported it to
Bill's garage storing it in a chest freezer that bill purchased especially for the body all of this occurred weeks
before the collar bomb death of Brian Wells as police and media inquiries continued around the side of the TV
tower are following the caller bombing bill didn't make a fuss and to maintained he saw nothing on the
day Brian Wells died he remained calm and cool despite having Jim Rodin's body in his freezer while there was such a
heavy law enforcement presence around his home it wasn't until three weeks after the
caller bombing death of Brian wells that bill rothstein contacted police about Jim Roden and Marjorie deal was arrested
during their investigation into Jim Rodin's death police found out that bill Rothstein had someone else living with
him a flatmate named Floyd Stockton Floyd was on the run from a rape charge the year before in Washington he had
also previously served 10 years in prison for a prior rape Floyd was picked up and interviewed by
the FBI he denied any knowledge of Jim Rodin's murder and stated he had no idea his body was in the garage freezer
they then questioned Floyd about the Brian wells case given that Brian said he was attacked just behind Bill's house
where Floyd was living Floyd stated that on the day Brian Wells died from the caller bond he was at home with Bill
Floyd saw a police car cruised by the house and thought something must have been going on so we turned the TV on and
saw the coverage of the caller bombing agents Clark and wick thought this story was weird why would a police car
casually cruising by cause someone to turn on the TV to see what was going on but they kept an open mind in Floyd
later passed the polygraph and was cleared of any involvement in the Jim rodent case and at the Brian wells case
in December 2003 Floyd pled guilty to the rape charge in Washington and he was sentenced to two
years imprisonment in news reports no link was made between the caller bombing death of Brian wells and Marjorie deals
arrests for the shooting murder of her boyfriend Jim Rogan but behind the scenes the collar bomb
task force were wondering if there were dots to connect it just seemed too coincidental that bill Rothstein's
property back on to the TV transmission tower where Brian wells said the caller bomb was put on him investigators felt
there was a connection they just had to find it it was time to formally interview bill Rothstein agent Clark
conducted the interview but before he could get too far bill set the ground rules by saying let me get this out of
the way first on the smartest guy in this room bill only answered agent Clark's questions
with hypothetical statements along with the deaths of Brian Wells and Jim Rudin Robert Penn Eddie's death was brought up
in this interview Robert was Brian wells coworker at the pizza shop and the guy who apparently took his own life
three days after Brian died the task force had kept an open mind about a possible link between these two
deaths bill denied that he knew Brian wells or Robert Panetti and he was completely dismissive of the suicide
note he had written that mentioned Brian wells name bill was completely forthcoming about Jim Rodin's body in
his freezer but he denied having any knowledge of the cola bombing Bill's account of his movements the day Brian
Wells was killed was that he and Marjorie were warned tasting in vineyards east of Lake Erie before he
dropped her off at Walmart at 7:30 p.m. bill said he may have used the pay phone
outside the Shell gas station on peach Street that day the Saint pay phone where the call ordering the pizzas was
placed the call that ultimately led Brian Wells to his death this was a strange admission the bill continued to
deny any involvement in the caller bombing he was adamant he didn't even know Brian Wells
after his interview bill was charged with abuse of a corpse conspiring to abuse a corpse tampering with evidence
and conspiring to tamper with evidence all charges related to the death of Jim Rodan
On January 20 2004 the preliminary hearing commenced for Jimmer Odin's murder the prosecution's main witness
against Marjorie was bill Rothstein who testified that he had willingly accepted
payment from Marjorie to transport and store Jim Rodin's body and dispose of the murder weapon bill testified that
Marjorie killed him partly over her anger at his lack of action in failing to pursue whoever broke into her home
and partly because she blamed him for introducing drug dealer Ken Barnes to her whom she believed was behind the
break-in bill testified that Marjorie didn't want to bury Jim's body and instead devised the plan to dismember
she came up with a list of what she would need plastic and meat grinder a bucket and an ice crusher bill Rothstein
quote I couldn't see myself cutting up a body like that and I don't think she would
she indicated she wanted me to and I couldn't do it I wanted to help her because I thought maybe this was
straighten her out because she was going to give up on guys because she kept going around with the wrong guys so I
