updates on the eerie Erie pizza delivery neck bomb case

pen It's been two years, and there hasn't been a single lead in the Erie, Pennsylvania neck-bomb killing. 

If you haven't heard of this, the case is one of the weirdest, most disturbing crimes in recent times.  A man named Brian Wells, a quiet pizza delivery worker, showed up one day to rob a bank in Erie.  Police nabbed him out in the parking lot, then found that the man had an enormous bomb attached to a metal collar on his neck and a timing device.  Wells told police that he didn't want to rob the bank, but that some mysterious men had forced him to.  They snapped the bomb around his neck, attached to a timer, and gave him a list of instructions concernng criminal activities to accomplish that day (see one page below) - or else the device would explode.  Police didn't believe him, or didn't know what to make of it, and Wells pleaded with them, quietly, then... the bomb blew up, killing him instantly.

Since then, investigations have been stumped.  No leads on who that group of criminals could be.  No forensics help.  No witnesses or tipsters have come forward.  And trying to figure the thing out doesn't help - the list of crimes was too long, and too obvious, for the poor Wells not to get caught.  Did he stage the thing himelf, or with help, and it simply fell apart in the process of execution?  Or was he really innocent, and were the criminals clever weirdos but bad planners?  Or was this just an attempt to torment and kill a perfect stranger?  If so, why?  Was there a connection between the group and Wells, or were they hired by a third party?  Could this have been some morbid performance, an alternate reality game with teeth?

I don't watch tv, but I gather America's Most Wanted just did a show on the case.  Maybe some clues will come forward.

One recent tidbit: it looks like the poor guy didn't think it would really explode.

The bank surveillance photographs show Wells, 46, of Erie, sucking on a lollipop in the PNC Bank at Summit Towne Centre on August 28, 2003, the day of the robbery.

Wells' demeanor inside the bank "depicts a man who did not know he would soon die as a result of an explosive device strapped to his body," the FBI in Erie said in a statement released with the images.

There's something novelistic about this affair.  The town's name, of course.  The settings (post-industrial town, mysterious radio tower, chain stores in broad daylight) suggest David Lynch.  The bizarre cane gun feels like something from a suspense novel, or pulp fiction, or a lost Batman tv episode.  And notice the trademark on Wells' shirt, barely pictured above, like a dare to the police, or to viewers: Guess.

Comments

[Mike]

The case is totally bizarre, and even stanger is it seems it's reached a dead end.

Even Geraldo came and did a Fox News Special a few weeks ago about the story, with some interesting new developments.

One name to remember is Marjorie Diehl Armstrong. She's been in the Erie news the last few years...more then a few of her husbands have been found dead (a few by her hand, with claims of self-defense) and then a body was found in a freezer in her house. Another man, William Rothstein, called in the police when he found the body, who turned out to be James Roden, Diehl's ex boyfriend (see the story gets bizarre).

Geraldo's thesis was that Diehl Armstrong and Rothstein were behind the Brian Wells case, and killed Roden when either he found out or knew all along and was about to go to police. No one had connected Armstrong and Rothstein until Geraldo found a man from Slippery Rock who had seen a car matching Armstrong's car driving the wrong way on Interstate 79. If you've read the notes on the case, Wells was to go to several drop-off points including one on I-79. So - the question is was she heading to meet Wells somewhere?

Here's the problem - Armstrong's in jail and not talking. She claims she wants to talk about the case but for immunity, which I'm not sure is going to happen. Here's another twist in the story - Rothstein died recently of cancer, so he can't rebuff anything Armstrong might say. So she can point the finger at him and no one will ever know.

So is Armstrong involved? Maybe. As of Geraldo's Fox show a few weeks ago she hadn't been questioned by the FBI about it. And they don't seem to be in a hurry, either.

You're right on when you say how bizarre this case is.

[Dave Roberts]

Just read this bizarre story and for some reason i feel that Armstrong is connected somehow.

PS Where are these metal collars used properly for ?? Can you identify any sources ??

[J GRAHAM]

THIS EVENT STRUCK ME SO HARD. I FELT SO SORRY FOR THAT POOR GUY. THESE COPS NEED TO STILL BE WORKING NIGHT AND DAY ON THIS CASE UNTIL IT IS SOLVED.IF I EVER HEAR THAT THE CASE WAS STOPPED I WILL NEVER SUPPORT THE EERIE POLICE DEPARTMENT AGAIN. MY HEART GOES OUT TO BRIAN WELLS' FAMILY.

[Mike V]

There is one paradox about this case that jumps out at me: The perpetrator(s) went to ridiculous lengths, too far in fact, to invoke procedures to erase evidence. 9 pages worth of nearly impossible to follow (especially under pressure and time constraint) highly redundant instructions to make sure the victim complies and retains all incriminating evidence. Yet, the notes are all hand written!?! Why the hell would anyone go through such machinations to avoid being caught and then use a veritable Unibomber manifesto with an almost certain probability of being found when the impossible instructions can't be executed??? This aspect is a paradox, as is the misspelling of the word, "decipher" by someone who constructed a sophisticated 5 lock device.

A criminal profiler should be able to have a field day with that note to the point of being able to name the perp. and tell his life's story Something here really, really does not add up to me, and I'm not even in the field of criminology. If indeed a close friend of the victim did die under strange circumstances around the same time, it cannot be coincidental.

The only other thing I can say is that the basic profile of the victim - white male, 46, loner, working at a menial job, etc. is highly indicitive of probable involvement. And anyone actually a victim under such circumstances should have a mouth so dry they couldn't suck a lollipop if they wanted too.

It just doesn't add up.

It is interesting that the time constraints have been censored out of the notes. Temporal distortion is a sign of mental deficiency, and it is clear that the person who wrote these notes had completely unrealistic ideas about the victim having time to read them and follow the instructions. Hence, the author seems to be mentally impaired.

I have a suspicion as to what took place here, and I think the authorities may have come to the same conclusion.

Mike V

[Janet Cobham]

Can anyone tell me if a book has been written about this case. Thank you

[Bryan Alexander]

Not that I've seen, Janet. There has been at least one tv program, an episode of America's Most Wanted, I think.

[holy roy]

I seen this on america's most wanted. they stated that the perpetrator(s) had signed the note of instructions with "the troubleshooters". i googled it and found this site which is not displayed when clicked on. interesting. below is a copy of that search result;

The Troubleshooters is a structural and miscellaneous steel fabricator supplying and servicing the Greater Houston area and locations across the country ...
www.tshooters.net/

note: "structural and miscellaneous steel fabricator"

[Robert Hamel]

I heard about this and it reminded me of something out of the Saw movies these people need to be cought before something else happends to a innocent person