Casefile True Crime - Case 81: Brian Wells

Episode Date: April 14, 2018

Around midday on August 28 2003, 46-year-old delivery driver Brian Wells clocked in for his usual lunchtime shift at Mama Mia’s Pizzeria in Erie, Pennsylvania. At 1:30 PM, he was called to deliver two pizzas at an address at the end of a dirt road on Peach Street.  _ _ _  Episode narrated by the Anonymous Host Researched and written by Gemma Harris For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-81-brian-wells

Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need support, please contact your local crisis centre. For suggested phone numbers for confidential support, please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website. On August 28, 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 10 years. He went to his lunchtime shift as a pizza delivery man at Mamma Mia's Pizza. The pizza joint was a small, unassuming place in a single-story Redbrick shopping plaza

on one of Erie's main shopping strips, Peach Street. 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 kind you 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 1.30pm that day was Brian's, off to deliver his last pizzas for the shift. He pulled out in his old green Geometro 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. On the south edge 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 freshwater and commercial fishing, as well as the region's famous Presque Isle State Park. Two hours west is Cleveland, two hours east is Buffalo, and two hours south is 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 Erie 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 cities.

And 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 peaked 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 its population all suffered considerably. And although things picked up a little in the 90s, by the 2000s, things were on a steep decline. By 2003, the population of Erie had decreased from its 1960 hay day by 27%, and the decade that followed would see it fall even further. The considerable fall in 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 in funding for neighborhood grants. As factories began to get smaller or close entirely, buildings became harder to maintain. Erie 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 and 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 time. 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 buoyant, was sinking, and a fifth of the population lived below the poverty line. Hardworking blue-collar residents became jaded with the idea of the American Dream.

People moved away to seek a better life, and Erie no longer became a destination for people to put down roots and 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 happened so rarely that when it did, it 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 the 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 Rose Marie 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, there 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 plead 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 Mears for the past 10 years. The customers were mainly construction workers and young families, and being on a busy street, it 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 Key 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 $2,500 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 Jesse, 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 at Mama Mears, 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 11am until 2pm. Brian's landlady Linda described him as the perfect tenant, and even though some people thought him shy, he was a friendly neighbour, sometimes calling in to visit Linda before starting his shift.

He didn't like guns or violence, he was polite, and often helped Linda 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. On August 28, 2003, Brian had made plans after work to watch videos and eat pizza with his mother. At 1.15pm, two hours and 15 minutes into Brian's shift, the phone rang at Mama Mears. 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. Two small, pepperoni and sausage pizzas. The delivery address was a clearing near the transmission tower of local TV station, WS-E-E-T-V, located at the end of a dirt road, three and a half miles down Peacht Street. 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 into town.

After arriving back in town, Brian turned into the car park of the PN Seat Bank. At 2.27pm, CCTV footage showed Brian walking in, boarding 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 gas brand logo, and it was clear he had something underneath it.

It was so bulky that his shirt 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, Brian approached the counter and handed a four-page handwritten note to the teller, part of which read, Gather employees with access codes to vault, and work fast to fill back with $250,000. You have only 15 minutes, act now, think later, or you will die. As the teller ran her eyes over the note, Brian asked to speak to the manager, who was at lunch and wouldn't be back for another half an hour.

Brian lifted his shirt, and the teller saw a box-like 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 Brian it 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 $8,702, and stuffed it into his canvas bag. By this time, another customer had walked into the bank, and a teller signalled to them

to call 911. Brian took the money and walked out of the bank. CCTV showed him exiting at 2.38pm, 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. He watched him put the papers down on the passenger seat and start the car.

