Startling Revelations In Notorious Collar Bomber Case

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The Erie Collar Bomber mystery, a case with an intriguing cast of characters and a broad range of clues, appears to have an end in site.

Kenneth Barnes, who was charged with participating in a murder-for-hire and bank robbery scheme that led to the dramatic collar bomb death of pizza delivery man Brian Wells, changed his plea to guilty in Erie, Pa.

Barnes and Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong had been charged in connection with the bizarre 2003 bombing death of Wells in Erie. Both are currently in jail for other crimes.

On July 11, 2007, U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan revealed startling news in the mysterious case: The mastermind behind the entire scheme was a woman -- 58-year-old Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong.

Buchanan revealed Diehl-Armstrong concocted a plot to rob a bank in Erie, Pa., along with 53-year-old Kenneth Barnes and several other unnamed "co-conspirators," including the victim himself, 46-year-old Brian Wells.

According to the FBI, Diehl-Armstrong and Barnes choreographed the entire scavenger hunt-type robbery, contriving the detailed notes, and building the collar bomb. Their only motive, investigators say, was greed.

Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong allegedly wanted her own father, Harold Diehl, dead. The FBI says Diehl-Armstrong felt her father had stiffed her on money he owed her from her deceased mother's estate. According to investigators, Diehl-Armstrong solicited Barnes to help kill her father in July 2003. To pay for the murder, investigators say she developed the plan to rob a bank.

Investigators revealed that in August 2003, Diehl-Armstrong murdered James Roden, her live-in boyfriend at the time, to prevent him from going to authorities with the bank robbery scheme.

Earlier this year Diehl-Armstrong underwent mental evaluations and was unfit to stand trial. Authorities are hoping she will be cleared for trial in a few months.

Burning Question Answered: Was Brian Wells Involved? 

During the press conference, investigators also revealed another piece of the puzzle. They say Brian Wells is considered a co-conspirator who was involved in the initial planning stages of the robbery. Investigators say it remains unclear how Brian Wells was associated with Diehl-Armstrong and Barnes, and they still do not know whether or not Brian knew the bomb strapped to his neck was functional.

Investigators say that while Brian played some role in planning the robbery, the motives of the other people involved in the scheme were much more sinister -- and it's entirely possible that Brian Wells' role transitioned at some point into an unwilling participant, forced into wearing the collar bomb and robbing the bank.

Answers Pose More Questions

Brian Wells' family, however, refuses to believe their loved one had anything to do with the bizarre crime carried out that day. During the press conference, Brian's brother, John Wells, cried out in opposition when investigators named Brian as a co-conspirator. Following the conference, John Wells took the podium and expressed his anger toward the investigators who implicated Brian's involvement. John Wells insisted that Brian didn't know any of the people named as co-conspirators, and emotionally described the hardship his family has endured throughout the investigation.

John Wells' voice shook as he insisted his brother wouldn't have purposely put the collar bomb around his neck, noting that investigators had to decapitate Brian in order to remove the bomb. John Wells told the press he is certain that Brian was grabbed at gunpoint, forced to wear the collar bomb and that he wasn't involved in planning the robbery. John Wells explained that if Brian wanted money, he could have walked into the bank and withdrawn it from his own account. He didn't need to rob a bank.

The Charges They Face

According to the FBI, Diehl-Armstrong, Barnes, and other co-conspirators gathered the day before the robbery to discuss their plans. The next day, August 28, 2003, investigators say both Diehl-Armstrong and Barnes watched the bank robbery take place from a spot across the street. Diehl-Armstrong was also allegedly observed at two points along the scavenger hunt route. Investigators also said that an unnamed co-conspirator disposed of more than one-thousand pounds of evidence in a local landfill that would link them to the August 28th robbery.

Buchanan says Diehl-Armstrong and Barnes are charged with bank robbery, conspiracy, and a firearms count. The charges, Buchanan said, are the result of an extensive investigation in which 1,000 interviews were conducted, and just as many leads tracked.

Barnes is scheduled to be arraigned on July 12, 2007. Diehl-Armstrong's arraignment was scheduled for July 13, 2007 -- but investigators say her hearing will not take place until July 17, and that she will waive her right to appear. Attorneys will meet on July 13 to formerly file paperwork to reflect the change in hearing dates. If convicted of the charges, Diehl-Armstrong and Barnes will face maximum sentences of life in prison.

