1 00:00:05,155 --> 00:00:06,006 [line trilling] 2 00:00:13,847 --> 00:00:16,016 - We hear a faint... 3 00:00:16,083 --> 00:00:17,451 beep, beep, beep. 4 00:00:17,484 --> 00:00:19,011 [booming, high-pitched ringing] 5 00:00:19,077 --> 00:00:21,288 - And it exploded. 6 00:00:21,388 --> 00:00:23,891 - Investigators found pages upon pages 7 00:00:23,957 --> 00:00:26,159 of a bizarre scavenger hunt. 8 00:00:26,226 --> 00:00:28,629 - It was gonna be an overcomplicated scheme 9 00:00:28,762 --> 00:00:30,430 no one can solve. 10 00:00:30,530 --> 00:00:33,100 - Having a human being go to sites 11 00:00:33,166 --> 00:00:34,501 to try to save his own life. 12 00:00:34,568 --> 00:00:36,803 I'd never seen anything like it. 13 00:00:36,870 --> 00:00:39,673 - Not only was there a plan, but there was a plan 14 00:00:39,740 --> 00:00:41,500 upon a plan upon a plan. 15 00:00:46,013 --> 00:00:48,015 - They tricked him. They duped him. 16 00:00:48,081 --> 00:00:49,650 They killed him. 17 00:00:49,716 --> 00:00:51,184 It was just maniacal. 18 00:00:51,218 --> 00:00:53,503 [beeping] 19 00:00:53,537 --> 00:00:56,548 [dramatic music] 20 00:00:56,615 --> 00:01:03,647 ♪ ♪ 21 00:01:11,888 --> 00:01:12,906 [line trilling] 22 00:01:31,491 --> 00:01:34,761 [tense music] 23 00:01:34,861 --> 00:01:36,930 - I got a phone call at my desk 24 00:01:36,997 --> 00:01:39,199 that there was a bank robbery in progress 25 00:01:39,232 --> 00:01:41,868 and gave me the location on Peach Street. 26 00:01:41,935 --> 00:01:44,838 Peach Street is one of the main thoroughfares of Erie. 27 00:01:44,905 --> 00:01:47,933 It goes from south to north. 28 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:51,244 On the way there, the FBI was also called 29 00:01:51,278 --> 00:01:53,547 'cause they handle all bank robberies. 30 00:01:53,580 --> 00:01:55,716 - The initial details I received that there was 31 00:01:55,749 --> 00:01:59,252 an individual who entered the bank, 32 00:01:59,319 --> 00:02:01,755 had something underneath his shirt. 33 00:02:01,788 --> 00:02:05,058 He had said that it was a bomb. 34 00:02:05,092 --> 00:02:08,228 - The suspect left the McDonald's parking lot, 35 00:02:08,261 --> 00:02:10,497 pulled over into the Eyeglass World 36 00:02:10,564 --> 00:02:13,667 parking lot, where he was stopped. 37 00:02:13,734 --> 00:02:16,169 - They asked the individual to get out of the vehicle, 38 00:02:16,269 --> 00:02:18,905 walk slowly back toward them. 39 00:02:18,939 --> 00:02:21,808 - They had him turn around, handcuffed him. 40 00:02:21,875 --> 00:02:24,244 And, immediately, the guy said he was forced 41 00:02:24,277 --> 00:02:27,147 to wear the bomb and to do the robbery. 42 00:02:27,247 --> 00:02:29,975 At that time, they backed away from him 43 00:02:30,042 --> 00:02:31,852 and started to set a perimeter up. 44 00:02:31,918 --> 00:02:34,946 [indistinct radio chatter] 45 00:02:36,490 --> 00:02:38,592 - That's when I pull up. 46 00:02:38,658 --> 00:02:41,620 He identifies himself as Brian Wells. 47 00:02:41,653 --> 00:02:44,531 He was working for Mama Mia's Pizza. 48 00:02:44,598 --> 00:02:48,935 He received a call to deliver two pizzas 49 00:02:48,969 --> 00:02:52,005 to a location on Peach Street. 