By this time, three calls had been made to 911 and Pennsylvania State Police had been dispatched. It was 2.40pm. Brian turned onto the main road and headed towards Summit Town Centre. When he approached the McDonald's parking lot, he pulled over and got out. As others in the car park 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 2.49pm, 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 Weibull immediately called the bomb squad and the director of the FBI in Erie. It was 3.04pm, 15 minutes after pulling Brian over and 32 minutes after the first 911 call took place. Troopers James Samansky and Terrence Daughty 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 the 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 staff or 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 Samanski touched the t-shirt Brian was wearing and used a knife to cut and pull most of it away to expose the bomb. From what Samanski could see, her grey box was hanging from the collar around Brian's neck, which was similar to a large handcuff. The book Pizza Bomber by Jerry Clark and Ed Pallatella details how a white plastic digital clock was mounted sideways on the lower corner of the box and still 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 housed a three-dial combination lock similar to a luggage lock and there were four smaller keyhole locks. A metal panel carried an engraved 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. Kill zone 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. Training as much information as they could was paramount 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 Samanski had parked not too far away from Brian. He took cover behind the cruisers open front door while Officer Daughty 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. They 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 Rudge arrived on the scene.

Agent Rudge 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 he was worried it was going to detonate 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 bullshit he'd better end it now but Brian swore it wasn't.

He asked for a cigarette and to see 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 strapped 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 going to go off.

I'm not lying. Did you call my boss? Brian started shifting uncomfortably on the ground. The bomb was heavy and awkward. Then the device started to make a beeping noise. Brian tried to shuffle backwards. It was 3.18pm, 25 minutes after police had 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 Daughty 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. Tire tracking pressions including those from Brian's car and shoe impressions including Brian's were lifted. But there was no sign of any men or any paraphernalia associated with weapons.

Law enforcement and the community were 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? We had any answers. When police searched Brian's car, they found 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 Brian 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 collated 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 cataloged by investigators, including a battery, broken shards from kitchen timers, a toy cell phone and a bone fragment from Brian's upper neck. The next step was for agents from the ATF to X-ray the collar 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 Peat Street. 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 at FBI headquarters in Quantico. 79 fingerprints were lifted from the notes, 77 of which were Brian's. The remaining two were from a bomb squad member. The notes had 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 that she discovered why.

Quote, My kids are sitting on the couch and then the story airs 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. They will find out who did this to him. 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 call all my brothers and sisters and tell them what I think I saw and they think I'm nuts. Was Brian's not a bank robber? Brian's aunt 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 strapped 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 2421 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 Eerie Times News, sent a reporter and a photographer to the TV tower at the clearing at the end of the dirt road off P 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 billed man who looked to be in his 50s out 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 Eerie 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 backyard. 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

pipe bombs. He was no stranger to high profile cases either. He'd 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 Wick's experience was one of the most complex improvised explosive devices he'd ever seen. Pipe 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 on Brian Wells was different. Although the workmanship appeared rudimentary, the design of it was complex. The bomb is described in the book Pizza Bomber by Jerry Clark and Ed Palatella. Consisting of two parts, it had a four key locking mechanism and one dial combination locking mechanism, two timers, parallel circuits, and a green and beige circuit board. The collar, which resembled the design of a large handcuff, was spring loaded with fixed and hinged semicircular arms. Very copper wires were twisted around a thin tube of blue liquid which went around the

outside of the collar. The metal 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 base smokeless powder to fill 273 shotgun shells. The same type of powder found inside the 12 gate shotgun shell in the cane gun Brian Wells was carrying, shells that were sold exclusively at Walmart. The plastic pipes sat next to each other inside the box vertically and were sealed to be air tight 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 the outside of the collar, totally harmless. The design 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 or would be 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 Peter 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 to disarm it 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 keyholes 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 collar were not recovered. The cane gun that Brian was carrying was homemade, the trigger was hidden inside the handle and it was designed to fire a single round only. It still wasn't confirmed at the time of the autopsy whether the collar remained 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, it cut into his heart, fractured his ribs and sternum and shattered his left ear drum. Bruisers 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, and state police were responsible for investigating the homicide.

