Think about a daily day in Erie, Pennsylvania, again in 2003. Brian Wells, a hardworking pizza supply man, did one thing unbelievable – he walked right into a financial institution carrying a hid shotgun disguised as a strolling cane. However that’s not all. As if the scenario wasn’t mind-boggling sufficient, Brian wore a weird collar bomb round his neck, as per a daunting notice. It said that if he didn’t obtain $250,000, the bomb would explode. With a bag containing solely $8,000, Brian calmly left the financial institution.
Nevertheless, his plans had been dashed when the police swiftly surrounded him. What got here subsequent was really surreal and would later turn into extensively often known as the “Brian Wells demise video.” Brian sat on the bottom, pleading for help, tearfully admitting that three folks had compelled him to rob the financial institution. Initially arriving with pizzas in hand, he discovered himself trapped by these people who strapped the explosive system to him and demanded that he retrieve 1 / 4 of one million {dollars}.
Dealing with imminent hazard, Brian begged for his life whereas the bomb on his neck started beeping louder and quicker, leaving him with little time. Shockingly, information cameras had been current to doc the chilling second when the bomb ultimately exploded, capturing Brian Wells’ demise video on stay tv for everybody to witness. In a while, the police discovered some papers in Wells’ automobile that had detailed directions written by hand.
These directions had been meant for the particular person holding Wells hostage with the bomb. They first informed him to rob the financial institution after which go on an advanced search to seek out keys and codes to deactivate the bomb that Wells was carrying. However right here’s the unusual half amongst all the opposite unusual components: it wouldn’t have been realistically attainable for Wells to observe the directions and save himself from the bomb in time.
After investigating, the authorities concluded that the bomb, with its 4 locks and mixture dial, couldn’t have been safely taken off. On this article, we intention to elucidate the astonishing occasions surrounding the perplexing financial institution theft and make clear the now-infamous “Brian Wells demise video.” Put together your self as we embark on a journey into this eerie and heart-wrenching true story that has baffled investigators and fascinated folks throughout the globe.
The Puzzling Case of the “Pizza Bomber” and the Controversial Collar Bomb Heist
Years have handed, however folks nonetheless have questions concerning the “pizza bomber” case. Was Brian Wells actually a sufferer or did he assist plan the financial institution theft? Some assume he was tricked into participating. Others imagine he was concerned. In 2003, an individual who works for the federal government mentioned they couldn’t imagine what occurred to Brian Wells.
They’ve seen folks do unusual issues earlier than, however this was actually laborious to know. There’s even a video known as the “Brian Wells demise video” that reveals what occurred. The individuals who confessed to being a part of the theft have blamed one another whereas saying they’re harmless. It’s all very complicated. A few filmmakers, Barbara Schroeder and Trey Borzillieri, made a documentary collection known as Evil Genius.
They talked to lots of people and discovered about Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, who was concerned within the planning and related to different unhealthy issues. You possibly can watch the collection on Netflix. In Evil Genius, completely different folks inform completely different tales about Brian Wells’ function within the crime. Some say he was tricked, whereas others assume he was concerned on function. It’s laborious to know what actually occurred.
The Case Unraveled: Authorities’ Account of Occasions
In accordance with authorities, they had been initially confused by the complexity of the crime however ultimately targeted their consideration on Diehl-Armstrong. As claimed in courtroom, Diehl-Armstrong got here up with a plan to make Wells rob the PNC Financial institution in Erie with a ticking bomb hooked up to his neck as a result of she believed it could assist her get cash to rent somebody to kill her father, whom she thought was wealthy.
Police reported that roughly one month previous to the theft, Diehl-Armstrong requested Barnes if he was acquainted with creating pipe bombs. On the similar time, she introduced two egg timers to the handyman and former accomplice Rothstein, who possible constructed the collar bomb that killed Wells by inflicting a big wound in his chest.
In 2007 July, 4 years after the theft, federal prosecutors declared that they thought Barnes and Diehl-Armstrong, in addition to others together with Wells, had been chargeable for the crime. They mentioned that Wells performed a small function within the planning, as he wanted cash to repay his money owed. United States Lawyer Mary Beth Buchanan sadly described the others concerned as having extra sinister intentions. Throughout the announcement, Wells’ household strongly disagreed with this accusation.
