00:00:00
if you like me you sick of being overcharged for razors will so our best friends Jeff and dandy they did some
00:00:06
research and found out there's no real reason for raises the cost so much so they started their own razor company
00:00:12
Perry's Jeff and Andy actually bought their own Factory in Germany with 100 years of blade making experience so by
00:00:21
controlling the blade making process and selling over the Internet they're able to keep costs down and to
00:00:26
pass those savings directly over to you the result is a high-quality shave at a better price Harry started four years
00:00:35
ago in the US and since then they've made shaving better for millions of guys including Case Files music composer
00:00:41
Andrew Jocelyn Andrew enjoys the closeness of the blade and the comfortable glide which has resulted in
00:00:47
a shave without that raw fuel no skin irritation at all no bumps Harry's launched in the UK in July 2017 and
00:00:56
they're so confident you'll love their razors they're giving you the chance to try them for only 3 pounds 95 you can
00:01:03
check out Harry's special offer today at Harry's comm slash case file your trial
00:01:09
set includes a weighted non-slip razor handle with textured grip a high performance razor head have made of 5
00:01:15
german-engineered steel blades rich lathering foaming shave gel with natural ingredients and a treble blade cover to
00:01:22
protect your blades on the go all delivered to your door in a box 11 pounds 50 value for you to try for just
00:01:30
three pounds 95 get started shaving with Harry's today by claiming your trial set
00:01:35
for 3 pounds 95 support our podcast and get your trial set delivered to you by going to harrys.com slash case file
00:01:43
right now that's harrys.com slash case file [Music] our episodes deal with serious and often
00:02:05
distressing incidents if you feel at anytime you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested
00:02:12
phone numbers for confidential support please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website
00:02:20
on August 28 2003 the great lake city of Erie Pennsylvania was in the height of summer 46 year old Brian Wells did what
00:02:30
he had done most mornings for the previous 10 years he went to his lunchtime shift there's a pizza delivery
00:02:36
man and Mama Mia's pizza the pizza joint was a small unassuming place in a single-story red brick shopping plaza on
00:02:43
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
00:02:51
salon a dentist and a laundromat typical local stores the kanji drive past without knowing they're really there
00:02:59
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
00:03:06
Brian's off to deliver his last pizzas for the shift he pulled out in his old green Geo Metro hatchback and headed
00:03:14
south down busy peach Street three and a half miles down the road Brian turned left down a dirt access road arriving at
00:03:23
a quiet wooded area by the transmission tower for the local TV station he slowly
00:03:28
pulled to the side of the road and turned off his ignition stepping out of the car to deliver two small pizzas what
00:03:36
occurred next changed everything suddenly Brian was in a race against time [Music]
00:04:08
on the south shore of Lake Erie in northwestern Pennsylvania sits the city of Erie the third largest and
00:04:16
northernmost city in the state during the 1920s Erie was world-renowned for its fresh water and commercial fishing
00:04:22
as well as the region's famous Presque Isle State Park two hours west as cleveland two hours east as Buffalo and
00:04:31
two hours south as Pittsburgh the entire area which also includes Detroit four hours northwest is renowned for being
00:04:38
part of America's Rust Belt covering much of the Midwest and the Great Lakes region this area is known proudly as the
00:04:46
industrial heartland of North America with its abundance of transportation methods and its natural resources the
00:04:53
region thrived especially through most of the 20th century with coal and steel industries the port of year he became
00:05:01
the major shipping distribution center for international imports and exports resulting in around 60 truck rail motor
00:05:08
freight and air cargo companies servicing Erie traditionally Erie's major economic sectors have been in
00:05:15
manufacturing but also government services and retail trade manufacturing jobs have always made up a huge part of
00:05:23
its labor market but for all its industrial boom in the past Erie is one of 40 US cities known as the shrinking
00:05:30
city's dense cities that have experienced noticeable population loss many of these cities experienced huge
00:05:38
growth post-war and with the automotive and locomotive production boom when US homegrown manufacturing Pete
00:05:44
considerably between 1950 and 1970 Erie was put on the map the city boomed with the times and so did its population but
00:05:55
during the 1980s Erie fell victim to the economic downturn which hit many towns and cities where manufacturing was the
00:06:01
lifeblood Erie's economy its unemployment and his population all suffered considerably and although
00:06:08
things picked up a little in the nineties by mm things were on a steep decline by 2003 the population of Erie had
00:06:19
decreased from its 1960 heyday by 27% in the decade that followed would see it fall even further a considerable falling
00:06:29
population has financial and political implications for any region it usually changes state and federal funding
00:06:35
allocated to the local government for Public Programs and community projects during the 1990s Erie lost around 1
00:06:43
million dollars in funding for neighborhood grants as factories began to get smaller or closed entirely
00:06:50
buildings became harder to maintain money was stretched and soon Erie's manifesting landscape once bustling with
00:06:58
rows of red brick factories was starting to feel abandoned with the loss of what
00:07:05
a city is built on communities start to lose their identity in their purpose residents feel a sense of loss and
00:07:11
abandonment both by their employers as well as their governments by 2003 Erie had already been subjected to huge job
00:07:20
losses across all manufacturing sectors over a long period of torn GE transportation systems the city's
00:07:28
biggest employers in manufacturing had just laid off 1,000 workers the commercial fishing industry waned and
00:07:34
the International Paper plant which was founded in 1899 closed leaving 775 people out of work the city once Boyan
00:07:45
was sinking and 1/5 of the population lived below the poverty line hard-working blue-collar residents
00:07:54
became jaded with the idea of the American Dream people moved away to seek a better life in Deary no longer became
00:08:01
a destination for people to put down roots and to make their home traditionally acquired industrial center
00:08:08
Erie had a low murder rate the main problem for the Erie City Police Department by a long shot were robberies
00:08:14
and property thefts murder wasn't a problem it happens so rarely that when it did that took the police by surprise
00:08:22
just three murders were reported in Erie in 2003 and the following year just one
00:08:28
it was not a place where people saw death on the streets they didn't have their gang problems of other cities in
00:08:34
the US residents didn't walk the streets or drive to the shops and worry that they might be confronted with violence
00:08:41
or death Brian Douglas Wells was born on November 15 1956 to Harold and Rosemarie
00:08:51
wells growing up with five brothers and sisters the city of Erie was all Brian knew at 16 he dropped out of high school
00:09:00
he'd always performed well enough at school but his grades gradually went downhill as his father was suffering
00:09:06
from multiple sclerosis and things became increasingly difficult at home in a study conducted by Brian's high school
00:09:14
while he was still an adolescent it was noted that Brian was intelligent but troubled with evidence of some
00:09:20
psychopathic tendencies when Brian was 33 his father passed away shortly after Brian was charged and pled guilty after
00:09:30
getting into a dispute with neighbors which resulted in him threatening to shoot a magistrate
00:09:35
according to reports by 2003 Brian had spent around 30 years as a pizza delivery man and he had been working at
00:09:43
mamma mias for the past ten years the customers were mainly construction workers and young families and being on
00:09:50
a busy street there was a popular pit stop in his spare time Brian enjoyed watching movies doing
00:09:56
jigsaw puzzles playing the guitar having a punt on a lottery caring for his three
00:10:01
cats and working on building his own car from spare parts he also looked forward to participating
00:10:08
in a competition run by the local newspaper every year called the great ki hunt readers would have to decipher
00:10:15
clues that were published in the paper that would lead them to keys hidden at different locations the final key led
00:10:21
the successful person to a box containing two and a half thousand dollars cash Brian was an uncomplicated guy who
00:10:30
enjoyed the simple things but he also had his personal struggles he was known to have battled alcohol abuse and drug
00:10:36
use he lived on his own and didn't have any children or a partner when he got home from a shift
00:10:43
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
00:10:50
times a month and his social circle was small he kept mostly to himself but had a couple of friends his boss knew about
00:10:58
one was a woman named HSE and another was a woman named Angie who used to visit him at work mostly to ask for
00:11:06
money Brian was also friends with another delivery driver and nominees Robert Panetti but where Brian was considered a
00:11:16
very reliable worker Robert who also had issues with drugs and alcohol and was heavily in debt wasn't exactly a model
00:11:23
employee and regularly missed his shifts Brian was described by those who knew him as a laid-back quiet guy whose
00:11:32
morning routine often involved going out to McDonald's for breakfast getting the
00:11:36
paper and returning home before starting his delivery shift from 11:00 a.m. until
00:11:41
2:00 p.m. Brian's landlady Linda described him as the perfect tenant and even though some
00:11:48
people thought him shy he was a friendly neighbor sometimes calling in to visit Linda before starting his shift he
00:11:56
didn't like guns or violence he was polite and often helped window with odd jobs around the house nothing much out
00:12:04
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
00:12:11
himself [Music] on August 28 2003 brian had made plans after work to watch videos and eat pizza
00:12:21
with his mother at 1:15 p.m. 2 hours and 15 minutes into brian's shift the phone
00:12:28
rang at Mullen ears brian's boss Tony answered the caller's voice was muffled and Tony couldn't
00:12:36
understand what the person wanted so he handed the phone over to Brian Brian wrote down their order to small
00:12:44
pepperoni and sausage pizzas the delivery address was a clearing near the transmission tower of local TV station
00:12:52
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
00:13:02
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
00:13:12
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
00:13:23
with small Tufts of grain hair on the sides and back wearing glasses with a calm and straight face
00:13:29
Brian carried what initially looked like an elaborate walking cane but on closer
00:13:35
look the walking cane was a clunky homemade shotgun with a curved handle every day of Brian's life he blended in
00:13:44
but that afternoon he was immediately noticeable he was wearing a white t-shirt with a large guest brand logo
00:13:52
and it was clear he had something underneath it it was so bulky that he sure protruded out in front and whatever
00:13:59
the item was it looked to be attached to his neck with a metal type of collar without any expression Bryan approached
00:14:09
the counter and handed a four-page handwritten note to the teller part of which read gather employees with access
00:14:17
codes the vault and work fast to fill back with 250,000 dollars you have only 15 minutes act now think later or you
00:14:27
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
00:14:36
back for another half an hour Bryan lifted his shirt and the teller saw a box locked device hanging from a
00:14:43
locked metal collar the Box looked crude and had locks on it she knew instantly what it was a bomb she told Bryan our
00:14:55
would be impossible to get access to the vault until her manager was back but she
00:14:59
took all the money in her drawer and other teller drawers a total of eight thousand seven hundred and two dollars
00:15:05
and stuffed head into his canvas bag by this time another customer had walked into the bank and atella signaled to
00:15:13
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.