thought maybe I could help her out with this but then bill worried he might be next
Marjorie didn't say anything in her defense of the preliminary hearing following the preliminary hearing
Marjorie's legal team request that she be assessed to determine whether she was mentally competent to stand trial for
Jim Rodin's murder she was ordered into six months psychiatric evaluation as an inpatient at the state hospital which
meant that she was officially incapable of consenting to police interviews prior
to Marjorie completing her psych evaluation bill rothstein died of stage 4 non-hodgkins lymphoma in his last
interview with police three days before he died bill changed his alibi and said he now couldn't remember what he was
doing the day of Brian Wells death but he was adamant that he had nothing to do with it the final psychiatric assessment
of Marjorie before her competency hearing noted she understood the seriousness of the charges against her
she understood the legal system and to the importance of cooperating with her legal team however it was noted that she
still had not achieved full understanding of the seriousness of her mental illness and its consequences
marjorie was noted to rely on self-defeating defense mechanisms including denial projection
intellectualization and rationalization which interfered with her fully understanding the need for treatment on
September 9 2004 it was ruled that Marjorie was competent to stand trial and on January 7 2005 she struck a plea
agreement she pled guilty but mentally ill to third-degree murder and abuse of a corpse and in return the other charges
against her were dropped guilty but mentally ill is a plea which has been in place in the state of Pennsylvania for
criminal cases since 1983 and is different to being found not guilty by reason of insanity in Pennsylvania the
maximum sentence for third-degree murder at the time was 20 to 40 years after accepting the plea deal Marjorie was
sentenced to 7 to 20 years in prison for the murder of Jim Raiden the plea bargain allowed Marjorie to receive
mental health treatment at Mayview state hospital before transitioning into the general prison population and allowed
for the possibility of parole after just seven years Erie was still a small enough place that
the DA prosecuting Jim Rodin's case Brad fork attended high school with Marjorie he said quote I know the court
cannot take into account the acquittal of Bob Thomas's murder of a number of years ago but I think it's important to
note that the conduct she engaged him in the late 80s was almost identical to this particular conduct
I think the psychiatric reports reflect a woman who was suffering from a mental disorder that without question without
question if she were ever placed on the streets again she would kill another man
the feds were still investigating the color bombing murder of Brian wells while the Pennsylvania State Police and
Erie local police were investigating Jim Rodin's murder agents Clark and wick plugged away investigating the color
bombing they knew it was critical that the lines of communication between themselves State Police and the Erie
police remained open and that nothing was missed they knew that the more time passed the harder was going to be to
solve DNA and fingerprints lifted from the handset of the payphone at the Shell gas station had failed to yield any
clues and all tire tracks and footprints from the dirt road near the transmission
tower that weren't from Brian wells were unable to be linked to anyone 18 months
after the caller bombing death of Brian wells in February 2005 agent Clark went public to the local media he provided a
criminal profile of the suspect in Brian wells murder who they don't call Obama it was the first time the public heard
anything about the FBI's criminal profile of the suspect the FBI's profile stated that the plot
involved more than one person but that the party responsible for concocting the plot and locking the bond to Brian
enjoyed feeling powerful was obsessive and manipulative but patient it was this person they referred to as coloboma
coloboma was a complex person focused on revenge and any financial gain from the
robbery was entirely incidental coloboma was a secretive deceptive person who had
invested a considerable amount of time and energy in planning the crime and were likely on the scene that day
watching on as events unfolded coloboma was schooled at woodwork metalwork and using power tools and machinery they
took pride in their work and were both resourceful and experienced in repairing and building devices especially
explosives and destructive devices capable of causing death coloboma would have kept an eye on media reports and
the investigation following the bombing while the person would not reveal much to those around them about the case they
would have opened disdain for the efforts of law enforcement considering themselves far more intelligent the FBI
profile noted that Brian Wells was not selected at random or kidnapped the notes used in the robbery expressed a
disproportionate level of anger towards PNC Bank and its employees it was likely