Co-Conspirators

When asked to name the other co-conspirators involved in the collar bomber case, Buchanan declined to comment, saying only that those were not indicted are deceased.  Several sets of initials, however, are linked to the case in the indictments: W.R., W.P., B.W., and J.R. The initials match those of several people who have been linked to the bomber case in the past, including Wililam Rothstein, Robert Pinetti, Brian Wells and James Roden -- all of whom are deceased.

In light of the new developments, reports have surfaced that another man, Floyd "Jay" Stockton, was given immunity by the prosecution so he would testify against Diehl-Armstrong and Barnes.

Stockton was the focus of an exclusive AMW investigation last fall, in which his ex-wife identified Stockton's handwriting as the same penmanship in the nine-page instructions for the robbery. She also revealed similarities between aspects of the bomb and cane gun used in the bank robbery and things Stockton himself had built as a handyman.

Diehl-Armstrong's Father Speaks Out

AMW Producer Peter Gillespie visited Harold Diehl, Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong's father. When Gillespie revealed to Diehl for the first time that his daughter had allegedly plotted to kill him, Diehl was far from surprised, saying "I don't doubt it."

Diehl also said his wife died of a broken heart trying to help their troubled daughter.

AMW producers also spoke to the mother of James Roden, Jean Roden.  She says the indictments bring a bit of closure for her, because now she has some idea about why her son was killed.  She says her son was a good man -- who got caught up with some people.  She wanted AMW viewers to know that her son didn't deserve to die -- and she believes he had nothing to do with the collar bomber plot.

A Convoluted Case

The bizarre case gained worldwide attention shortly after Brian Wells, a local pizza delivery man, entered a bank in Erie, Pa. with what appeared to be a bomb around his neck.  

Soon after, police had Wells surrounded in the parking lot of an Eyeglass World on Peach Street in Erie.  "I don't have a lot of time," Wells said in desperation, telling the troopers that the large bulky contraption under the T-shirt was a bomb.  As WJET news cameras recorded the incident Wells can be heard saying, "he pulled out a key and started a timer. I heard the thing ticking when he did it."

The police did not know if he was telling the truth.  All they knew was that a few minutes earlier Wells had robbed a nearby PNC Bank. The bomb squad was rushing to the location. But they would not get there in time.  A few moments later the bomb would explode, killing Wells, and leaving investigators to try to solve one of the most bizarre crimes in the nation's history.

Local news crews had recorded the entire event. Later that evening Brian Wells' death became a story played out across the nation. Brian Wells had, in death, become infamous. But in life, Wells hid from the limelight.

His own family said just taking a good picture of him was hard because he would never smile for a photograph. Wells was a simple man who led a simple life. Other than his car, he had few possessions. He worked the day shift delivering lunch orders for Mama Mia's pizzeria.  When he was done he'd go back to the small house he lived in with his three cats and play music or watch a movie.  Wells had family but few friends. 
 

Partner or Patsy?

August 28, 2003 started out as a normal day for Brian Wells. A neighbor had seen Wells walking to a nearby convenience store to buy his paper. The neighbor said this was the same routine Wells went through every morning.  By 11 a.m. Brian Wells had arrived for work and started delivering pizzas.

At 1:30 p.m. Wells was close to finishing up for the day when a call came into the pizzeria. The caller ordered two pizzas, cheese and pepperoni, and wanted them delivered to 8631 Peach Street.  However, 8631 Peach is not a residence. It is a long gravel driveway that leads up to an unoccupied television tower surrounded by thick woods. 

Agents cannot say for sure if Brian went to the towers, but what they do know is at approximately 2:30 p.m. Wells entered the PNC Bank at the Summit Town Center on upper Peach Street. He wore a large Guess t-shirt which concealed the bomb pressing against his chest and he walked with what seemed to be a cane. He handed the teller four pages of notes that demanded $250,000. The teller handed him a bag with $7,000 in cash and Wells left the bank.

Brian Wells was on what seemed to be a scavenger hunt. Aside from the four pages of notes he handed the teller, he had two more pages instructing him on where to go and what to do.