00:15:22
carrying the bag of cash and sucking on a lollipop he had grabbed from a basket on the counter
00:15:28
he showed no signs of stress as he left another customer watched him go to his car he sat in the front seat
00:15:38
and calmly picked up a bunch of paperwork and started reading she watched him put the papers down on the
00:15:44
passenger seat and start the car by this time three calls had been made to 9-1-1
00:15:50
and pennsylvania state police had been dispatched it was 2:40 p.m. Brian turned onto the
00:15:59
main road and headed towards summit town center when he approached the McDonald's
00:16:03
parking lot he pulled over and got out as others in the carpark watched on he walked over to the garden
00:16:10
bed where the drive-through sign was located and picked up a rock that had a note stuck to the bottom after reading
00:16:17
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.
00:16:28
state troopers Victoria Weibull and Chris Stafford pulled Brian over in the parking lot the troopers cuffed Brian's
00:16:36
hands behind his back after ordering him to kneel on the ground their guns were drawn as Brian sat cross-legged on the
00:16:45
ground other state troopers started to arrive Brian told them he was wearing a bomb around his neck officer white will
00:16:54
immediately called the bomb squad and the director of the FBI in Erie it was 304 p.m. 15 minutes after pulling Brian
00:17:03
over into 32 minutes after the first 9-1-1 call took place troopers James Szymanski and Terrance
00:17:11
thought he arrived as they approached Brian he started talking to them in a high-pitched voice
00:17:16
he appeared nervous Brian told the troopers that when he delivered the pizzas to the TV tower he made his way
00:17:24
up the dirt road on foot towards a clearing when he was suddenly accosted by a group of three unidentified black
00:17:30
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
00:17:38
he was knocked to the ground and the device was locked around his neck he said that men gave him a stack of
00:17:45
written instructions and ordered him to complete a series of tasks or they would
00:17:49
kill him each task like a treasure hunt would lead him to a key and further instructions if he completed the tasks
00:17:58
in time and retrieved the keys he would be able to use them in unison to unlock the device and escape from certain death
00:18:05
the first task was to rob the bank Brian said that the device attached to his neck was a bomb and that the men
00:18:15
gave him the homemade shotgun disguised as a cane he was instructed to use the shotgun if he encountered resistance at
00:18:21
the bank by Starr for customers Brian said he was under surveillance from at least three people to make sure he
00:18:28
robbed the bank the troopers knew it wasn't uncommon to get calls about bombs from time to time but these had always
00:18:35
turned out to be hoaxes officer Szymanski touched the t-shirt Brian was wearing and he used a knife to cut and
00:18:42
pull most of it away to expose the bomb from what Szymanski could see a gray box
00:18:48
was hanging from the collar around Brian's neck which was similar to a large handcuff the book Pizza bomber by
00:18:56
Jerry Clark in Deadpool atella details how a white plastic digital clock was mounted sideways on the lower corner of
00:19:03
the box instill mesh covered the opening that featured red green and yellow wires
00:19:09
the locking mechanism of the bomb was complicated the smaller box on the collar has the three dial combination
00:19:16
lock similar to a luggage lock and to there were four smaller keyhole locks a metal panel carried and engraved the
00:19:24
warning that said do not open do not remove and there was a sticker with the following written on it riveted
00:19:32
construction produces deadly shrapnel Killzone equals 100 yards hidden and exposed booby traps the role of the
00:19:42
first responders was not to disarm the bomb or to try and remove it from Brian's body they didn't have the
00:19:48
training or the know-how and any attempt to tamper with it had the potential to set it off they had to wait for
00:19:54
specialist bomb squad officers to arrive obtaining as much information as they could with parameter so that when the
00:20:01
bomb squad arrived they could work as efficiently as possible to disarm it a crowd had started to gather in what was
00:20:08
one of the most congested shopping areas of Erie Officer Szymanski had parked not too far
00:20:14
away from Brian he took cover behind her the cruisers opened front door while officer dougherty was at the rear of the
00:20:20
vehicle Brian called out information about the timer to them and asked them to keep following the clues so they
00:20:27
could find the keys and unlock the device Brian told them who he was where he worked and asked them to call his
00:20:34
boss to verify he was out on a delivery when he was attacked if Brian was correct about the timing of the bomb
00:20:42
they only had a few minutes left before it detonated and the bomb squad had still not arrived there were six miles
00:20:50
away stuck in heavy traffic and still had to collect their equipment as they were off duty when the call came in a
00:20:56
camera crew from the local TV station arrived and began broadcasting live from the scene they had no idea how long the
00:21:04
standoff would continue but wanted to capture any developments by this time local FBI agents Jerry Clark and Bob
00:21:13
Rhoads arrived on the scene agent raj was the head of the FBI office in Erie and agent Clark was highly experienced
00:21:20
in investigating bank robbery and violent crime prior to working for the FBI he was a special agent for both the
00:21:26
DEA and NCIS Brian started complaining that the bomb around his neck was getting heavy and it was worried it was
00:21:35
going that night soon he wanted to stand up but was instructed to remain on the ground one of the state troopers told
00:21:44
him that if this was [ __ ] he'd better end it now but Brian swore it wasn't he asked for a cigarette and
00:21:51
to say a priest both requests were declined Brian then pleaded why isn't anyone trying to come get this thing off
00:22:01
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
00:22:09
quote he pulled a key out and started a timer I heard the thing ticking when he did it
00:22:15
it's gonna go off I'm not lying did you call my boss Brian started shifting uncomfortably on the ground the
00:22:27
bomb was heavy into awkward then the device started to make a beeping noise Brian tried to shuffle backwards
00:22:35
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
00:22:46
members of the public watched on the bomb suddenly exploded Brian was thrown backwards the bomb
00:22:55
ripping a softball sized butterfly shaped hole in his chest shrapnel landed 50 feet behind officer
00:23:01
dougherty who was still taking cover behind the police cruiser Brian took a few last shallow breaths and died three
00:23:11
minutes later the bomb squad arrived thankfully even though the standoff was being broadcast live to air the
00:23:20
technical difficulty with the TV crew saved Brian's death from being broadcast for everyone to see
00:23:26
away from the scene State Police and the FBI descended on the side of the dirt road and TV tower where Brian said he
00:23:33
was attacked while delivering pizzas soya truck impressions including those from Brian's car insuring prescience
00:23:41
including Brian's were lifted but there was no sign of any men or any paraphernalia associated with weapons
00:23:49
law enforcement and the community was shocked how did a pizza delivery driver end up with a bomb strapped to him was
00:23:58
Brian lying about his three attackers and did he do this to himself if he was telling the truth was it a
00:24:05
random attack or something more orchestrated was it a terrorist attack nobody had any answers
00:24:16
when police searched Brian's car they found a nine pages of notes that were similar in writing style and lettering
00:24:22
to the ones left at the bank they also contained drawings and maps intended to lead Bryant on a crude scavenger hunt
00:24:29
the bank was the first of four locations Brian was directed to drive to which would eventually lead him to the keys
00:24:35
that would deactivate the bomb but the notes made it clear that Brian only had a limited amount of time in which to
00:24:42
complete the hunt ensuring that all the evidence was collided and preserved from
00:24:48
the blast site was a huge job a task force which included the FBI the ATF and the state and local police was created
00:24:56
there were over 150 items recovered from the scene and catalogued by investigators including a battery broken
00:25:05
shards from kitchen timers a toy cell phone and a bone fragment from Brian's up a neck the next step was for agents
00:25:15
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
00:25:21
secondary explosion the phone call ordering the pizzas was traced to a phone box outside a nearby Shell gas
00:25:27
station on peachtree the handset was cut from the phone and taken into evidence remnants of the bomb and the notes found
00:25:35
in Brian's car were analyzed that FBI headquarters in Quantico seventy-nine fingerprints were lifted from the notes
00:25:42
seventy seven of which were Brian's the remaining two were from a bomb squad member the notes have been typed and
00:25:50
then traced over with a blank piece of paper on top earlier that day Brian's sister Jean had
00:25:58
just returned home from downtown she had gone out to run an errand but couldn't as police had blocked the road
00:26:05
it wasn't until late that evening as she discovered wire quote more kids are sitting on the couch and then the story
00:26:14
years of this bank robbery and a man came into the bank with a bomb on him my brother sitting there with this bomb
00:26:20
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
00:26:29
it was Brian exploded you know the bomb went off Brian's dead and I'm like I can't believe this
00:26:37
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
00:26:45
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
00:26:50
and do they think I'm nuts because Brian's not a bank robber Brian's are said quote Brian was
00:27:01
definitely a victim there is no way such a kind gentle thoughtful and wonderful boy could do that he had too much to
00:27:09
live for and his family was too meaningful to him local TV news cameraman Dan Holland who
00:27:17
was on the scene while Brian was still alive said that he was extremely calm for someone with a ticking time bomb
00:27:22
around his neck he believed that Brian was acting like a man who had intentionally struck the bomb to himself
00:27:28
and was pulling the strings but this observation was in contrast to the news footage which showed Brian pleading with
00:27:36
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
00:27:46
after the explosion a search warrant was executed on Brian's house at 24 21 Loveland Avenue in Mill Creek there was
00:27:56
no evidence of any bomb-making at all Brian's house was neat and tidy but sparsely furnished a mattress was on the