that the author had a previous unresolved personal grievance against the bank two months after releasing colobomas
profile to the public FBI agents got a call from the State Police they had met with Marjorie who wanted to talk she
claimed that bill Rothstein had lied and two that Jim erosions murder was in fact
directly related to the caller bombing murder of Brian wells special agents Clark and wick immediately went to visit
Marjorie Marjorie explained that Jim Roden was involved in the initial planning of the robbery and collar
bombing and he was shot dead because he had threatened to talk bill Rothstein was the mastermind of the color bombing
and he was present Jim was shot Marjorie claimed that Brian Wells was a willing participant not an
innocent victim and he had also been directly involved in the planning Margery cooperating with investigators
was huge for the investigation but they needed corroboration bill Rothstein was dead so they focused on the person who
admitted he was with billed the day of the bombing Bill's housemaid convicted rapist
Floyd Stockton they first spoke to Floyd's girlfriend who handed the FBI and note that bill Rothstein had given
Floyd back in October 2003 just two months after the color bomb in the note bill apologized to Floyd for the world's
situation when agents Clark and wick interviewed Floyd Stockton about this he started talking as well he confirmed
what Marjorie had said Jim Roden was involved in the color bomb plot and he was killed because he was going to start
talking like Marjorie Floyd denied any direct involvement following the broadcast of an episode of America's
Most Wanted in September 2005 the FBI received a crucial tip UPS delivery driver Michael vote saw the show he had
been making deliveries on the day of the caller Bonnie and he remembered driving
past the payphone at the Shell gas station where the call that led Brian wells to his death was traced to Michael
recalled seeing a tall man with gray hair and a beard wearing overalls using the payphone
marker also recalled seeing a woman standing next to the phone a few weeks after the bombing
Marco saw photos of bill rothstein and Marjorie Diehl in the Erie Times news after their arrests for Jim Rodin's
murder Michael immediately recognized them as the people he saw at the Shell gas station pay phone that day of the
bombing but he didn't contact the police then because it was too scared there was now
no doubt the Marjorie and Bill were involved in the caller Bonnie their involvement was further cemented
in November 2005 when agent Clark was handed 24 pages of notes written by an inmate who was serving time with
Marjorie although Marjorie was careful about what she told investigators she couldn't stop
talking in prison the information in the notes contained to the full details of the robbery and collar bombing plot the
plan was for Bryant Wells to give the money to floyd stockton after the robbery who would then give it to bill
Rothstein Marjorie helped measure Brian's neck prior to the construction of the bomb bill built the bomb and made
the call to the pizzeria from the Shell gas station payphone Marjorie and Bill communicated during the robbery using
walkie-talkies Marjorie killed Jim Roden because he threatened to go to the police about the
plot and to build Rothstein called 9-1-1 about Jim's body in his freezer to distract police from the collarbone case
Marjorie said that her motivation for the robbery was money and driven by hatred for her father for spending and
gifting to others what she considered her inheritance Marjorie also revealed that Robert
Panetti Brian's work mate who had apparently taken his own life three days after the
bombing was also in on the plan but a shame bill felt he couldn't be trusted they shot him up with drugs to make it
look like an overdose this was consistent with the unusual finding of methadone in Robert Panetti system it
was all coming together what was still missing was the link that tied Marjorie and Bill to Brian wells but they got
that through Ken Barnes ken was friends with Marjorie and her boyfriend at the time Jim Roden Ken ran the drug house
that rented out rooms to sex workers when questioned Ken Barnes initially denied knowing Brian wells but later
admitted that he knew him as a regular client of one of the sex workers who worked from his house Jessica
through Ken Barnes Brian Wells came to know Marjorie in gym and he even delivered pizzas to their house and Bill
Rothstein was still close to Marjorie that's how everyone was connected Ken Barnes gave up everything he knew Ken
said Marjorie approached him in early-to-mid 2003 and asked him to kill her father to prevent him from spending
any more money and allowing her to finally access her inheritance ken said he wasn't interested but Marjorie
continued to plead with him to kill her father and told him to name his price Ken said he'd need two hundred and fifty
thousand dollars with 100 thousand upfront but he told police he was just joking two hundred and fifty thousand