By the time 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 neck stop was to drive several miles up Peed Street, 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 for McKean Township. The next clue was supposed to be contained in a jar in the nearby woods, but when police found the jar, it 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 had, however dubious, was Brian's claim that three black men had

strapped 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 and Angie's apartment failed to turn up any explosives, firearms, or ammunition. But police did take JJ's computer and tools. Three days after the bombing, Brian's friend and co-worker at Mama Mia's, Robert Penetti, was found dead in his mother's house from a drug overdose. Robert was said to have been distressed by Brian's death and told relatives he 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 Penetti 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 5th, 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.

Jimmy 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. Billy Bryan had been lying about his attackers. Nearly one month after Bryan well's 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 helped 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 it was the property that backed on 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 Deal had grown up in Erie with hard-working and successful parents. She developed what some described as an obsession with money from a very early age, and always believed that being an only child, she would eventually inherit money.

Marjorie had an over-inflated 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, a 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. Back 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 Mentor. 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 he 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 phone book under the name William D. Schmuck. 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 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 outlined in the book Mania and Marjorie Deal Armstrong by Jerry Clark and Ed Palatella, 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, now 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 non-profit organization she founded, the Eerie 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. 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. Donna and Marjorie discussed plans for Marjorie to sell surplus butter and cheese she had

accumulated. It wasn't uncommon for food bank recipients to 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 offered Donna $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 to shooting Bob, but said it was in self-defense. When police in the county health department attended Marjorie's property, they were confronted with a house completely overflowing with items. In the kitchen, boxes of food were 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 large amount 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. More tons of food was disposed of from her house, given it was considered a health risk. The total value was estimated at just under $10,000.

Bob Thomas was found to have 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 defence, but chose to pursue a defence that she was incompetent to stand trial due to her mental illness. Her legal team quickly realised she felt she was smarter than they were, and she was extremely uncooperative.

Four 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 licence. She was sentenced to 15 months probation for the firearms charge. After her acquittal, Marjorie went on to meet another soulmate, Richard Armstrong. They shared a love of music and a keen interest in psychology. Richard had a criminal history, and 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 that he began drinking bleach with his mules. During one intense argument, Richard threw bricks at Marjorie and her 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. During 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 centre Richard had been in for failing to diagnose his condition properly. The suit settled for $250,000 and after paying $75,000 in legal costs, Marjorie received $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 Rodin, 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 Schizel Effective 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. Marjorie 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 Rodin 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 Wells. So in 2003, Brian Wells was spending time at Ken's place, and Ken was spending time at Marjorie and Jim's place, where he would sometimes see Brian deliver pizzas.

In May 2003, two months before the collar bomb incident, 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 claimed she had a few thousand dollars stolen. After this alleged break-in, Marjorie purchased the 12-gate shotgun from the local newspaper. When she turned up at the seller's 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 claimed she needed the gun for personal protection due to a recent break-in. It was what happened following the purchase of the shotgun that Marjorie's ex-fiance Bill Rothstein was calling the police about, the reason why he had a body in his freezer.

After purchasing the shotgun, Marjorie returned home and shot her boyfriend Jim Rodin twice in the back as he lay face down in bed. Jim's body remained there for two days before Marjorie turned up at Bill Rothstein's house, telling him she had shot Jim because it wasn't helping her find the person who had broken into their house. Bill told police that Marjorie gave him $78,000 cash to help dispose of Jim's body and the murder weapon, and Bill accepted. The shooting murder of Jim Rodin happened weeks before the collar bombing of Brian Wells,

but it wasn't until weeks after the collar bombing that Bill Rothstein called the police about Jim Rodin. 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 at 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 house and garage 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. 1. This has nothing to do with the world's case. 2. The body in the freezer in the garage is Jim Rodin. 3.