50 00:02:52,105 --> 00:02:55,075 And at that point, he was accosted 51 00:02:55,175 --> 00:02:58,078 by a group of individuals who told him, 52 00:02:58,145 --> 00:02:59,780 you need to go rob this bank. 53 00:02:59,813 --> 00:03:01,715 And they put the bomb around his neck. 54 00:03:01,782 --> 00:03:03,550 ♪ ♪ 55 00:03:03,617 --> 00:03:07,454 - Immediately, our dispatch called Erie's city police, 56 00:03:07,487 --> 00:03:09,523 which has a local bomb squad. 57 00:03:09,623 --> 00:03:11,124 [indistinct radio chatter] 58 00:03:11,158 --> 00:03:13,318 - While we're waiting for the bomb squad, 59 00:03:13,351 --> 00:03:15,796 all of a sudden, we hear a faint 60 00:03:15,829 --> 00:03:18,432 beep, beep, beep, beep, beep. 61 00:03:18,498 --> 00:03:20,817 - I told the guys to take cover. 62 00:03:20,851 --> 00:03:24,304 And no sooner than that word bomb got out of my mouth, 63 00:03:24,371 --> 00:03:25,806 it exploded. 64 00:03:25,839 --> 00:03:29,109 [booming, high-pitched ringing] 65 00:03:29,609 --> 00:03:32,646 - I watched Mr. Wells, who was sitting cross-legged, 66 00:03:32,679 --> 00:03:34,381 fall directly back. 67 00:03:34,448 --> 00:03:36,583 [somber music] 68 00:03:36,650 --> 00:03:38,552 And I'll never forget this. 69 00:03:38,652 --> 00:03:43,390 I watched his chest go down, and it never came back up. 70 00:03:43,490 --> 00:03:45,058 ♪ ♪ 71 00:03:45,158 --> 00:03:48,562 And I thought, oh, my God, this is fatal. 72 00:03:48,628 --> 00:03:50,222 You know, this is just absolutely 73 00:03:50,288 --> 00:03:53,692 the worst thing I had seen. 74 00:03:53,725 --> 00:03:57,562 - I felt the bomb blast with little particles hitting me, 75 00:03:57,629 --> 00:03:59,673 but it wasn't enough to hurt anybody else 76 00:03:59,740 --> 00:04:01,024 or anything like that. 77 00:04:01,057 --> 00:04:02,534 [sirens blaring] 78 00:04:02,567 --> 00:04:05,178 - Within minutes of the bomb detonating, 79 00:04:05,212 --> 00:04:09,049 the Erie bomb squad arrived on scene. 80 00:04:09,082 --> 00:04:13,854 They ruled it safe to where the investigators could check. 81 00:04:13,887 --> 00:04:15,722 - So when approach was made, 82 00:04:15,756 --> 00:04:21,211 you could see the trauma that Mr. Wells had to his chest. 83 00:04:21,244 --> 00:04:25,824 There was a big cavity all the way down to his spine. 84 00:04:25,924 --> 00:04:27,601 [soft dramatic music] 85 00:04:27,667 --> 00:04:31,304 The only thing left of the device 86 00:04:31,404 --> 00:04:34,900 itself was still locked around Mr. Wells's neck. 87 00:04:36,501 --> 00:04:39,479 The box that contained the bombs had detonated, 88 00:04:39,579 --> 00:04:44,075 and those were the pieces landing on the ground. 89 00:04:44,109 --> 00:04:47,112 We called our evidence response team 90 00:04:47,179 --> 00:04:50,056 to collect all those pieces, 91 00:04:50,157 --> 00:04:53,627 so the FBI Quantico lab could figure out 92 00:04:53,727 --> 00:04:57,564 how that was all put together to help identify 93 00:04:57,631 --> 00:04:59,833 the builder of the bomb. 94 00:04:59,933 --> 00:05:02,569 - Traffic is stopped both ways on Peach Street. 