dollars was the same amount written on the note that Brian Wells handed to the bank teller Marjorie was committed to
seeing the plan through to kill her father but despite her strong financial assets she didn't have access to the
amount of cash that Ken wanted so Marjorie and Bill concocted a plan to rob a bank
not just any bank but the PNC brenes that Marjorie was still angry with over their handling of her mother's estate
Ken Barnes claimed Brian Wells was fully aware of the details of the robbery but
was of the understanding that the bomb would be fake Ken said the group met a bill Rothstein's place to rehearse the
day before the robbery Marjorie measured Brian's neck in the bill had him try on a fake bomb to see
how it fit according to Ken Brian Wells was interested in participating so he could receive a cut of the profits to
pay off her recent drug debt the day of the bank robbery Marjorie picked Ken up they drove to the
Shell gas station where they met bill who asked the Ken to fill his car while Kent did so bill and Marjorie went to
the pay phone to make the call to order the pizzas and to the trio then drove to
Bill's place to wait for Brian to arrive with the delivery brian delivered the pizzas to the clearing near Bill's house
as planned fully aware he would have a bomb strapped to his neck the only difference being the device
used this time was heavier than the one they tested the day before because it was real Brian's co-worker
rubber Panetti was also there and allegedly helped talk Brian into participating also present was Floyd
Stockton Ken Barnes described what happened next quote when Brian came he brought the pizza out that they had
ordered and he set it on the hood of Bill's van and - then Floyd came out from behind - the one building that was
down there carrying this device and he brought it up towards bill and while Brian was looking at it he got a look on
his face it was like you know I think at that point he realized this thing was real but as far as I knew who wasn't
supposed to be it was supposed to just be a gag to get the teller to give him some money
Brian turned to run and when he went to run bill fired a pistol up in the air at
the same time Robert and Floyd tackled him and got him down on the ground and was scuttling around with him a little
bit then they came up holding him by then Marjorie and Bill were over there beside
him Marjorie was helping hold the device while bill was strapping it on brian was
yelling he didn't want to be a part of it anymore I walked over to him and punched him in the face not real hard
but just like and I regret doing that because back then I was just thinking of my own greed about getting the money I
really wasn't concerned for his health and safety at that point after the bomb was strapped to Brian bill gave him the
cane gun and Marjorie issued the final instructions if he was stopped by police he was to tell them that the bomb was
strapped to him and that he would be killed if he didn't go through with it Ken and Marjorie finished the pizza and
drove off to act as lookouts during the robbery Ken said that they parked in a parking lot across the road from the
bank and kept a lookout with binoculars bill arrived soon after and also kept a lookout near the bank when Brian was
stopped by police Ken Marjorie and Bill all met back at Bill's house and bill was angry
ken and Marjorie then got into Bill's Weagle and two drove the wrong way on to the interstate 79 Ken described to
Marjorie as panicked she pulled over on the interstate and went over the nearby embankment into the woods when she
returned she had a white shirt with something concealed inside it which she threw into the back of the car Marjorie
and Ken then drove to a car yard where they met bill and swapped cars before driving back to Ken's place ken wanted
his money but Marjorie told him there wasn't any before she drove off Marjorie threatened Ken not to tell anyone what
he knew bill was the mastermind behind the bombing part of the scheme while Marjorie wanted to rob the bank to pay
Ken for a hit on her father bill built the bomb and orchestrated the plan to send a Brian on the scavenger hunt after
the robbery if Brian was caught before the bomb exploded he was instructed to tell police that he had the bomb
strapped to him under duress by three black men who forced him to rob the bank as a bomb hostage bill into the others
told Brian that as a hostage he wouldn't be charged it turned out that the profile of the caller bomber released by
the FBI described bill to a tee police theorized that bill didn't care what happened to Brian because by that stage
Bill knew his lymphoma was terminal so before bill died he wanted to play God with someone else's life he didn't care
about money what mattered to him was showing everyone how brilliant he was by masterminding the ultimate crime in part
the FBI's profile read it continues to be the opinion of the department that this is much more than a mere bank
robbery the behavior seen in this crime was choreographed by coloboma watching on the sidelines according to a written