00:28:04
floor where he slept that same day local paper the Erie Times news sent a reporter and a photographer to the TV
00:28:12
tower at the clearing at the end of the dirt road off pay street where Brian said he was attacked and had the bomb
00:28:18
placed on him the road had been cordoned off but the reporter saw a tall solidly
00:28:24
built men who looked the beanies 50s at the front of the house next to the entrance to the dirt road
00:28:31
the man was happy to speak and told the reporter that his name was bill rothstein bill was unmarried and had
00:28:38
lived in Erie all his life an eccentric man bill worked as a handyman and substitute high school shop teacher but
00:28:47
his true passion was electronics he was well-spoken and didn't appear too concerned by the flurry of interest in
00:28:53
the area behind his house bill was happy to show the reporters the way to the clearing via his back yard bill also
00:29:01
spoke to the FBI who knocked on his door that same day he told them that he didn't know anything about the bombing
00:29:07
and the agents left it at that a hotline was quickly established so members of the public could call in tips the other
00:29:16
agent joining Jerry Clark in heading up the investigation was ATF Special Agent Jason wick from Pittsburgh agent wick
00:29:24
was experienced in all manner of firearms and explosive devices including pot bombs he was no stranger to
00:29:31
high-profile cases either he had been with the ATF since 1989 and worked on the hijacking of United
00:29:37
Airlines flight 93 on September 11 as well as the 1993 bombing at the World Trade Center the bomb that killed Brian
00:29:46
wells in agent wicks experience was one of the most complex improvised explosive
00:29:51
devices he'd ever seen pot bombs are a common type of improvised explosive device due to the relatively simple
00:29:58
design and construction process and the materials required being readily available but the bomb when Brian Wells
00:30:06
was different although the workmanship appeared rudimentary the design of it was complex the bomb is described in the
00:30:14
book Peter bomber by Jerry Clark and Edie Paula teller consisting of two parts that had a four
00:30:21
key locking mechanism and one dial combination locking mechanism two timers parallel circuits and a green and beige
00:30:29
circuit board the color which resembled the design of a large handcuff with spring loaded with fixed and hinged
00:30:36
semicircular arms three copper wires were twisted around a thin tube of blue liquid which went around at the outside
00:30:44
of the collar the middle box hanging off the collar measured approximately six inches by ten and a half inches and
00:30:51
contained two six-inch pipe bombs loaded with enough double-bass smokeless powder
00:30:56
to fill 273 shotgun shells the same type of powder found inside the 12-gauge shotgun shell in the cane gun Brian
00:31:04
Wells was carrying shells that were sold exclusively at Walmart the plastic pipe
00:31:11
sat next to each other inside the box vertically and was sealed to be airtight by a series of plates bolts and rods so
00:31:18
it would explode when pressure was applied the wires running through the bomb weren't connected to anything they
00:31:25
were just a decoy as was the liquid in the tube around at the outside of the collar totally harmless but designed to
00:31:32
confuse anyone who tried to disarm the bomb the timer's controlled one circuit and
00:31:38
provided 55 minutes of time each 110 minutes in total however because one timer wasn't
00:31:45
activated this reduced the time available to Brian to just 55 minutes the timer was found to have been made by
00:31:54
a company that distributed them exclusively to Walmart stores like the shotgun shells the timer was available
00:32:01
for purchase at the Erie Walmart mesh that was wired to the battery pack inside the metal box protected the other
00:32:09
circuit of the bomb the mesh was in front of the timers and pipe bombs but if it came into contact with the metal
00:32:15
box it would trigger the pipe bombs to ignite as explained in the book pizza bomber Agent wick was quietly relieved
00:32:23
that the arrival of the bomb squad was delayed on the day as any attempt by bomb technicians to access the inner
00:32:29
workings of the device the disarming would have disturbed the mesh almost certainly resulting in a greater loss of
00:32:35
life unlocking the collar required two keys to be inserted into two of the four keyholes
00:32:43
the reason only two keys were required is because only two of the key holes actually worked the other two were just
00:32:50
decoys inside the metal box was a metal arm controlled by a padlock the metal arm was the kill arm of the device if
00:32:59
the padlock was opened with the correct key the kill arm would have stopped the timers and disabled detonation
00:33:07
despite an extensive search of the blast site and each stop on the scavenger hunt
00:33:11
the keys for the padlock and the locks that would have opened the caller would not recovered the Cain gun that Brian
00:33:20
was carrying was homemade the trigger was hidden inside the handle and it was designed to fire a single round only
00:33:30
that still wasn't confirmed at the time of the autopsy whether the color remained the booby-trapped forensics
00:33:37
couldn't guarantee even though they considered improbable that there wouldn't be a further explosion if they
00:33:42
cut through the collar to remove it from Brian's body not to mention this would also partially destroy one of the best
00:33:49
pieces of evidence in order to circumvent both these issues forensics made the difficult decision to remove
00:33:55
Brian's head at the neck keeping the collar intact the autopsy that day revealed that when the bomb detonated
00:34:03
and ripped the hole in Brian's chest the cutting through his heart fractured his
00:34:08
ribs and sternum and shattered his left ear drum bruises on Brian's right thigh surrounded an open wound where a shotgun
00:34:17
pellet and shrapnel had been embedded as a result of one of the pipe bomb blasts
00:34:21
no defensive wounds were located on brian at all such as additional bruising or scratches that may have suggested a
00:34:28
struggle when the bomb was placed around his neck there was no alcohol or other drugs in his system Brian's brother John
00:34:37
refuted the idea that Brian was part of the plan and blamed the police for the delay in the bomb squad arriving the FBI
00:34:45
was the lead investigative agency due to the bank robbery the ATF were involved due to the incident involving a bomb in
00:34:53
state police were responsible for investigating the homicide by the Tom local police and the Erie County
00:35:00
District Attorney's Office were factored into the equation this was as challenging a multi-jurisdictional
00:35:05
matter as you could get the task force was able to eliminate early on the possibility that Brian
00:35:12
would have been able to successfully complete the list of tasks and survive the instructions indicated his next stop
00:35:20
was to drive several miles up Peachtree get onto the interstate 90 followed by the interstate 79 get off at exit 180
00:35:27
and drive to a wooded area once there a container with orange tape specified the
00:35:33
next set of instructions Brian never completed that part but when investigators followed the instructions
00:35:40
and located the container with the orange tape they found another note instructing they
00:35:45
drive two miles south to a road sign from the Keene township the next clue was supposed to be contained in a jar in
00:35:52
the nearby woods but when police found the jar there was empty no further instructions or containers were
00:36:00
recovered and no keys were found whoever had designed the bomb and strapped it to
00:36:05
Brian knew they were sending him to his death but whether Brian knew this wasn't clear
00:36:14
when police raided Brian's cottage they found his address book which included the names of two local female sex
00:36:20
workers Angie and Jessica angie was the woman who used to visit brian at work to
00:36:25
ask him for money Jessica or Jesse as Brian called her was 24 years old and addicted to crack cocaine when
00:36:34
questioned by police Jesse denied knowing Brian or anything about the day he died
00:36:39
Angie told police that Brian was her cousin not a client the only real lead police hurt however
00:36:47
dubious was Brian's claim that three black men had struck - the bomb around his neck and forced him to rob the bank
00:36:54
police looked further into Angie as she was the one who reportedly always visited Brian at work asking for money
00:37:01
they discovered she had a boyfriend named - JJ who was a former Marine with munitions experience and he was black at
00:37:10
the time of Brian's death JJ worked at an eerie plastics factory it's not known whether he did this with
00:37:16
the knowledge of his employer but he worked on personal construction projects after work using factory materials
00:37:23
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
00:37:32
engies apartment failed to turn up any explosives firearms or ammunition the police did take JJ's computer and tools
00:37:41
three days after the bombing Brian's friend and co-worker at Mama Mia's Robert Panetti was found a dead in his
00:37:47
mother's house from a drug overdose Robert was said to have been distressed about Brian's death and told relatives
00:37:54
who was frightened about doing his job the FBI had attempted to interview Robert two days after Brian's death but
00:38:01
they didn't get very far Robert blew them off and the agents never got a chance to conduct a
00:38:07
follow-up interview at the time of his death Robert Panetti had been taking prescription
00:38:13
anti-anxiety medication however the autopsy also revealed the presence of methadone in his body
00:38:19
this was puzzling given Robert didn't use methadone and was not addicted to heroin even though Robert's death was
00:38:27
ruled accidental the FBI and ATF wanted to know the exact nature of his relationship with Brian wells was
00:38:34
Robert's death a bizarre coincidence or was there something more to it that law enforcement was yet to uncover tips
00:38:42
started to trickle in from the public including a tip-off that led investigators to a garage on the west
00:38:48
side of Erie on September 5 investigators searched the two car detached garage adjacent to a property
00:38:55
owned by a woman called Marilyn Marilyn claimed that only family members had access to her garage but police had been
00:39:03
tipped off that someone else used it Jimmie Johnson Angie's boyfriend JJ police were convinced they had found
00:39:13
their man on the basis that plexiglass attached to the front shield of the bomb was believed to have come from a sheet
00:39:18
from the factory where JJ worked however this failed to lead anywhere and JJ was later completely eliminated from
00:39:26
the investigation investigators were back to square one investigators started to wonder about Brian's claim he was