"MOST IMPORTANT RULE! Do not radio, phone, or contact anyone," the note read. "Alerting authorities, your company, or anyone else will bring your death. If we spot police vehicles or aircraft, you will be killed."

As witnesses called 911 emergency, Wells drove a short distance to the entrance of a nearby McDonald's parking lot. He got out of his car and fumbled around a flowerbed, finding two more notes under a rock. The notes told him to get back into his car and drive through the access road out to Peach Street, where he was supposed to get out of his car again and tie an orange ribbon around a fire hydrant.

Before he could make a move, however, two state troopers blocked him in. They were able to get Wells out of his vehicle and cuff him. That's when Wells informed the police he had a bomb attached to his chest.

The Aftermath -- What Happened?

After Wells died that day, investigators found a homemade gun manufactured to resemble a cane in his car. Wells had carried the cane gun into the bank to commit the robbery.  They also found four pages of detailed handwritten notes telling him how to carry out the bank robbery.

Even now, officials still have not publicly answered two questions that have lingered with his family and with the public at large: was Brian Wells' death really a plot to have him rob a bank, or was killing him the goal all along?

The FBI and ATF have reconstructed the bomb, deconstructed the cane gun and analyzed the notes. In August of 2004 the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit released a profile of the person they consider the mastermind behind the whole event. They refer to this person as the Collar Bomber.

They say the Collar Bomber's goal was more than just a bank robbery. This person choreographed the whole event.  The FBI also believes the Collar Bomber did not act alone. They say "there were multiple motives for the offender, and money was not the primary one."

They describe the Collar Bomber as a pack rat who is frugal, saving everything including scraps of materials to reuse in building projects. This is evident in the type of material found in the bomb and cane gun. They say the Collar Bomber works with wood, metal, wiring and plastic and is comfortable around power tools.

The Collar Bomber had access to an area, such as a home workshop, where long periods of time could be spent working alone and undetected. The also believe the cane gun may have been built many years ago and may not be the only weapon constructed by the Collar Bomber. He may have also made a variety of objects, such as knives or swords. They describe him as mechanically inclined and as someone who takes pride in fixing and building things.

A Cast Of Characters Surrounds The Mystery

 Early on in the investigation the FBI discovered a suspect who seemed too good to be true -- Erie resident William Rothstein. Described as quirky, eccentric and brilliant, Rothstein was a part time high school shop teacher and coached a chess team.

He came to investigators' attention about a month after Brian Wells' murder when he phoned police to tell them he had a body in the basement of his abandoned house. That house was located next to the satellite towers where Brian Wells was supposed to deliver the pizzas.

Rothstein told police that the body of James Roden was in a freezer. He told them that his former fiancée, Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, had shot Roden with a shotgun, then gave him $2,000 to help get rid of the body and weapon and to clean up the crime scene.

When police arrived at Rothstein's apartment shortly after he made the phone call they found he was living with a fugitive, Floyd Stockton. Stockton was wanted in Washington State for raping a mentally disabled 19-year-old woman. The FBI seized letters written by Stockton and interviewed his ex-wife Janet Ponsford. According to her, they took shoes and letters that belonged to him.

Some authorities have also speculated about the possible involvement of another individual -- Brian Wells' co-worker Robert Pinetti. In a strange twist, Pinetti died of a drug overdose three days after Brian Wells was killed.

Confused? With such an unusual group of characters on the periphery of the Collarbomber case, it's hard to piece together all the coincidences. To investigate each of these players further, click below.

»Robert Pinetti
»William Rothstein
»Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong
»Jim Roden
»Floyd Jay Stockton

Wanted For:

• Murder , Erie , PA ; Aug 28, 2003
• Robbery , Erie , PA ; Aug 28, 2003

(Information valid as of December 3, 2008)

Associated Persons:

Bill Rothstein
Person of Interest
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Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong
Person of Interest
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Jim Roden
Person of Interest
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Floyd "Jay" Stockton
Person of Interest
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Robert Pinetti
Person of Interest
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Television Airings:

• »July 14, 2007
• »January 6, 2007
• »November 5, 2005
• »September 24, 2005
• »September 16, 2005
• »March 27, 2004

AMW Radio:

• »November 04 2005
• »September 17 2005
• »September 16 2005