script in which he attempted to direct others to do what he wanted them to do the person is at manipulator who
manipulates the actions of others he's like a puppeteer bill implicated Marjorie in Jim Rodin's death before she
could turn him in all while denying any knowledge about Brian Wells death even up until his own death when a deathbed
confession would not have been unusual bill continued to deny any knowledge of the caller bomb plot after giving his
story to investigators Ken Barnes was arrested and held on unrelated drug charges when the FBI searched his house
agent Clark said he had never seen anything like it Ken's place was in an even worse state
than bill or Marjorie's had been in the utilities had long been disconnected boxes of junk and rubbish took up every
conceivable space and there was computer equipment every ken had been sleeping in the kitchen
which was the only room in the house with heating the heating came from a heater hooked up to a car battery the
freezer was full of rotting meat during the search police seized electronics magazines with articles on timer
construction various tools sections of pipe and map of Erie her rivet gun and rivets carpet samples gray spray-paint
wire nuts a battery pack containing triple-a batteries her homemade transmitter with wires and
a Winchester shotgun however none of these items could be linked to the cola bombing on May 10 2006 agents Clark and
wick met with Marjorie again she was still only giving parts of the story to investigators despite the fact she had
told her fellow inmates everything Marjorie was read her rights and to them went for a ride with Clark wick and her
lawyer to the main locations in the collarbone case she admitted to being at key locations on the day of Brian Wells
death and that she might have been driving on the interstate west of Erie after the bomb exploded this was a vital
admission given Ken Barnes had earlier told investigators he was driving the wrong way on the interstate with
Marjorie following the explosion according to the notes found in Brian Wells car he was supposed to have
stopped along the interstate to collect more clues did they activate the bomb Marjorie was adamant the bill had set
her up by orchestrating it so that she was at the locations in question she continued to claim she had no direct
involvement in the robbery or the caller bomb plot she admitted to being at the TV tower site when Brian delivered the
pizzas but claimed she didn't say anything because she parked at the entrance of the dirt road and didn't get
out of the car Marjorie assumed that her cooperation with the FBI up until this point was to
her advantage however she soon realized that instead of impressing the FBI with her superior intellect her incessant
talking was her undoing she was formally charged for her part in the bank robbery and collar bomb plot as
she no longer had access to assets that would allow her to engage her own lawyer
she was assigned a public defender to ensure an airtight case against Marjorie Diehl and Ken Barnes prosecutor
Marshall pincher Nene wanted to use Floyd Stockton as a prosecution witness Floyd was offered immunity in exchange
for his testimony he agreed and gave them his story as detailed in the book Pizza bomber by Jerry Clark and dead
palette Ella Floyd told them that about three to six months prior to the Kahler bombing he saw a TV show where a woman
was forced to rob a bank while wearing a bomb Floyd told bill and Marjorie about
this and who they thought it was perfect Brian Wells name came up in the planning
because Floyd suggested they use a pizza delivery men in July 2003 bill asked Floyd to cut some metal to match what he
showed him in a diagram of a collar after the rehearsal finished a bills placed the day before the bombing
Bill got Floyd to help him load something wrapped in a white shirt into bills van this was when bill explained
how things would go down the next day and issued Floyd with his instructions Floyd said he protested but bill told
him he didn't have a [ __ ] choice and that Marjorie would kill him if he didn't cooperate when Floyd turned up at
Bill's place the next day everyone was there Floyd obeyed Bill and retrieved the bomb brian was crying but Floyd told
him the bomb wasn't real Floyd was frightened bill would shoot him so he placed the collar around Brian's neck
Floyd reiterated to Brian that the bomb wasn't real but bill interrupted saying it is [ __ ] real Floyd said he obeyed
Bill's instructions because he was scared Floyd eventually went back to Bill's place where he saw the events unfold on
TV Floyd confirmed Brian's work mate Robert Panetti was involved but only in so far
is ensuring Brian complied with the plan Floyd said Ken Barnes paid Panetti in drugs and eventually gave him the
concoction that ended his life as they believed he was a loose end in May 2007 Floyd took agent Clark and
Marshall pincher Nene on a tour of his movements on the day of the bombing at the end of the tour Floyd said to agent
Clark I don't care what happens to me I'm just doing this because it's the right thing but I care what you do if