00:39:37
forced into the robbery and had the bomb strapped to him by three black men maybe
00:39:42
Brian had been lying about his attackers nearly one month after Brian Wells death
00:39:48
police received a phone call from a man named Bill Rothstein Bill told the police that he knew a woman whom they
00:39:56
might want to question bill said that he had hopes the woman named Marjorie deal
00:40:01
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
00:40:09
freezer in his garage bill provided his address and police quickly realized there was the property that back gone to
00:40:17
the TV transmission tower site where Brian Wells said it was attacked bill Rothstein was the man who local news
00:40:25
reporters and FBI agents had spoken to the day after the bomb 54 year old Marjorie Diehl had grown up in here e
00:40:36
with hardworking and successful parents she developed what some described as an obsession with money from a very early
00:40:43
age and always believed there being an only child she would eventually inherit money Marjorie had an overinflated view
00:40:51
of herself and often treated others as being well below her working class families populated her neighborhood and
00:40:58
she quickly came to consider herself superior to all of them when she was 21 her friend introduced Marjorie to 26
00:41:06
year old bill Rothstein now 33 years later bill was calling the police about a body in his freezer and he was naming
00:41:15
Marjorie as being involved but when they first met bill was six foot two and a jack-of-all-trades a substitute teacher
00:41:23
handyman and electrician he knew a lot of people through his interest in amateur radio photography community
00:41:31
theater and computer programming he didn't drink or smoke and he liked to lie to people and tell them he was a
00:41:37
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
00:41:46
secretly taping phone calls which in Pennsylvania is illegal this made bill feel like it was always
00:41:52
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
00:41:59
under the name William Deshmukh bill and Marjorie went rollerskating on their first date and from then on were
00:42:07
inseparable they considered themselves intellectually superior to those around them by this stage Marjorie was heavily
00:42:14
absorbed in astrology and voodoo and a bill in numerology they were engaged for a while in 1970 but it didn't work out
00:42:23
and they broke up in later years Marjorie acknowledged that by that stage an emerging mental health condition for
00:42:31
her had started to worsen in 1971 Marjorie met 29 year-old Vietnam veteran Bob Thomas bob was separated from his
00:42:41
wife at the time there were allegations of domestic violence against him and like Marjorie bob was said to have
00:42:48
mental health issues suffering PTSD and schizophrenia with paranoid behavior in 1972
00:42:56
Marjorie sought treatment for her mental health condition as a hospital outpatient she said she felt unable to
00:43:02
trust others was paranoid and anxious as our lined in the book mania and marjorie
00:43:09
diehl-armstrong by Jerry Clark and Edie Paula tella Marjorie was eventually diagnosed with a bipolar disorder with
00:43:16
passive aggressive personality traits and hysterical features and a deep-seated hatred of men
00:43:22
Marjorie accepted and even embraced her diagnosis of bipolar disorder which at the time was known as manic depression
00:43:30
however she despised being described as a man hater Marjorie worked in secretarial roles and got a job in an
00:43:39
eerie Counseling Center she then attended Gannon College near Gannon University graduating in 1975 with a
00:43:47
master's degree in education focusing on guidance and counseling Marjorie worked
00:43:53
as a guidance counselor and also gained employment as a substitute American history teacher as well as a private
00:43:59
music teacher in 1980 she had a steady job as a counselor for a nonprofit organization she founded the Erie
00:44:07
Women's Center Marjorie took on the role of fertility counselor and the center also arranged
00:44:12
the termination of pregnancies in Buffalo Marjorie was arrested for attempted theft by deception for falsely telling a
00:44:20
female she was pregnant and making an appointment for termination of the pregnancy costing 150 dollars she was
00:44:28
sentenced to two years probation and 60 hours community service Marjorie agreed to a deal with the DA
00:44:35
and accepted a position in a rehab program for first-time offenders she successfully completed the program and
00:44:42
as a result escaped a criminal conviction but her involvement with the Women's Center was the last time
00:44:47
Marjorie had full-time work she shopped around for a doctor who helped her be deemed permanently unfit to work due to
00:44:58
her condition therefore becoming eligible to receive permanent disability benefits and public housing at this time
00:45:05
she was still in a relationship with the volatile and violent veteran Bob Thomas
00:45:10
Marjorie was now eligible to access food from food banks and in July 1984 she met
00:45:17
a woman named Donna while waiting in line for cheese at a food bank Donna had recently been released from a state
00:45:23
correctional facility and confided in Marjorie about how her boyfriend had assaulted and sexually abused her
00:45:30
Marjorie identified with Donna's story and claimed that her boyfriend Bob Thomas treated her the same way
00:45:37
since becoming eligible to access food from food banks Marjorie had been squirreling hers away donor and Marjorie
00:45:46
discussed plans for Marjorie to sell surplus butter and cheese she had accumulated there wasn't uncommon for
00:45:51
food bank recipients the double dip which quickly created a black market for food bank items Donna gave Marjorie her
00:45:59
address and said to get in touch if she ever needed help with anything Donna didn't think anything more of the
00:46:05
gesture but got a surprise when Marjorie turned up on her doorstep holding two bags of various personal items and
00:46:11
documents that wasn't the only surprise Marjorie told Donna she'd shot her boyfriend Bob Thomas that morning and
00:46:21
she needed to get rid of his body Marjorie often done her $25,000 to help her out Donna at first thought Marjorie
00:46:29
was joking until she showed her $18,000 cash on the spot Marjorie wasn't joking earlier that day she had shot Bob dead
00:46:41
Donna was stunned as Marjorie explained how she'd shot him after he'd beaten her
00:46:47
they discussed at length the best way to dispose of Bob's body Donna was scared so she called her sister Susan who drove
00:46:55
over Marjorie then offered Susan the same amount of money to help her dispose of Bob's body susan was horrified the
00:47:04
sisters were able to part ways with Marjorie and then call their mother who contacted the police Marjorie was
00:47:11
arrested later that day and confessed the shooting Bob but said it was in self-defense when police in the County
00:47:18
Health Department attended Marjorie's property that were confronted with a house completely overflowing with items
00:47:24
in the kitchen boxes of food was strewn across the sink and table not only were the cupboards overflowing with food but
00:47:32
so were two refrigerators and a freezer the rear bedroom didn't contain any furniture it was piled high with
00:47:39
mountains of clothing books magazines papers and rubbish 600 wire coat hangers were counted as well as a larger man of
00:47:49
war magazines there was an enormous amount of articles relating to mental illness it appeared that Marjorie had
00:47:56
been very well read on many aspects of her mental illness the stench of rotting government surplus food stored in
00:48:03
cupboards closets and the Attic disturbed all those who entered the house the place was also overrun by rats
00:48:10
they found that Marjorie had been visiting food banks three to five times per week over the preceding four months
00:48:16
with fraudulent notes giving permission for her to collect food for others pour tons of food was disposed of from her
00:48:23
house given it was considered a health risk the total value was estimated at just
00:48:29
under ten thousand dollars Bob Thomas was found all been shot six times at close range
00:48:37
his body was lying on his right side on the couch with his feet on the floor and
00:48:42
his head lying on the armrest his lower body was covered by a blanket Marjorie's legal team considered
00:48:50
mounting an insanity defense but chose to be sure defense that she was incompetent to stand trial due to her
00:48:56
mental illness her legal team quickly realized she felt she was smarter than they were and she was extremely
00:49:03
uncooperative poor psychiatric evaluations occurred between 1984 and 1987 and all concluded
00:49:12
that Marjorie was incompetent to stand trial she was however ordered to have a state hospital evaluation every 90 days
00:49:19
during this time Marjorie continued to blame everyone but herself for the position in which she
00:49:25
found herself in late January 1988 Marjorie was eventually found competent to stand trial for first-degree murder
00:49:34
after a 10 day trial she was found not guilty of homicide and possessing an instrument of crime but found guilty of
00:49:42
carrying a firearm without a license she was sentenced to 15 months probation for
00:49:48
the firearms charge after her acquittal Marjorie went on to meet another soul mate Richard Armstrong they shared a
00:49:57
love of music and a keen interest in psychology Richard had a criminal history in their relationship just as
00:50:04
those Marjorie had before it was violent and dysfunctional Richard was diagnosed
00:50:09
with paranoid schizophrenia and had a difficult time holding down any work he was so obsessed with cleanliness and he
00:50:16
began drinking bleach with his meals during one intense argument Richard threw bricks at Marjorie into a car
00:50:23
injuring her legs he also threatened to kill her and set fire to her car Richard was arrested and convicted of
00:50:31
assault he was sentenced to a maximum of 12 months in prison upon his release their relationship continued until
00:50:38
Richard was found on the floor after collapsing and hitting his head he died in hospital from a stroke two days later
00:50:47
Marjorie was devastated and she wanted someone to pay for losing her soulmate she filed a malpractice and wrongful
00:50:54
death suit against the health center Richard a bane Ian for failing to diagnose his condition properly the suit
00:51:01
settled for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars and after paying 75 thousand dollars in legal costs
00:51:07
Marjorie received a 175,000 despite having more money than she'd ever had in her life she felt she should have
00:51:14
received more in the settlement Marjorie spent the next 10 years to 2003 with a man named Jim Roden who she told often
00:51:23
would never live up to her previous partner Richard Armstrong again this relationship was full of violence broken
00:51:30