I did not kill him nor participate in his death. 4. My apologies to those who cared for or about me. I am sorry that I let them down. 5. I am sorry to leave you this mess. In Bill's garage, police found Jim Rodin's stereo, his bicycle, and his bloodied mattress. A search of Bill's van turned up two walkie-talkies and a .38 calibre 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 he and Marjorie cleaned up after the fact. They moved 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 threw 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 bombed death of Brian Wells. As police and media inquiries continued around the side of the TV tower following the collar bombing, Bill didn't make a fuss and 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 collar bombing death of Brian Wells that Bill Rothstein

contacted police about Jim Rodin and Marjorie Dill 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 collar bomb he was at home with Bill. Floyd saw a police car cruise by the house and thought something must have been going on, so he turned the TV on and saw the coverage of the collar bombing. Agents Clark and Wick thought this story was weird. While a police car casually cruising by caused someone to turn on the TV to see what was going on.

But they kept an open mind and Floyd later passed the polygraph and was cleared of any involvement in the Jim Rodin case and 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 collar bombing death of Brian Wells and Marjorie Dills' arrest for the shooting murder of her boyfriend Jim Rodin. 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 backed onto the TV transmission tower where Brian Wells said the collar 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, I'm 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 Rodin, Robert Panetti's death was brought

up in this interview. Robert was Brian Wells' co-worker 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 collar bombing.

Bill's account of his movements the day Brian Wells was killed was that he and Marjorie were wine tasting in Vineyards east of Lake Erie before he dropped her off at Walmart at 7.30pm. Bill said he may have used the pay phone outside the Shell gas station on Pete Street that day, the same 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, but Bill continued to deny any involvement in the collar 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 Rodin. On January 20, 2004, the preliminary hearing commenced for Jim Rodin'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 Jim partly over her anger at his lack of action in failing

to pursue whoever broke into her home, and partly because she blamed Jim 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 a plan to dismember it. She came up with a list of what she would need, plastic, a 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 would 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 requested 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 four 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 Welles' death. That 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 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 played 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 Rodin.

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 7 years. Eerie 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' murder of a number of years ago but I think it's important to note that the conduct she engaged in in

the late 80s was almost identical to this particular conduct. I think the psychiatric reports reflect a woman who is 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 collar bombing murder of Brian Wells while the Pennsylvania State Police and Eerie local police were investigating Jim Rodin's murder. Agents Clark and Wick plugged away investigating the collar bombing. They knew it was critical that the lines of communication between themselves, state police

and Eerie police remained open and that nothing was missed. They knew that the more time passed, the harder it was going to be to solve. DNA and fingerprints lifted from the handset of the pay phone 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. Eighteen months after the collar 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 dubbed collar

bomber. 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 collar bomber. Collar bomber was a complex person focused on revenge and any financial gain from the robbery was entirely incidental.

Collar bomber 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. Collar bomber was skilled 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. Collar bomber 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 collar bomber's 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 that Jim Roden's murder was in fact directly related to the collar 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 collar bombing, and he was present when 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. Marjorie 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 Bill the day of the bombing, Bill's housemate, convicted rapist Floyd Stockton. They first spoke to Floyd's girlfriend, who handed the FBI a note that Bill Rothstein had

given Floyd back in October 2003, just two months after the collar bombing. In the note, Bill apologized to Floyd for the Wells 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 collar bomb plot, and he was killed because he was going to start talking. Like Marjorie, Floyd denied any direct involvement.

During the broadcast of an episode of America's Most Wanted in September 2005, the FBI received a crucial tip. UPS delivery driver Michael Vogt saw the show. He had been making deliveries on the day of the collar bombing, and he remembered driving past the pay phone at the Shull 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 pay phone.

Michael also recalled seeing a woman standing next to the phone. A few weeks after the bombing, Michael saw photos of Bill Rothstein and Marjorie Deal in the Erie Times News after their arrests for Jim Roden's murder. Michael immediately recognized them as the people he saw at the Shull gas station pay phone that day of the bombing, but he didn't contact the police then because he was too scared. There was now no doubt that Marjorie and Bill were involved in the collar bombing. 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 the full details of the robbery and collar bombing plot. The plan was for Brian 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 Shull gas station pay phone. 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 Bill Rothstein called 9-My-Mine about Jim's body in his freezer to distract police from the collar bomb 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 Pinetti, Brian's workmate who had apparently taken his own life three days after the bombing, was also in on the plan, but as she and 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 Pinetti's 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.