I'm going to meet my maker or be incarcerated for the rest of my life I've accepted it
I did it because it was the right thing but Floyd didn't have to worry about being incarcerated because when he
testified before the grand jury in late June 2007 he had full immunity on July 11 2007 federal grand jury indictments
against Marjorie Diehl and Ken Barnes were handed down after almost 1,000 interviews conducted over four years
Marjorie and Ken were both charged with conspiracy to commit an armed robbery aiding and abetting an armed bank
robbery involving a death and two aiding and abetting the use of a destructive device in a crime of violence deceased
persons bill Rothstein and Brian wells were also indicted as conspirators to the crime the indictment stated that
Brian Wells had agreed to rob the bank wearing what he thought was a fake bomb he understood that the scavenger hunt
was simply a ruse to fool police the Brian went from being a planner to an unwilling participant instead of going
along with the original plan to make Brian appear as a hostage the co-conspirators double-crossed him and
Brian became a real one Brian's family were outraged Brian's brother John claimed there was no evidence to support
the prosecution's claims he said my brother is a brutal murder victim he does not know any of these people
that got him at gunpoint 19 hours after that bomb went off the federal authorities chopped his head off to get
that collar off Brian did not put that collar on himself Brian sister Jean said they led an
innocent man my brother died while in their custody and that they didn't even lift a finger to help him this case is
going to be looked at for years to come and they don't want it known that they screwed up they want to known that he
was a poor man he wanted money no Brian was never materialistic he never was greedy he never would have done this
Marjorie pleaded not guilty and Ken Barnes agreed to be a prosecution witness at her trial as part of a plea
deal Marjorie's own psychiatrist testified that she was not competent to stand trial due to her inability to
cooperate due to symptoms of her bipolar disorder the delusional part of Marjorie's illness was found to have
escalated and her behavior prevented her from assisting in her defense Marjorie was sent for further court-ordered
mental health examinations the court-appointed psychiatrist came to the conclusion that Marjorie didn't have
bipolar disorder at all but she was actually suffering from PTSD and a personality disorder with paranoid and
narcissistic traits the PTSD element of Marjorie's condition was said to be related to a long history of physical
abuse the court-appointed psychiatrist stated that Marjorie had been incorrectly diagnosed with bipolar
disorder by at least 10 different mental health professionals because she'd manipulated them by mimicking symptoms
of the disorder and the US federal law personality disorder was not at the time considered a mental health condition
which would preclude someone from standing trial so the judge ruled the Marjorie was competent to face trial
prior to Marjorie's trial commencing she was diagnosed with cancer and in March 2010 she had a malignant tumor removed
from her neck the primary cancer originated in a breast and spread to her lymph nodes when her life expectancy was
estimated to be 3 to 7 years the judge considered this to be a reasonable time and he said a trial for October 15 2010
by this stage Marjorie had served seven years of her 7 year minimum sentence for
Jim Rodin's murder Ken Barnes plea bargain required him to testify against Marjorie in return for the most serious
charge against him being dropped aiding and abetting a bank robbery which would have been a life sentence if convicted
instead Ken pled guilty to conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery and aiding and
abetting the use of a destructive device in a crime of violence which carried a sentence of 35 years to life after
pleading guilty he was sentenced to 45 years Brian's family were in attendance at Ken's sentencing and he apologized to
them Ken's legal team had asked for the mandatory minimum sentence but the judge
described Ken as cold-hearted and said the callousness and complete lack of regard for human
life exhibited by this defendant is in a word chilling this case represents the unfortunate combination of the
incredibly bizarre and the sadly tragic Ken testified a Marjorie's trial and told the court everything he knew
Floyd stopped and didn't end up testifying by this stage he'd had two strokes and emergency open heart surgery
and wasn't given medical clearance to travel to Erie to testify Marjorie's trial lasted ten days her
verdict was handed down on November 1 2010 after deliberating for 11 hours the jury of seven women and five men
returned the guilty verdicts on all charges at her sentencing on February 28 2011 Assistant Attorney marshal pincher
Nene stated quote Marjorie presented the unique combination of mental illness and
evil when you combine this woman's serious mental illness with regard to her personality disorder her narcissism