95 00:05:02,602 --> 00:05:04,237 And, obviously, people are wondering 96 00:05:04,271 --> 00:05:06,406 what in the world is going on. 97 00:05:06,506 --> 00:05:08,508 - Once we heard that the bomb went off 98 00:05:08,608 --> 00:05:10,744 and someone was killed, like, who would do this? 99 00:05:10,877 --> 00:05:12,879 Was it terrorism? 100 00:05:12,946 --> 00:05:15,115 Was it some kind of organized effort? 101 00:05:15,148 --> 00:05:19,436 It was just so odd and so horrible and so tragic. 102 00:05:19,469 --> 00:05:21,822 - With it being just a middle-class kind of area, 103 00:05:21,888 --> 00:05:23,256 more of a sleepy kind of town, 104 00:05:23,290 --> 00:05:24,983 it was something that people were like, 105 00:05:25,050 --> 00:05:26,827 how could this happen here? 106 00:05:26,893 --> 00:05:29,563 - At this point, it was kind of an all hands on deck 107 00:05:29,663 --> 00:05:32,165 type of scenario because law enforcement 108 00:05:32,232 --> 00:05:33,533 just hadn't encountered anything 109 00:05:33,600 --> 00:05:35,669 this bizarre before in Erie. 110 00:05:35,735 --> 00:05:37,671 [dramatic music] 111 00:05:37,771 --> 00:05:41,675 - After Mr. Wells was taken from the scene 112 00:05:41,741 --> 00:05:44,044 to the coroner's office in Erie, 113 00:05:44,144 --> 00:05:46,146 you have to start with what you know. 114 00:05:46,213 --> 00:05:50,842 You know you have a deceased individual who robbed the bank. 115 00:05:50,909 --> 00:05:53,620 You're gonna talk to the victim tellers. 116 00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:57,324 You're gonna talk to anybody that was at the bank. 117 00:05:57,357 --> 00:06:01,978 Witnesses identified Mr. Wells as very cavalier, 118 00:06:02,012 --> 00:06:03,864 carrying a cane. 119 00:06:03,930 --> 00:06:10,370 And it was described as black, long pipe that he had. 120 00:06:10,437 --> 00:06:13,431 - He'd come in the bank, and he stood in line 121 00:06:13,531 --> 00:06:15,600 to go up to the teller. 122 00:06:15,667 --> 00:06:17,244 There was some lollipops there. 123 00:06:17,310 --> 00:06:19,112 He actually took one out, unwrapped it, 124 00:06:19,212 --> 00:06:20,605 put it in his mouth. 125 00:06:20,705 --> 00:06:24,818 - That was such a psychology dichotomy for me. 126 00:06:24,918 --> 00:06:28,154 How could you be that calm, knowing that 127 00:06:28,221 --> 00:06:30,190 you had a live device around your neck? 128 00:06:30,257 --> 00:06:33,894 - I early on thought he had to have some knowledge 129 00:06:33,960 --> 00:06:35,762 of the plan, in my belief, 130 00:06:35,829 --> 00:06:38,665 because of the way he acted. 131 00:06:38,732 --> 00:06:41,234 And then he ended up jumping the line 132 00:06:41,334 --> 00:06:43,770 and gave a note to the teller demanding money. 133 00:06:43,837 --> 00:06:45,672 ♪ ♪ 134 00:06:45,705 --> 00:06:47,207 - We got the note. 135 00:06:47,274 --> 00:06:50,910 This was nine total pages of notes. 136 00:06:50,977 --> 00:06:52,445 I've never seen anything like it. 137 00:06:52,512 --> 00:06:54,706 - They're very repetitive 138 00:06:54,739 --> 00:06:57,242 about how it was a bomb hostage. 