restraining orders and prison time after which they returned to each other's arms
00:51:36
by this time Marjorie was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder in addition to
00:51:41
her existing diagnosis of bipolar disorder when Marjorie's mother died she fought her father for administration of
00:51:48
the estate and access to her mother's deposit box her parents had been diligent savers and smart with their
00:51:55
money they had a combined marital estate valued at 1.8 million dollars Madri lost the claim for administration
00:52:03
of the estate she became obsessed not only with the fear of missing out on her inheritance but with getting revenge on
00:52:10
the PNC Bank for not allowing her access to her mother's deposit box even though Marjorie had accumulated
00:52:17
plenty of assets herself by this time soon after losing the battle to her mother's estate Marjorie and her
00:52:27
boyfriend Jim Roden met 51 year old Ken Barnes ken was a local TV repairman and handyman well versed in computers and
00:52:37
electronics he was also a convicted drug dealer who lived in squalor just like Marjorie and Jim Ken sold crack cocaine
00:52:46
from his house he also rented rooms in his property out to sex workers and their clients in exchange for drugs and
00:52:52
cash one of the sex workers was Jessica the woman who was friends with Brian wills so in 2003 Brian wells were
00:53:02
spending time at Ken's place and Kent was spending time at Marjorie in Jim's place where he would sometimes see Brian
00:53:09
deliver pizzas in May 2003 two months before the collar bomb inciden Ken Barnes was driving around Erie with
00:53:17
Marjorie and Jim when their car broke down Marjorie called her ex-fiance bill Rothstein to come and help them Marjorie
00:53:26
and Bill had continued to see each other on and off over the years and she relied
00:53:30
on him for handyman work bill had never married and had continued to declare his
00:53:36
love for Marjorie but she never committed to him again after their engagement ended all those years ago
00:53:42
in the weeks leading up to the events of August 28 2003 Marjorie reported a break-in at her property where she
00:53:50
claims she had a few thousand dollars stolen after this alleged break-in Marjorie purchased the 12-gauge shotgun
00:53:57
from the local newspaper when she turned up at the sellers house to pay in cash and collect the gun the seller noticed
00:54:04
Marjorie smelt strongly of cat urine looked anxious and tired and was carrying lots of cash mostly $20 bills
00:54:12
Marjorie flames she needed the gun for personal protection due to a recent break-in it was what happened following
00:54:20
the purchase of the shotgun the Marjorie's ex-fiance bill Rothstein was calling the police about the reason why
00:54:28
he had a body in his freezer [Music] thanks for listening to today's episode we'll be back soon
00:54:47
today's episode is brought to you by Squarespace Squarespace allows you to easily create
00:54:52
a website by yourself you don't have to be a computer programmer or study code you can think of dream it and make it
00:55:00
with Squarespace Squarespace allows you to create a stunning website by using their
00:55:05
beautiful templates created by world-class designers you can customize the layouts drag and drop images and
00:55:12
easily move add and delete sections with just a few clicks if you have a business
00:55:17
if you're creative if you're right if you make music you should have a website maybe you have an upcoming event or
00:55:25
special project and the answer with a website maybe you've always wanted to start a podcast we'll stop thinking
00:55:32
about it and do it and make a website if you have an idea you can turn it into a
00:55:37
stunning website and if you have products or services to sell Squarespace has you covered with their powerful
00:55:43
ecommerce functionality that lets you sell anything wrong on Squarespace has analytics that help you grow in real
00:55:49
time build in search engine optimization free and secure hosting nothing to patch
00:55:55
or upgrade over and 24/7 award-winning customer service keep dreaming but make it a reality with Squarespace head to
00:56:05
squarespace.com / case file for a free trial and when you're ready to launch use the offer code case file to save 10%
00:56:12
off your first purchase of a website order name that's squarespace.com / case file
00:56:21
today's episode is also brought to you by simply safe here's why I'm a big fan of simply safe home security Simonton
00:56:30
against thrown at it if a storm takes you out your power simply safe is already if an intruder cuts your phone
00:56:37
line simply safe is ready say they destroy your keypad or siren simply safe will still get you the help you need
00:56:45
sure maybe it's overkill maybe you don't need to be ready for every worst-case scenario but that's what makes simply
00:56:52
safes home security systems so great it is always ready simply safe could cost an arm and a leg but it doesn't instead
00:57:01
they only charge you what's fair 24/7 professional security monitoring is just $14.99 a month there's no contracts
00:57:10
and no hidden fees you've got to check it out go to simply safe dot-com last case vault today that's si MP Li SAF
00:57:21
a.com slash case file to protect your home and family today simply safecom slash case file
00:57:38
after purchasing the shotgun marjorie returned home and shot her boyfriend jim Roden twice in the back as he lay
00:57:45
facedown in bed Jim's body remained there for two days before Marjorie turned up at bill
00:57:51
rothstein house telling him she had shot him because it wasn't helping her find the person who had broken into their
00:57:57
house bill told police that Marjorie gave him 78 thousand dollars cash to help dispose of Jim's body and the
00:58:04
murder weapon and a bill accepted the shooting murder of Jim Roden happened two weeks before the caller bombing of
00:58:11
Brian wells but it wasn't until weeks after the caller bombing that bill Rothstein called the police about Jim
00:58:17
Oden Bill's admission that Jim's body was stored in the freezer in his garage was confirmed by police on September 21
00:58:24
2003 Marjorie was a Bill's house when the police arrived and things didn't look good for her this was a woman who
00:58:32
had been acquitted for the shooting murder of her previous boyfriend Bob Thomas back in 1984 Marjorie was
00:58:40
arrested for homicide aggravated assault possession of an instrument of crime tampering with evidence criminal
00:58:46
conspiracy to tamper with evidence and abuse of a corpse she was detained without bail at the county prison where
00:58:53
an inmate dubbed her the freezer Queen Bill Rothstein's housed in carrots were in such a squalor state that when police
00:59:00
conducted the initial search they had to wear masks and hazmat suits to fend off
00:59:05
fleas and the smell of feces during the search police found a suicide note written by Bill that he hadn't yet acted
00:59:13
on the note read police my body is in the bedroom on first floor in southeast corner of the house one this has nothing
00:59:23
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
00:59:31
participate in his death for my apologies to those who cared for or about me I am sorry that I let them down
00:59:39
five I'm sorry to leave you this mess in bills garage police found a Jim rodent stereo his bicycle and his
00:59:50
bloodied mattress a search of bills event turned up two walkie-talkies and a 38 caliber Smith & Wesson revolver
00:59:58
police felt bill had great potential as a prosecution witness against Marjorie for Jim Rodin's death he accompanied
01:00:06
police on a search of both his and Marjorie's homes and explained how he found Jim's body and how hey aunt
01:00:13
Marjorie cleaned up after the fact they moved to Jim's mattress to Bill's garage
01:00:18
bill disposed of Jim's bed frame and bloodied vinyl flooring underneath at a nearby landfill bill used a saw to
01:00:27
destroy the shotgun and then an acetylene torch to melt the fragments later he went for a drive and through
01:00:34
the scraps out of his car window Marjorie and Bill then wrapped Jim's body in plastic and transported it to
01:00:41
Bill's garage storing it in a chest freezer that bill purchased especially for the body all of this occurred weeks
01:00:49
before the collar bomb death of Brian Wells as police and media inquiries continued around the side of the TV
01:00:56
tower are following the caller bombing bill didn't make a fuss and to maintained he saw nothing on the
01:01:02
day Brian Wells died he remained calm and cool despite having Jim Rodin's body in his freezer while there was such a
01:01:09
heavy law enforcement presence around his home it wasn't until three weeks after the
01:01:15
caller bombing death of Brian wells that bill rothstein contacted police about Jim Roden and Marjorie deal was arrested
01:01:26
during their investigation into Jim Rodin's death police found out that bill Rothstein had someone else living with
01:01:33
him a flatmate named Floyd Stockton Floyd was on the run from a rape charge the year before in Washington he had
01:01:41
also previously served 10 years in prison for a prior rape Floyd was picked up and interviewed by
01:01:47
the FBI he denied any knowledge of Jim Rodin's murder and stated he had no idea his body was in the garage freezer
01:01:55
they then questioned Floyd about the Brian wells case given that Brian said he was attacked just behind Bill's house
01:02:01
where Floyd was living Floyd stated that on the day Brian Wells died from the caller bond he was at home with Bill
01:02:09
Floyd saw a police car cruised by the house and thought something must have been going on so we turned the TV on and
01:02:16
saw the coverage of the caller bombing agents Clark and wick thought this story was weird why would a police car
01:02:23
casually cruising by cause someone to turn on the TV to see what was going on but they kept an open mind in Floyd
01:02:31
later passed the polygraph and was cleared of any involvement in the Jim rodent case and at the Brian wells case
01:02:37
in December 2003 Floyd pled guilty to the rape charge in Washington and he was sentenced to two
01:02:44
years imprisonment in news reports no link was made between the caller bombing death of Brian wells and Marjorie deals
01:02:53
arrests for the shooting murder of her boyfriend Jim Rogan but behind the scenes the collar bomb
01:02:59
task force were wondering if there were dots to connect it just seemed too coincidental that bill Rothstein's
01:03:06
property back on to the TV transmission tower where Brian wells said the caller bomb was put on him investigators felt
01:03:13
there was a connection they just had to find it it was time to formally interview bill Rothstein agent Clark
01:03:22
conducted the interview but before he could get too far bill set the ground rules by saying let me get this out of
01:03:29
the way first on the smartest guy in this room bill only answered agent Clark's questions
01:03:37
