The Pizza Bomber plot: The murder of Brian Wells
The death of pizza delivery guy Brian Wells is an incredibly strange case in American crime history. Also known as the Pizza Bomber case, what initially seemed like a simple attempted bank robbery turned out to be much more complex.
The odd case led to the untimely death of Brian, who originally seemed to be an unwilling participant in the scenario. However, even this did not seem to be the case after further investigation.
Join us here at Crime+Investigation as we look more closely at the highly bizarre case of the Pizza Bomber. We’ll be looking at how Wells became embroiled in the plot and the investigation that followed his death.
The death of Brian Wells
Brian Wells worked as a pizza delivery man for Mama Mia’s Pizza-Ria in Erie, Pennslyvania. On 28th August 2003, Wells entered a PNC bank in Erie with an explosive collar around his neck and chest. He also carried a shotgun that had been modified to look like a cane for walking.
Once in the bank, Wells approached the teller and gave them a note that demanded $250,000. If the demands were not met, the bomb in the collar would detonate.
The bank was only able to give Wells just over $8,700. Once he left the bank, he was quickly surrounded by police. Wells sat on the ground and begged for help from the officers.
He explained that he had gone to deliver pizzas, only to be attacked by three people and have the collar put around his neck. He was then ordered to go to the bank and bring back the money, otherwise the bomb would kill him.
Wells continued to plead for help as the collar beeped. Unfortunately, the bomb squad arrived too late. The collar detonated, killing Wells in the process. His death was caught live on various local news cameras.
The Pizza Bomber plot
After his death, police searched Wells’s car and found handwritten instructions addressed to 'Bomb Hostage'. The note was highly detailed, containing directions and instructions on what Wells had to do.
A scavenger hunt for codes and keys to disable the collar bomb was included. However, police later found that it would have been impossible for Wells to complete the tasks in time. The collar had a combination dial and four locks that would not have been able to be removed safely.
Three weeks after Wells’ death, police received a call from a man named Bill Rothstein. Rothstein contacted authorities to make a chilling confession: he had a dead man in his freezer.
Rothstein explained that his ex-girlfriend had killed her boyfriend, Jim Roden. Rothstein had then helped her conceal the crime. The ex-girlfriend in question was Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, and the investigation into her led to some shocking revelations.
Marjorie Diel-Armstrong and the Pizza Bomber conspirators
In the following investigations, it was revealed that Diel-Armstrong had concocted the plot. She did so for financial gain, as she wanted to hire a hitman to kill her father so she would receive her inheritance. This led her to create the bomb plot and ultimately murder Brian Wells.
Diel-Armstrong had a history of mental health issues and had already killed one other boyfriend before Roden. She was bright but incredibly troubled by her mental health disorders, such as bipolar.
There were also a few co-conspirators involved in the plot, including – authorities believe – Brian himself.
Kenneth Barnes was a friend of Marjorie and had been willing to execute her father for $250,000 (hence why this was demanded at the bank). He was sentenced to 45 years in prison, but this sentence was reduced due to his cooperation in the case against Marjorie.
The aforementioned Bill Rothstein was also involved in building the explosive collar and helping plan the bank robbery. However, he died from lymphoma in 2004 before any charges could be put against him.
Another accomplice was Floyd Stockton, who received immunity due to testifying against Marjorie.
Was Brian Wells involved in the plot?
As for Brian, investigators in July 2007 argued that he was involved in the planning, but that he did not believe the bomb was real.
The hostage elements of the plan are thought to have been a way of giving Wells an alibi if he was caught. However, leaving Wells alive if things went south would also mean he could testify against Marjorie. He was a loose end that had to be tied up one way or another.
Wells also seemed relatively calm while in the bank. However, his demeanor changed to what seemed like genuine confusion and fear as it became clear that the collar was a real bomb.
Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong faced multiple convictions, ultimately receiving a life sentence with an additional 30 years. She was serving her sentence at the Federal Medical Center in Carswell, Texas when she passed away in 2017.
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