139 00:06:57,309 --> 00:06:59,519 This bomb's gonna go off. 140 00:06:59,619 --> 00:07:03,423 We've been planning this for a long time. 141 00:07:03,490 --> 00:07:05,859 - The bank robbery notes identified 142 00:07:05,892 --> 00:07:11,156 what the bank teller needed, which was $250,000 in cash, 143 00:07:11,222 --> 00:07:15,385 and not to call the police or hit any alarms 144 00:07:15,418 --> 00:07:19,372 or the bomb would detonate and cause destruction. 145 00:07:19,406 --> 00:07:23,176 - Banks do not keep that much cash on hand. 146 00:07:23,276 --> 00:07:26,713 And so the teller gave him about $8,700. 147 00:07:26,746 --> 00:07:29,449 And he walked out of the bank. 148 00:07:29,516 --> 00:07:32,218 [tense music] 149 00:07:32,319 --> 00:07:36,014 - And then during the search of Mr. Wells' vehicle, 150 00:07:36,114 --> 00:07:38,958 we saw the cane. 151 00:07:39,025 --> 00:07:40,827 And we immediately knew this was different 152 00:07:40,894 --> 00:07:43,730 than any regular cane that we had ever seen. 153 00:07:43,863 --> 00:07:46,958 Once the handle was open, you could see that 154 00:07:47,025 --> 00:07:50,403 it actually contained a 12-gauge shotgun round 155 00:07:50,537 --> 00:07:54,366 and was fully able to fire that. 156 00:07:54,466 --> 00:07:58,203 We saw the bag of money. Then we saw notes. 157 00:07:58,269 --> 00:08:01,639 They were instructions to Mr. Wells 158 00:08:01,706 --> 00:08:04,651 to rob the bank as a bank hostage, 159 00:08:04,718 --> 00:08:06,920 and then go on a series of stops, 160 00:08:07,053 --> 00:08:09,614 like a scavenger hunt, to unlock the collar 161 00:08:09,647 --> 00:08:11,524 around his neck. 162 00:08:11,591 --> 00:08:12,951 ♪ ♪ 163 00:08:12,984 --> 00:08:15,320 The first site was to go to the McDonald's, 164 00:08:15,387 --> 00:08:17,998 which he did, into the flower bed, 165 00:08:18,064 --> 00:08:21,301 turn over a stone and receive another page of notes. 166 00:08:21,368 --> 00:08:24,104 And that note indicated he's to go back 167 00:08:24,137 --> 00:08:27,674 around the Eyeglass World into the parking lot, 168 00:08:27,741 --> 00:08:31,111 where there was a fire hydrant in front of the Eyeglass World. 169 00:08:31,144 --> 00:08:34,973 And he was to tie an orange ribbon on that fire hydrant 170 00:08:35,006 --> 00:08:39,302 to indicate he had received the money from the bank. 171 00:08:39,335 --> 00:08:42,155 - And then someone was supposed to come by in a car 172 00:08:42,222 --> 00:08:46,026 and pick up the money. It never got to that point. 173 00:08:46,092 --> 00:08:48,028 - That's where he was pulled over 174 00:08:48,128 --> 00:08:49,362 by the Pennsylvania State Police. 175 00:08:49,429 --> 00:08:51,523 He never got to the fire hydrant. 176 00:08:51,589 --> 00:08:55,368 And so the bomb detonated, and he was killed. 