Authorities have mentioned that Rothstein helped plan the theft and bombing. Due to data from completely different sources and statements made by Diehl-Armstrong, the case began to unravel. She and Barnes admitted to being considerably concerned within the theft throughout the investigation. At one level, a prosecutor within the case apparently described the suspects as disturbed, good, and dysfunctional people who ended up outsmarting themselves.
The Blame Sport: Brian Wells Demise and the Controversy
Shortly after Brian Wells’ unlucky passing, the previous boyfriend of Diehl-Armstrong, Rothstein, accused her of taking pictures and killing her present boyfriend, James Roden. Rothstein even guided the police to Roden’s physique, which had been hidden in a freezer in his storage. Authorities claimed that Diehl-Armstrong took Roden’s life as a result of he knew concerning the upcoming financial institution heist and threatened to tell the police.
Finally, she admitted to third-degree homicide pleading responsible however mentally unwell, though she maintained that she was not accountable and easily wished to keep away from an extended sentence. It’s noteworthy that Roden wasn’t the primary man to die beneath suspicious circumstances related to Diehl-Armstrong. In 1984, she shot and killed her then-boyfriend, Robert Thomas, though she was acquitted by arguing self-defense. Equally, her husband Richard Armstrong handed away in 1992 on account of a cerebral hemorrhage, for which she gained a authorized battle towards the hospital the place he was handled.
In a 2007 report, Diehl-Armstrong’s pals described her as very smart. Regardless of being identified with bipolar dysfunction, she achieved tutorial success, changing into the valedictorian of her highschool and incomes a grasp’s diploma. Two people had been convicted of theft and weapons fees in reference to the demise of Brian Wells. Nevertheless, nobody was charged with homicide as authorities believed that Wells had been a part of planning and finishing up the crime.
Wells’ household firmly believed that he would by no means have taken half in such a criminal offense. Talking in 2003, two of his neighbors remembered him as a easy, likable man who lived a modest life. Moreover, a lady named Jessica Hoopsick, who labored as a prostitute and was a good friend of Wells, confessed within the “Brian Wells demise video” that she facilitated Wells’ participation within the crime by offering one of many conspirators together with his title and his pizza supply schedule in trade for cash and medicines.
In 2008, one of many accomplices, Barnes, pleaded responsible to conspiracy and utilizing a harmful system in a violent crime. He obtained a 45-year federal jail sentence in December 2008. Barnes additionally testified towards Diehl-Armstrong, which led to a discount in his sentence in 2011. Barnes stayed on the Federal Medical Middle in Butner, N.C., close to Raleigh till he handed away on June 20, 2019. In accordance with Barnes, Wells was conscious of the plan however tried to again out when he found that the collar bomb was actual and never a faux, as he had been initially informed.
In November 2010, Diehl-Armstrong was convicted of armed financial institution theft, conspiracy, and use of a harmful system in a violent crime. On February twenty eighth, 2011 she was sentenced to life imprisonment plus a further 30 years. Throughout her incarceration, Diehl-Armstrong continued to claim that Wells was concerned within the theft and that Rothstein had orchestrated it.
Barnes backed up this assertion. Sadly, Rothstein died from lymphoma on July thirtieth 2004, lower than a 12 months after Wells handed away. Diehl-Armstrong handed away in jail from breast most cancers on April 4, 2017, and was laid to relaxation in an unmarked grave, as said within the “Brian Wells demise video.” Till her final days, she insisted that she was not chargeable for Wells’ demise.
Backside Line
The notorious “Brian Wells demise video” captured the chilling second when Brian Wells met his tragic demise after a financial institution theft involving a collar bomb strapped to his neck. Regardless of the controversy surrounding the case, the true extent of Wells’ involvement within the heist stays a thriller, leaving investigators and viewers of the video perplexed by the occasions that unfolded on that fateful day in Erie, Pennsylvania.