with hypothetical statements along with the deaths of Brian Wells and Jim Rudin Robert Penn Eddie's death was brought up
01:03:45
in this interview Robert was Brian wells coworker at the pizza shop and the guy who apparently took his own life
01:03:52
three days after Brian died the task force had kept an open mind about a possible link between these two
01:03:59
deaths bill denied that he knew Brian wells or Robert Panetti and he was completely dismissive of the suicide
01:04:05
note he had written that mentioned Brian wells name bill was completely forthcoming about Jim Rodin's body in
01:04:13
his freezer but he denied having any knowledge of the cola bombing Bill's account of his movements the day Brian
01:04:20
Wells was killed was that he and Marjorie were warned tasting in vineyards east of Lake Erie before he
01:04:26
dropped her off at Walmart at 7:30 p.m. bill said he may have used the pay phone
01:04:31
outside the Shell gas station on peach Street that day the Saint pay phone where the call ordering the pizzas was
01:04:38
placed the call that ultimately led Brian Wells to his death this was a strange admission the bill continued to
01:04:46
deny any involvement in the caller bombing he was adamant he didn't even know Brian Wells
01:04:52
after his interview bill was charged with abuse of a corpse conspiring to abuse a corpse tampering with evidence
01:04:59
and conspiring to tamper with evidence all charges related to the death of Jim Rodan
01:05:09
On January 20 2004 the preliminary hearing commenced for Jimmer Odin's murder the prosecution's main witness
01:05:19
against Marjorie was bill Rothstein who testified that he had willingly accepted
01:05:23
payment from Marjorie to transport and store Jim Rodin's body and dispose of the murder weapon bill testified that
01:05:31
Marjorie killed him partly over her anger at his lack of action in failing to pursue whoever broke into her home
01:05:37
and partly because she blamed him for introducing drug dealer Ken Barnes to her whom she believed was behind the
01:05:45
break-in bill testified that Marjorie didn't want to bury Jim's body and instead devised the plan to dismember
01:05:53
she came up with a list of what she would need plastic and meat grinder a bucket and an ice crusher bill Rothstein
01:06:02
quote I couldn't see myself cutting up a body like that and I don't think she would
01:06:08
she indicated she wanted me to and I couldn't do it I wanted to help her because I thought maybe this was
01:06:15
straighten her out because she was going to give up on guys because she kept going around with the wrong guys so I
01:06:22
thought maybe I could help her out with this but then bill worried he might be next
01:06:29
Marjorie didn't say anything in her defense of the preliminary hearing following the preliminary hearing
01:06:36
Marjorie's legal team request that she be assessed to determine whether she was mentally competent to stand trial for
01:06:41
Jim Rodin's murder she was ordered into six months psychiatric evaluation as an inpatient at the state hospital which
01:06:49
meant that she was officially incapable of consenting to police interviews prior
01:06:54
to Marjorie completing her psych evaluation bill rothstein died of stage 4 non-hodgkins lymphoma in his last
01:07:05
interview with police three days before he died bill changed his alibi and said he now couldn't remember what he was
01:07:12
doing the day of Brian Wells death but he was adamant that he had nothing to do with it the final psychiatric assessment
01:07:23
of Marjorie before her competency hearing noted she understood the seriousness of the charges against her
01:07:28
she understood the legal system and to the importance of cooperating with her legal team however it was noted that she
01:07:35
still had not achieved full understanding of the seriousness of her mental illness and its consequences
01:07:42
marjorie was noted to rely on self-defeating defense mechanisms including denial projection
01:07:48
intellectualization and rationalization which interfered with her fully understanding the need for treatment on
01:07:57
September 9 2004 it was ruled that Marjorie was competent to stand trial and on January 7 2005 she struck a plea
01:08:06
agreement she pled guilty but mentally ill to third-degree murder and abuse of a corpse and in return the other charges
01:08:14
against her were dropped guilty but mentally ill is a plea which has been in place in the state of Pennsylvania for
01:08:21
criminal cases since 1983 and is different to being found not guilty by reason of insanity in Pennsylvania the
01:08:30
maximum sentence for third-degree murder at the time was 20 to 40 years after accepting the plea deal Marjorie was
01:08:38
sentenced to 7 to 20 years in prison for the murder of Jim Raiden the plea bargain allowed Marjorie to receive
01:08:46
mental health treatment at Mayview state hospital before transitioning into the general prison population and allowed
01:08:53
for the possibility of parole after just seven years Erie was still a small enough place that
01:09:00
the DA prosecuting Jim Rodin's case Brad fork attended high school with Marjorie he said quote I know the court
01:09:10
cannot take into account the acquittal of Bob Thomas's murder of a number of years ago but I think it's important to
01:09:15
note that the conduct she engaged him in the late 80s was almost identical to this particular conduct
01:09:21
I think the psychiatric reports reflect a woman who was suffering from a mental disorder that without question without
01:09:28
question if she were ever placed on the streets again she would kill another man
01:09:37
the feds were still investigating the color bombing murder of Brian wells while the Pennsylvania State Police and
01:09:43
Erie local police were investigating Jim Rodin's murder agents Clark and wick plugged away investigating the color
01:09:50
bombing they knew it was critical that the lines of communication between themselves State Police and the Erie
01:09:56
police remained open and that nothing was missed they knew that the more time passed the harder was going to be to
01:10:04
solve DNA and fingerprints lifted from the handset of the payphone at the Shell gas station had failed to yield any
01:10:11
clues and all tire tracks and footprints from the dirt road near the transmission
01:10:16
tower that weren't from Brian wells were unable to be linked to anyone 18 months
01:10:23
after the caller bombing death of Brian wells in February 2005 agent Clark went public to the local media he provided a
01:10:32
criminal profile of the suspect in Brian wells murder who they don't call Obama it was the first time the public heard
01:10:40
anything about the FBI's criminal profile of the suspect the FBI's profile stated that the plot
01:10:47
involved more than one person but that the party responsible for concocting the plot and locking the bond to Brian
01:10:53
enjoyed feeling powerful was obsessive and manipulative but patient it was this person they referred to as coloboma
01:11:02
coloboma was a complex person focused on revenge and any financial gain from the
01:11:07
robbery was entirely incidental coloboma was a secretive deceptive person who had
01:11:13
invested a considerable amount of time and energy in planning the crime and were likely on the scene that day
01:11:19
watching on as events unfolded coloboma was schooled at woodwork metalwork and using power tools and machinery they
01:11:28
took pride in their work and were both resourceful and experienced in repairing and building devices especially
01:11:34
explosives and destructive devices capable of causing death coloboma would have kept an eye on media reports and
01:11:42
the investigation following the bombing while the person would not reveal much to those around them about the case they
01:11:48
would have opened disdain for the efforts of law enforcement considering themselves far more intelligent the FBI
01:11:55
profile noted that Brian Wells was not selected at random or kidnapped the notes used in the robbery expressed a
01:12:03
disproportionate level of anger towards PNC Bank and its employees it was likely
01:12:09
that the author had a previous unresolved personal grievance against the bank two months after releasing colobomas
01:12:19
profile to the public FBI agents got a call from the State Police they had met with Marjorie who wanted to talk she
01:12:29
claimed that bill Rothstein had lied and two that Jim erosions murder was in fact
01:12:34
directly related to the caller bombing murder of Brian wells special agents Clark and wick immediately went to visit
01:12:42
Marjorie Marjorie explained that Jim Roden was involved in the initial planning of the robbery and collar
01:12:49
bombing and he was shot dead because he had threatened to talk bill Rothstein was the mastermind of the color bombing
01:12:56
and he was present Jim was shot Marjorie claimed that Brian Wells was a willing participant not an
01:13:04
innocent victim and he had also been directly involved in the planning Margery cooperating with investigators
01:13:12
was huge for the investigation but they needed corroboration bill Rothstein was dead so they focused on the person who
01:13:22
admitted he was with billed the day of the bombing Bill's housemaid convicted rapist
01:13:27
Floyd Stockton they first spoke to Floyd's girlfriend who handed the FBI and note that bill Rothstein had given
01:13:35
Floyd back in October 2003 just two months after the color bomb in the note bill apologized to Floyd for the world's
01:13:44
situation when agents Clark and wick interviewed Floyd Stockton about this he started talking as well he confirmed
01:13:53
what Marjorie had said Jim Roden was involved in the color bomb plot and he was killed because he was going to start
01:13:59
talking like Marjorie Floyd denied any direct involvement following the broadcast of an episode of America's
01:14:11
Most Wanted in September 2005 the FBI received a crucial tip UPS delivery driver Michael vote saw the show he had
01:14:21
been making deliveries on the day of the caller Bonnie and he remembered driving
01:14:25
past the payphone at the Shell gas station where the call that led Brian wells to his death was traced to Michael
01:14:32
recalled seeing a tall man with gray hair and a beard wearing overalls using the payphone
01:14:37
marker also recalled seeing a woman standing next to the phone a few weeks after the bombing
01:14:44
Marco saw photos of bill rothstein and Marjorie Diehl in the Erie Times news after their arrests for Jim Rodin's
01:14:50
murder Michael immediately recognized them as the people he saw at the Shell gas station pay phone that day of the
01:14:57
bombing but he didn't contact the police then because it was too scared there was now
01:15:03
no doubt the Marjorie and Bill were involved in the caller Bonnie their involvement was further cemented
01:15:10
in November 2005 when agent Clark was handed 24 pages of notes written by an inmate who was serving time with
01:15:17
Marjorie although Marjorie was careful about what she told investigators she couldn't stop
01:15:22