177 00:08:56,970 --> 00:09:00,598 Because Mr. Wells couldn't do these additional sites, 178 00:09:00,665 --> 00:09:01,708 we did them. 179 00:09:01,808 --> 00:09:03,309 ♪ ♪ 180 00:09:03,343 --> 00:09:06,746 - The investigators, as fast as they could in real time, 181 00:09:06,813 --> 00:09:10,750 they started moving forward to try to catch more clues 182 00:09:10,817 --> 00:09:13,153 down the road in this hunt. 183 00:09:13,253 --> 00:09:18,591 - After the Eyeglass World, he was then to head on I-90, 184 00:09:18,691 --> 00:09:23,563 heading towards Cleveland, get off towards 79 northbound 185 00:09:23,630 --> 00:09:25,999 and go to another location 186 00:09:26,132 --> 00:09:30,437 that was at the 180 exit, and go into the woods 187 00:09:30,503 --> 00:09:32,572 and receive another note. 188 00:09:32,672 --> 00:09:36,276 ♪ ♪ 189 00:09:36,342 --> 00:09:41,698 So we went into the woods, and we saw an orange ribbon, 190 00:09:41,731 --> 00:09:46,478 and attached to that orange ribbon was a Folgers jar. 191 00:09:46,578 --> 00:09:48,746 Opened it up. There's another note. 192 00:09:48,813 --> 00:09:51,357 And it would tell Mr. Wells to get back 193 00:09:51,491 --> 00:09:55,462 on Interchange Road at I-79 southbound 194 00:09:55,528 --> 00:09:58,198 to a McKean Township sign, 195 00:09:58,231 --> 00:09:59,657 where he would go back into the woods 196 00:09:59,757 --> 00:10:02,368 and receive another note. 197 00:10:02,435 --> 00:10:06,372 But as it turned out, the McKean Township sign 198 00:10:06,439 --> 00:10:08,875 that we went to had the orange ribbon, 199 00:10:08,942 --> 00:10:12,378 but it was torn, and there was nothing at the end of that. 200 00:10:12,445 --> 00:10:14,581 So we don't know if he was gonna receive 201 00:10:14,647 --> 00:10:18,343 additional instructions or that's where 202 00:10:18,443 --> 00:10:20,220 the bomb was to detonate. 203 00:10:20,353 --> 00:10:25,058 But either way, he never got to that site. 204 00:10:25,158 --> 00:10:27,460 It was just maniacal when you think about 205 00:10:27,527 --> 00:10:29,996 having a human being go to sites 206 00:10:30,063 --> 00:10:31,564 to try to save his own life. 207 00:10:31,598 --> 00:10:33,925 - Now the investigators wanted to find out, 208 00:10:33,958 --> 00:10:36,361 how did Brian Wells get involved in this 209 00:10:36,461 --> 00:10:37,962 and picked as a victim? 210 00:10:38,029 --> 00:10:40,673 ♪ ♪ 211 00:10:40,740 --> 00:10:45,036 - We get a call about someone who was well known. 212 00:10:45,136 --> 00:10:47,647 And there was a lot of death around her. 213 00:10:47,714 --> 00:10:50,150 - He said that he helped her to get rid of the body. 214 00:11:02,345 --> 00:11:05,123 [tense music] 215 00:11:05,223 --> 00:11:07,767 ♪ ♪ 216 00:11:07,834 --> 00:11:12,330 - So after the bomb detonated and Brian Wells was killed, 217 00:11:12,397 --> 00:11:16,000 investigators found a bizarre scavenger hunt. 218 00:11:16,067 --> 00:11:17,610 ♪ ♪ 219 00:11:17,677 --> 00:11:19,963 - Because of some of the references in the notes, 220 00:11:19,996 --> 00:11:22,507 there's some indication that they were local people, 221 00:11:22,607 --> 00:11:25,351 but there's no telltale signs in the notes 222 00:11:25,451 --> 00:11:27,178 who might have done this. 223 00:11:27,278 --> 00:11:30,281 - So the investigators wanted a lot more information 224 00:11:30,348 --> 00:11:32,450 about Brian Wells to figure out, 225 00:11:32,517 --> 00:11:35,094 how did he get involved in this? 226 00:11:35,161 --> 00:11:36,688 - You don't know if he's a hostage. 227 00:11:36,788 --> 00:11:38,932 You don't know if he's a participant. 