Then ran the drughouse 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 and Jim, 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 $250,000 with $100,000 upfront, but he told police he was just joking. $250,000 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 P&C branch 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 at Bill Rothstein's place to rehearse the day before the robbery. Marjorie measured Brian's neck and 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 a recent drug debt. The day of the bank robbery, Marjorie picked Ken up. They drove to the Shull gas station where they met Bill who asked Ken to fill his car. While Ken did so, Bill and Marjorie went to the pay phone to make the call to order the pizzas, and 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. Ken's coworker Robert 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, it 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 scuffling 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 trapping 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 light. 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 look

out with binoculars. Bill arrived soon after and also kept a look out 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 wiggle and drove the wrong way onto the Interstate 79. Ken described 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 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 entered the other's toll, Brian, that as a hostage, he wouldn't be charged. It turned out that the profile of the collar bomber released by the FBI described Bill to a T. Police theorised 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 behaviour seen in this crime was choreographed by collar bomber 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 a manipulator who manipulates the actions of others, he is like a puppeteer. Bill implicated Marjorie in Jim Roden'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 collar 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 everywhere. 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, a map of eerie, a rivet gun and rivets, carpet samples, gray spray paint, wire nuts, a battery pack containing triple A batteries, a homemade transmitter with wires, and a Winchester shotgun. However, none of these items could be linked to the collar bombing. On May 10, 2006, Agent 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 then went for a ride with Clark, Wick, and her lawyer to the main locations in the collar bomb 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 to deactivate the bomb.

Marjorie was adamant that 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 collar bomb plot. She admitted to being at the TV tower site when Brian delivered the pizzas, but claimed she didn't see 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 Diel and Ken Barnes, prosecutor Marshal Pincinini 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 Dad Palatella, Floyd told them that about three to six months prior to the collar 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 they thought it was perfect. Brian Wells' name came up in the planning because Floyd suggested they use a pizza delivery man. 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 at Bill's place the day before the bombing, Bill got Floyd to help him load something wrapped in a white shirt into Bill's 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 fucking 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 fucking 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 workmate Robert Panetti was involved, but only in so far as 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 Marshal Kinchanini 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, I don't 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 Deal 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 armed robbery, aiding and abetting an armed bank robbery involving a death, and aiding and abetting the use of a destructive device in a crime of violence. The 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 full police. But 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. They grabbed 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's sister, Jean, said, They led an innocent man, my brother, die while in their custody, and 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 it 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 Cam 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. Under U.S. 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 that 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 set a trial for October 15, 2010. By this stage, Marjorie had served seven years of her seven-year minimum sentence for Jim Roden'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 in 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 10 days. Her verdict was handed down on November 1, 2010. After deliberating for 11 hours, the jury of seven women and five men returned to guilty verdicts on all charges.

At her sentencing on February 28, 2011, Assistant Attorney Marshal Pinchonini stated, 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, her manipulativeness, you combine that in one person with evil, and this is the type of crime that results. The combination of Marjorie Deale and her propensity towards violence in this particular case proved 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, risked injury or death to many other people. Other people suffer from similar mental diseases that plague to 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 12 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 he 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, wreaks 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 45 years to 22 and a half years in return for his cooperation in the collar bomb case. Ken's health had seriously deteriorated by this stage. This 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 and 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, terrorism, cruelty, and the morbid abuse of her victims, both living and dead. On October 16, 2014, Marjorie was granted parole for her state sentence of 7 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 her cell. 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 strapped the bomb to him and forced him to rob the bank. Agents Clark and 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.