PA PA - Brian Wells, 46, Erie, 28 Aug 2003

I originally was under the assumption that Brian was in on this scheme, and now that the truth has come out I feel guilty for ever thinking that. It's so sad that an innocent man lost his life for no reason.

I totally agree.
I was never sure how much he was aware of.
Now it's awful imagining what must've been going through his mind !
:please:
 
If you have Netflix, you need to watch Evil Genius. It's 4 parts, a little over 3 hours total. I know this is an old thread, but I had never heard of this case until I saw the blurb for the Netflix show. The degree of evil embodied in the key players of the case is jaw-dropping.
 
After seven years, the outstanding questions had finally been answered. At least, that's how most observers viewed Diehl-Armstrong's conviction. But that's not how Jim Fisher sees things...

But if Diehl-Armstrong didn't set this plan in motion, who did? Fisher turns back to the FBI's profile, which states that the bomb builder was "comfortable around a wide variety of power tools and shop machines." He was "a frugal person who saves scraps of sundry materials in order to reuse them in various projects." And he was "the type of person who takes pride in building a variety of things."To Fisher, that sounds like a description of Bill Rothstein, the man who lived next to the TV tower and who agreed to keep a dead man in his garage freezer. The handyman had the skills to fabricate such an elaborate explosive device.
The Incredible True Story of the Collar Bomb Heist
 
What was in the huge blacked out areas of the note? I wonder.

Also ~ notice how it says 'use the weapon you were given' they could not of just handed him a loaded weapon - he could have shot them, so they must have left the gun for him somewhere to pick up?
Unless.......Now you have your answer. Wells was involved.
 
I'm coming to this late, but I just binge watched the Netflix documentary as well and it was fascinating. And very sad. I think Mr. Wells was innocent, was frightened into cooperating with these monsters, and died a terrible death.
 
I'm coming to this late, but I just binge watched the Netflix documentary as well and it was fascinating. And very sad. I think Mr. Wells was innocent, was frightened into cooperating with these monsters, and died a terrible death.
As an Erie native myself I must agree that Brian Wells was innocent in the way he understood things were supposed to be, whether he was coerced or originally trusted them. He was obviously brought in naive and easily taken advantage of and was nothing but collateral damage to the real monsters. I had a the opportunity to buy Marjorie’s Girl Scout knife after her father passed I now wish I would have! Lol
 
So I was flicking round the channels yesterday trying to find something to watch, I thought I'd seen pretty much everything true-crime-wise on Netflix when I spotted " Evil Genius" so decided to watch as I'd never heard anything about this case. The first 10 minutes were like watching a sick horror show, when Brian was sitting on the floor talking to the cops I kept thinking surely that bomb is not going to go off, dear God no please that man cannot die like this, and then it happened, I was in total shock I just sat there crying. I didn't see any warnings on this show about the content. Jeez that really has affected me , I feel so much for Brian Wells and the fact it happened in front of so many people just standing there doing nothing with the cameras filming , just sick.

I've got to episode 3 , the two twisted sick murders in this are beneath contempt. So obvious every word they spoke was lies , what vile individuals! Smart? so ironic, there was nothing smart about those two idiots! all the clues were there that pointed straight to them!

I was wondering if in Brian's autopsy they found any drugs in his system or drink, could that have accounted for his behaviour in the bank?

Just feel very sad about this case :(
 
I remember this case. So bizarre all around.
 
The cast of characters in the infamous Erie pizza bomber case was unlike any that had been seen before, whether on stage, screen or in real life.

Their names have become permanent additions to Erie's dark pantheon of criminals. Among them:
  • Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, the brilliant but mentally ill serial killer.
  • William A. Rothstein, her equally brilliant and equally maniacal erstwhile fiancé.
  • James Roden, Diehl-Armstrong's last boyfriend, whose body ended up in a freezer in Rothstein's garage.
  • Brian Wells, the gullible 46-year-old pizza deliveryman who agreed to rob a bank until he realized the bomb locked to his neck was real.
  • Kenneth E. Barnes, the drug-addled crack dealer and former TV repairman who acted as the rotten link among the co-conspirators.
Two decades after the bizarre and malevolent plot unspooled, ending in Wells' death on Aug. 28, 2003, the pizza bomber characters are reappearing — though in a somewhat altered state.

An Erie theater veteran, David Durst, is presenting the "The Pizza Bomber Play: A Devoted Surrender" to give his take on the case that has enthralled true-crime fans worldwide.

Durst is directing the play, which he wrote and co-produced. It premiers Friday at the Alex Clemente Theatre at Granite Ridge, at 16 W. Division St. in North East, on the former Mercyhurst North East campus. A total of 10 performances run through Aug. 27, the day before the 20th anniversary of Wells' bombing death.

Unlike "Evil Genius," the 2018 Netflix docuseries that provided a largely factual overview of the case, "The Pizza Bomber Play" employs a more artistic and interpretative approach to the characters' long interpersonal histories and the events that occurred before and after Wells' death. More at link:
 
The cast of characters in the infamous Erie pizza bomber case was unlike any that had been seen before, whether on stage, screen or in real life.

Their names have become permanent additions to Erie's dark pantheon of criminals. Among them:
  • Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, the brilliant but mentally ill serial killer.
  • William A. Rothstein, her equally brilliant and equally maniacal erstwhile fiancé.
  • James Roden, Diehl-Armstrong's last boyfriend, whose body ended up in a freezer in Rothstein's garage.
  • Brian Wells, the gullible 46-year-old pizza deliveryman who agreed to rob a bank until he realized the bomb locked to his neck was real.
  • Kenneth E. Barnes, the drug-addled crack dealer and former TV repairman who acted as the rotten link among the co-conspirators.
Two decades after the bizarre and malevolent plot unspooled, ending in Wells' death on Aug. 28, 2003, the pizza bomber characters are reappearing — though in a somewhat altered state.

An Erie theater veteran, David Durst, is presenting the "The Pizza Bomber Play: A Devoted Surrender" to give his take on the case that has enthralled true-crime fans worldwide.

Durst is directing the play, which he wrote and co-produced. It premiers Friday at the Alex Clemente Theatre at Granite Ridge, at 16 W. Division St. in North East, on the former Mercyhurst North East campus. A total of 10 performances run through Aug. 27, the day before the 20th anniversary of Wells' bombing death.

Unlike "Evil Genius," the 2018 Netflix docuseries that provided a largely factual overview of the case, "The Pizza Bomber Play" employs a more artistic and interpretative approach to the characters' long interpersonal histories and the events that occurred before and after Wells' death. More at link:
This bizarre case has fascinated me for years. Probably due to how a person(s) can easily be manipulated. BW most likely agreed (if he did) to the robbery scheme because he truly was a gullible person. Unfortunately, that trait may have caused the end of his life. Not blaming BW at all! All a matter of opinion.
 
This bizarre case has fascinated me for years. Probably due to how a person(s) can easily be manipulated. BW most likely agreed (if he did) to the robbery scheme because he truly was a gullible person. Unfortunately, that trait may have caused the end of his life. Not blaming BW at all! All a matter of opinion.
Me too. Idk how many times I’ve watched the documentary. Poor Brian was a follower. I felt so bad for him. Marjorie is such a mind twisting character.
 

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