talking in prison the information in the notes contained to the full details of the robbery and collar bombing plot the
01:15:32
plan was for Bryant Wells to give the money to floyd stockton after the robbery who would then give it to bill
01:15:37
Rothstein Marjorie helped measure Brian's neck prior to the construction of the bomb bill built the bomb and made
01:15:45
the call to the pizzeria from the Shell gas station payphone Marjorie and Bill communicated during the robbery using
01:15:52
walkie-talkies Marjorie killed Jim Roden because he threatened to go to the police about the
01:15:58
plot and to build Rothstein called 9-1-1 about Jim's body in his freezer to distract police from the collarbone case
01:16:06
Marjorie said that her motivation for the robbery was money and driven by hatred for her father for spending and
01:16:12
gifting to others what she considered her inheritance Marjorie also revealed that Robert
01:16:18
Panetti Brian's work mate who had apparently taken his own life three days after the
01:16:22
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
01:16:30
look like an overdose this was consistent with the unusual finding of methadone in Robert Panetti system it
01:16:38
was all coming together what was still missing was the link that tied Marjorie and Bill to Brian wells but they got
01:16:49
that through Ken Barnes ken was friends with Marjorie and her boyfriend at the time Jim Roden Ken ran the drug house
01:16:57
that rented out rooms to sex workers when questioned Ken Barnes initially denied knowing Brian wells but later
01:17:05
admitted that he knew him as a regular client of one of the sex workers who worked from his house Jessica
01:17:11
through Ken Barnes Brian Wells came to know Marjorie in gym and he even delivered pizzas to their house and Bill
01:17:19
Rothstein was still close to Marjorie that's how everyone was connected Ken Barnes gave up everything he knew Ken
01:17:30
said Marjorie approached him in early-to-mid 2003 and asked him to kill her father to prevent him from spending
01:17:36
any more money and allowing her to finally access her inheritance ken said he wasn't interested but Marjorie
01:17:44
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
01:17:51
thousand dollars with 100 thousand upfront but he told police he was just joking two hundred and fifty thousand
01:17:59
dollars was the same amount written on the note that Brian Wells handed to the bank teller Marjorie was committed to
01:18:06
seeing the plan through to kill her father but despite her strong financial assets she didn't have access to the
01:18:12
amount of cash that Ken wanted so Marjorie and Bill concocted a plan to rob a bank
01:18:19
not just any bank but the PNC brenes that Marjorie was still angry with over their handling of her mother's estate
01:18:28
Ken Barnes claimed Brian Wells was fully aware of the details of the robbery but
01:18:33
was of the understanding that the bomb would be fake Ken said the group met a bill Rothstein's place to rehearse the
01:18:40
day before the robbery Marjorie measured Brian's neck in the bill had him try on a fake bomb to see
01:18:47
how it fit according to Ken Brian Wells was interested in participating so he could receive a cut of the profits to
01:18:54
pay off her recent drug debt the day of the bank robbery Marjorie picked Ken up they drove to the
01:19:01
Shell gas station where they met bill who asked the Ken to fill his car while Kent did so bill and Marjorie went to
01:19:08
the pay phone to make the call to order the pizzas and to the trio then drove to
01:19:13
Bill's place to wait for Brian to arrive with the delivery brian delivered the pizzas to the clearing near Bill's house
01:19:20
as planned fully aware he would have a bomb strapped to his neck the only difference being the device
01:19:27
used this time was heavier than the one they tested the day before because it was real Brian's co-worker
01:19:36
rubber Panetti was also there and allegedly helped talk Brian into participating also present was Floyd
01:19:43
Stockton Ken Barnes described what happened next quote when Brian came he brought the pizza out that they had
01:19:53
ordered and he set it on the hood of Bill's van and - then Floyd came out from behind - the one building that was
01:19:59
down there carrying this device and he brought it up towards bill and while Brian was looking at it he got a look on
01:20:06
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
01:20:14
supposed to be it was supposed to just be a gag to get the teller to give him some money
01:20:19
Brian turned to run and when he went to run bill fired a pistol up in the air at
01:20:25
the same time Robert and Floyd tackled him and got him down on the ground and was scuttling around with him a little
01:20:31
bit then they came up holding him by then Marjorie and Bill were over there beside
01:20:37
him Marjorie was helping hold the device while bill was strapping it on brian was
01:20:42
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
01:20:49
but just like and I regret doing that because back then I was just thinking of my own greed about getting the money I
01:20:56
really wasn't concerned for his health and safety at that point after the bomb was strapped to Brian bill gave him the
01:21:06
cane gun and Marjorie issued the final instructions if he was stopped by police he was to tell them that the bomb was
01:21:12
strapped to him and that he would be killed if he didn't go through with it Ken and Marjorie finished the pizza and
01:21:19
drove off to act as lookouts during the robbery Ken said that they parked in a parking lot across the road from the
01:21:26
bank and kept a lookout with binoculars bill arrived soon after and also kept a lookout near the bank when Brian was
01:21:34
stopped by police Ken Marjorie and Bill all met back at Bill's house and bill was angry
01:21:42
ken and Marjorie then got into Bill's Weagle and two drove the wrong way on to the interstate 79 Ken described to
01:21:50
Marjorie as panicked she pulled over on the interstate and went over the nearby embankment into the woods when she
01:21:57
returned she had a white shirt with something concealed inside it which she threw into the back of the car Marjorie
01:22:04
and Ken then drove to a car yard where they met bill and swapped cars before driving back to Ken's place ken wanted
01:22:11
his money but Marjorie told him there wasn't any before she drove off Marjorie threatened Ken not to tell anyone what
01:22:18
he knew bill was the mastermind behind the bombing part of the scheme while Marjorie wanted to rob the bank to pay
01:22:27
Ken for a hit on her father bill built the bomb and orchestrated the plan to send a Brian on the scavenger hunt after
01:22:34
the robbery if Brian was caught before the bomb exploded he was instructed to tell police that he had the bomb
01:22:40
strapped to him under duress by three black men who forced him to rob the bank as a bomb hostage bill into the others
01:22:47
told Brian that as a hostage he wouldn't be charged it turned out that the profile of the caller bomber released by
01:22:54
the FBI described bill to a tee police theorized that bill didn't care what happened to Brian because by that stage
01:23:02
Bill knew his lymphoma was terminal so before bill died he wanted to play God with someone else's life he didn't care
01:23:11
about money what mattered to him was showing everyone how brilliant he was by masterminding the ultimate crime in part
01:23:19
the FBI's profile read it continues to be the opinion of the department that this is much more than a mere bank
01:23:27
robbery the behavior seen in this crime was choreographed by coloboma watching on the sidelines according to a written
01:23:34
script in which he attempted to direct others to do what he wanted them to do the person is at manipulator who
01:23:41
manipulates the actions of others he's like a puppeteer bill implicated Marjorie in Jim Rodin's death before she
01:23:50
could turn him in all while denying any knowledge about Brian Wells death even up until his own death when a deathbed
01:23:58
confession would not have been unusual bill continued to deny any knowledge of the caller bomb plot after giving his
01:24:08
story to investigators Ken Barnes was arrested and held on unrelated drug charges when the FBI searched his house
01:24:15
agent Clark said he had never seen anything like it Ken's place was in an even worse state
01:24:21
than bill or Marjorie's had been in the utilities had long been disconnected boxes of junk and rubbish took up every
01:24:29
conceivable space and there was computer equipment every ken had been sleeping in the kitchen
01:24:35
which was the only room in the house with heating the heating came from a heater hooked up to a car battery the
01:24:43
freezer was full of rotting meat during the search police seized electronics magazines with articles on timer
01:24:51
construction various tools sections of pipe and map of Erie her rivet gun and rivets carpet samples gray spray-paint
01:24:59
wire nuts a battery pack containing triple-a batteries her homemade transmitter with wires and
01:25:05
a Winchester shotgun however none of these items could be linked to the cola bombing on May 10 2006 agents Clark and
01:25:16
wick met with Marjorie again she was still only giving parts of the story to investigators despite the fact she had
01:25:23
told her fellow inmates everything Marjorie was read her rights and to them went for a ride with Clark wick and her
01:25:31
lawyer to the main locations in the collarbone case she admitted to being at key locations on the day of Brian Wells
01:25:38
death and that she might have been driving on the interstate west of Erie after the bomb exploded this was a vital
01:25:45
admission given Ken Barnes had earlier told investigators he was driving the wrong way on the interstate with
01:25:51
Marjorie following the explosion according to the notes found in Brian Wells car he was supposed to have
01:25:58
stopped along the interstate to collect more clues did they activate the bomb Marjorie was adamant the bill had set
01:26:04
her up by orchestrating it so that she was at the locations in question she continued to claim she had no direct
01:26:11
involvement in the robbery or the caller bomb plot she admitted to being at the TV tower site when Brian delivered the
01:26:18
pizzas but claimed she didn't say anything because she parked at the entrance of the dirt road and didn't get
01:26:23
out of the car Marjorie assumed that her cooperation with the FBI up until this point was to
01:26:31
her advantage however she soon realized that instead of impressing the FBI with her superior intellect her incessant
01:26:39
talking was her undoing she was formally charged for her part in the bank robbery and collar bomb plot as
01:26:46
she no longer had access to assets that would allow her to engage her own lawyer
01:26:50
she was assigned a public defender to ensure an airtight case against Marjorie Diehl and Ken Barnes prosecutor
01:27:00
Marshall pincher Nene wanted to use Floyd Stockton as a prosecution witness Floyd was offered immunity in exchange
01:27:07