her paranoia her deception who manipulative nurse you combine that in one person with evil and two this is the
type of crime that results the combination of Marjorie Diehl and her propensity towards violence in this
particular case proved to deadly in his sentencing remarks judge McLaughlin said
the bizarre nature of Brian wells death coupled with the equally bizarre and sociopathic personalities who have
perpetrated it have tended to obscure what this case is really about and that is that this defendant and her
conspirators sent a man to a certain death and in so doing risk of injury or death to many other people other people
suffer from similar mental diseases that plagued the defendant and they do not act in cold blood or seal a man's fate
by strapping a ticking time-bomb to his neck it is worth noting that the pre-sentence report reflects that
Marjorie was an excellent student who graduated twelfth out of 413 students in her high school class she then went on
to obtain a bachelor's degree in sociology as well as a master's degree in education all of which begs the
question as to what might have been Marjorie was sentenced to life plus 30 years without the possibility of parole
Brian's family remained dissatisfied with the outcome they continued to blame the police for not removing the bomb
from Brian while it was still alive they were also suspicious of the deal the attorney's office had made with Floyd
Stockton even though the evidence did not support the Wells family's claims Brian's sister Jean said we believe that
this entire investigation lacks integrity reeks of a massive cover-up and has used Brian as a scapegoat in
June 2011 judge McLaughlin reduced the federal sentence of Ken Barnes from forty five years to twenty two and a
half years in return for his cooperation in the collarbone case Ken's health had
seriously deteriorated by this stage his sentence expires in 2027 Marjorie lodged
several appeals all of which were denied one of the appeal judges stated her crimes reflected a stunning degree of
calculated cruelty a coldly calculated recidivist than serial killer who denied culpability and possessed a high
potential for future violence these facts include her involvement in two calculated killings murders marked by
brutality sadism cruelty into the morbid abuse of her victims both living and dead
on October 16 2014 Marjorie was granted parole for her State sentence of seven to 20 years that she'd been serving
since 2005 for the murder of Jim Roden this sentence had to be served before she could commence serving her federal
sentence of life plus 30 years for her role in Brian Wells murder Marjorie's parole order saw her
transferred from state prison in Muncie to the Federal Medical Center in Carswell on March 21 2017 Marjorie was
found unresponsive in herself a medical report said she was breathing on her own
her vital signs were stable however she was unresponsive to verbal stimuli Marjorie died two weeks later on April 4
2017 at the age of 68 it remains a mystery why Brian Wells insisted to police on the day of his
death that three black men had struck to the bomb to him and forced him to rob the bank
agents Clark and the wick came to the conclusion that Brian largely stuck to the plan out of fear he knew the others
were watching and could possibly hear what he was saying and he believed that the bomb would be detonated instantly if
he said anything off script even though he hoped the bomb wasn't actually real [Music]
you

Case 81: Brian Wells

On August 28th, 2003, the Great Lakes city of Erie, Pennsylvania was in the height of summer.

46-year old Brian Wells did what he had done most mornings for the previous ten years – he went to his lunchtime shift as a pizza delivery man at Mama Mia’s Pizza...

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research and writing – Gemma Harris Production, scoring – Mike Migas Additional scoring – Andrew Joslyn

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://www.casefilepodcast.com/case-81-brian-wells

Brief Summary

Brian Wells was killed by a bomb during a bank robbery, revealing a conspiracy involving multiple suspects in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Key points

The Pizza Delivery Man's Last Shift. On August 28, 2003, Brian Wells delivered pizzas, but his day took a dark turn.
A Bomb Around His Neck. After robbing a bank, Brian claimed he was forced to wear a bomb.
The Explosion. Despite the police's efforts, the bomb exploded, changing everything.
Brian's Tragic Death. Brian Wells was killed by a bomb strapped to his neck during a robbery attempt.
Bill Rothstein's Shocking Call. Bill Rothstein informs police about a body in his freezer, linking him to the case.
Marjorie's Arrest and Confession. Marjorie confesses to Donna that she shot her boyfriend Bob Thomas.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

It's gonna go off, I'm not lying!

Brian Wells panicking about the bomb around his neck.

22:18WatchNov 20, 2018

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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