for his testimony he agreed and gave them his story as detailed in the book Pizza bomber by Jerry Clark and dead
01:27:16
palette Ella Floyd told them that about three to six months prior to the Kahler bombing he saw a TV show where a woman
01:27:23
was forced to rob a bank while wearing a bomb Floyd told bill and Marjorie about
01:27:28
this and who they thought it was perfect Brian Wells name came up in the planning
01:27:33
because Floyd suggested they use a pizza delivery men in July 2003 bill asked Floyd to cut some metal to match what he
01:27:42
showed him in a diagram of a collar after the rehearsal finished a bills placed the day before the bombing
01:27:49
Bill got Floyd to help him load something wrapped in a white shirt into bills van this was when bill explained
01:27:55
how things would go down the next day and issued Floyd with his instructions Floyd said he protested but bill told
01:28:02
him he didn't have a [ __ ] choice and that Marjorie would kill him if he didn't cooperate when Floyd turned up at
01:28:09
Bill's place the next day everyone was there Floyd obeyed Bill and retrieved the bomb brian was crying but Floyd told
01:28:18
him the bomb wasn't real Floyd was frightened bill would shoot him so he placed the collar around Brian's neck
01:28:24
Floyd reiterated to Brian that the bomb wasn't real but bill interrupted saying it is [ __ ] real Floyd said he obeyed
01:28:36
Bill's instructions because he was scared Floyd eventually went back to Bill's place where he saw the events unfold on
01:28:43
TV Floyd confirmed Brian's work mate Robert Panetti was involved but only in so far
01:28:49
is ensuring Brian complied with the plan Floyd said Ken Barnes paid Panetti in drugs and eventually gave him the
01:28:57
concoction that ended his life as they believed he was a loose end in May 2007 Floyd took agent Clark and
01:29:07
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
01:29:13
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
01:29:21
I'm going to meet my maker or be incarcerated for the rest of my life I've accepted it
01:29:26
I did it because it was the right thing but Floyd didn't have to worry about being incarcerated because when he
01:29:34
testified before the grand jury in late June 2007 he had full immunity on July 11 2007 federal grand jury indictments
01:29:44
against Marjorie Diehl and Ken Barnes were handed down after almost 1,000 interviews conducted over four years
01:29:54
Marjorie and Ken were both charged with conspiracy to commit an armed robbery aiding and abetting an armed bank
01:30:00
robbery involving a death and two aiding and abetting the use of a destructive device in a crime of violence deceased
01:30:08
persons bill Rothstein and Brian wells were also indicted as conspirators to the crime the indictment stated that
01:30:16
Brian Wells had agreed to rob the bank wearing what he thought was a fake bomb he understood that the scavenger hunt
01:30:22
was simply a ruse to fool police the Brian went from being a planner to an unwilling participant instead of going
01:30:31
along with the original plan to make Brian appear as a hostage the co-conspirators double-crossed him and
01:30:36
Brian became a real one Brian's family were outraged Brian's brother John claimed there was no evidence to support
01:30:44
the prosecution's claims he said my brother is a brutal murder victim he does not know any of these people
01:30:53
that got him at gunpoint 19 hours after that bomb went off the federal authorities chopped his head off to get
01:30:59
that collar off Brian did not put that collar on himself Brian sister Jean said they led an
01:31:09
innocent man my brother died while in their custody and that they didn't even lift a finger to help him this case is
01:31:16
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
01:31:22
was a poor man he wanted money no Brian was never materialistic he never was greedy he never would have done this
01:31:34
Marjorie pleaded not guilty and Ken Barnes agreed to be a prosecution witness at her trial as part of a plea
01:31:40
deal Marjorie's own psychiatrist testified that she was not competent to stand trial due to her inability to
01:31:47
cooperate due to symptoms of her bipolar disorder the delusional part of Marjorie's illness was found to have
01:31:54
escalated and her behavior prevented her from assisting in her defense Marjorie was sent for further court-ordered
01:32:01
mental health examinations the court-appointed psychiatrist came to the conclusion that Marjorie didn't have
01:32:07
bipolar disorder at all but she was actually suffering from PTSD and a personality disorder with paranoid and
01:32:14
narcissistic traits the PTSD element of Marjorie's condition was said to be related to a long history of physical
01:32:22
abuse the court-appointed psychiatrist stated that Marjorie had been incorrectly diagnosed with bipolar
01:32:29
disorder by at least 10 different mental health professionals because she'd manipulated them by mimicking symptoms
01:32:35
of the disorder and the US federal law personality disorder was not at the time considered a mental health condition
01:32:43
which would preclude someone from standing trial so the judge ruled the Marjorie was competent to face trial
01:32:52
prior to Marjorie's trial commencing she was diagnosed with cancer and in March 2010 she had a malignant tumor removed
01:33:00
from her neck the primary cancer originated in a breast and spread to her lymph nodes when her life expectancy was
01:33:08
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
01:33:17
by this stage Marjorie had served seven years of her 7 year minimum sentence for
01:33:23
Jim Rodin's murder Ken Barnes plea bargain required him to testify against Marjorie in return for the most serious
01:33:31
charge against him being dropped aiding and abetting a bank robbery which would have been a life sentence if convicted
01:33:37
instead Ken pled guilty to conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery and aiding and
01:33:42
abetting the use of a destructive device in a crime of violence which carried a sentence of 35 years to life after
01:33:49
pleading guilty he was sentenced to 45 years Brian's family were in attendance at Ken's sentencing and he apologized to
01:33:58
them Ken's legal team had asked for the mandatory minimum sentence but the judge
01:34:03
described Ken as cold-hearted and said the callousness and complete lack of regard for human
01:34:10
life exhibited by this defendant is in a word chilling this case represents the unfortunate combination of the
01:34:18
incredibly bizarre and the sadly tragic Ken testified a Marjorie's trial and told the court everything he knew
01:34:27
Floyd stopped and didn't end up testifying by this stage he'd had two strokes and emergency open heart surgery
01:34:34
and wasn't given medical clearance to travel to Erie to testify Marjorie's trial lasted ten days her
01:34:45
verdict was handed down on November 1 2010 after deliberating for 11 hours the jury of seven women and five men
01:34:54
returned the guilty verdicts on all charges at her sentencing on February 28 2011 Assistant Attorney marshal pincher
01:35:04
Nene stated quote Marjorie presented the unique combination of mental illness and
01:35:10
evil when you combine this woman's serious mental illness with regard to her personality disorder her narcissism
01:35:17
her paranoia her deception who manipulative nurse you combine that in one person with evil and two this is the
01:35:25
type of crime that results the combination of Marjorie Diehl and her propensity towards violence in this
01:35:32
particular case proved to deadly in his sentencing remarks judge McLaughlin said
01:35:41
the bizarre nature of Brian wells death coupled with the equally bizarre and sociopathic personalities who have
01:35:48
perpetrated it have tended to obscure what this case is really about and that is that this defendant and her
01:35:55
conspirators sent a man to a certain death and in so doing risk of injury or death to many other people other people
01:36:04
suffer from similar mental diseases that plagued the defendant and they do not act in cold blood or seal a man's fate
01:36:10
by strapping a ticking time-bomb to his neck it is worth noting that the pre-sentence report reflects that
01:36:16
Marjorie was an excellent student who graduated twelfth out of 413 students in her high school class she then went on
01:36:24
to obtain a bachelor's degree in sociology as well as a master's degree in education all of which begs the
01:36:30
question as to what might have been Marjorie was sentenced to life plus 30 years without the possibility of parole
01:36:42
Brian's family remained dissatisfied with the outcome they continued to blame the police for not removing the bomb
01:36:48
from Brian while it was still alive they were also suspicious of the deal the attorney's office had made with Floyd
01:36:54
Stockton even though the evidence did not support the Wells family's claims Brian's sister Jean said we believe that
01:37:03
this entire investigation lacks integrity reeks of a massive cover-up and has used Brian as a scapegoat in
01:37:13
June 2011 judge McLaughlin reduced the federal sentence of Ken Barnes from forty five years to twenty two and a
01:37:20
half years in return for his cooperation in the collarbone case Ken's health had
01:37:26
seriously deteriorated by this stage his sentence expires in 2027 Marjorie lodged
01:37:33
several appeals all of which were denied one of the appeal judges stated her crimes reflected a stunning degree of
01:37:42
calculated cruelty a coldly calculated recidivist than serial killer who denied culpability and possessed a high
01:37:49
potential for future violence these facts include her involvement in two calculated killings murders marked by
01:37:57
brutality sadism cruelty into the morbid abuse of her victims both living and dead
01:38:06
on October 16 2014 Marjorie was granted parole for her State sentence of seven to 20 years that she'd been serving
01:38:14
since 2005 for the murder of Jim Roden this sentence had to be served before she could commence serving her federal
01:38:22
sentence of life plus 30 years for her role in Brian Wells murder Marjorie's parole order saw her
01:38:29
transferred from state prison in Muncie to the Federal Medical Center in Carswell on March 21 2017 Marjorie was
01:38:38
found unresponsive in herself a medical report said she was breathing on her own
01:38:43
her vital signs were stable however she was unresponsive to verbal stimuli Marjorie died two weeks later on April 4
01:38:53
2017 at the age of 68 it remains a mystery why Brian Wells insisted to police on the day of his
01:39:03
death that three black men had struck to the bomb to him and forced him to rob the bank
01:39:08
agents Clark and the wick came to the conclusion that Brian largely stuck to the plan out of fear he knew the others
01:39:15
were watching and could possibly hear what he was saying and he believed that the bomb would be detonated instantly if
01:39:20
he said anything off script even though he hoped the bomb wasn't actually real [Music]
01:39:49
you