228 00:11:38,998 --> 00:11:42,535 We're gonna try to find out as much as we can about him. 229 00:11:42,635 --> 00:11:46,806 ♪ ♪ 230 00:11:46,873 --> 00:11:49,676 We immediately had people at the pizza shop 231 00:11:49,742 --> 00:11:52,312 talking and interviewing individuals there, 232 00:11:52,378 --> 00:11:55,640 including the owner of the pizza shop. 233 00:11:55,707 --> 00:11:57,875 - What we learned is that Brian Wells had been 234 00:11:57,976 --> 00:12:00,545 a pizza delivery man for at least 10 years. 235 00:12:00,645 --> 00:12:02,989 He had a number of friends that he worked with. 236 00:12:03,089 --> 00:12:08,177 They described him as quiet, laid back, easygoing. 237 00:12:08,211 --> 00:12:10,388 [gentle music] 238 00:12:10,488 --> 00:12:13,224 - Brian Wells was 46 years old, 239 00:12:13,291 --> 00:12:16,302 single, never married, no children, 240 00:12:16,369 --> 00:12:18,838 lived in a cottage-like house 241 00:12:18,905 --> 00:12:20,840 behind another house. 242 00:12:20,940 --> 00:12:25,111 Brian Wells grew up in Erie, was close to his mom. 243 00:12:25,144 --> 00:12:29,082 He had siblings as well, and he liked the "Survivor" 244 00:12:29,182 --> 00:12:31,242 television show, puzzles. 245 00:12:31,342 --> 00:12:32,785 And what we learned was probably 246 00:12:32,852 --> 00:12:34,120 his favorite puzzle was something 247 00:12:34,187 --> 00:12:36,581 called "The Great Key Hunt." 248 00:12:36,648 --> 00:12:39,325 One of the newspapers in Erie would put 249 00:12:39,359 --> 00:12:41,427 clues in the newspaper where people 250 00:12:41,527 --> 00:12:43,730 would have to find this key. 251 00:12:43,830 --> 00:12:45,865 And then if you got the key, you'd go to the newspaper 252 00:12:45,965 --> 00:12:47,191 and open a locked box, 253 00:12:47,258 --> 00:12:50,662 and there'd be a prize in the lock box. 254 00:12:50,728 --> 00:12:52,897 - In the past, Brian came pretty close 255 00:12:52,997 --> 00:12:55,500 to winning a car for following clues 256 00:12:55,533 --> 00:12:58,603 from one location to the next. 257 00:12:58,703 --> 00:13:02,248 So that would show me that somebody knew Brian Wells 258 00:13:02,348 --> 00:13:04,709 and purposely targeted him 259 00:13:04,776 --> 00:13:08,187 with the scavenger hunt in the notes. 260 00:13:08,254 --> 00:13:10,623 And we backtracked that Mama Mia's 261 00:13:10,723 --> 00:13:12,325 because that's where the initial call 262 00:13:12,392 --> 00:13:16,396 came in to order the pizzas. 263 00:13:16,496 --> 00:13:19,957 - It was determined that a call came in around 1:30. 264 00:13:20,024 --> 00:13:23,069 - From what we were told, it was a male. 265 00:13:23,136 --> 00:13:25,905 Brian Wells took the call and got the information 266 00:13:25,972 --> 00:13:29,042 for the pizza order... 267 00:13:29,075 --> 00:13:30,376 and left, heading towards 268 00:13:30,443 --> 00:13:32,578 8631 Peach Street, 269 00:13:32,679 --> 00:13:34,681 which is a tower site 270 00:13:34,714 --> 00:13:36,708 that is not seen from the road, 271 00:13:36,741 --> 00:13:39,619 and it's enclosed by trees. 272 00:13:39,686 --> 00:13:44,023 - And we're gonna immediately search that area to determine 273 00:13:44,057 --> 00:13:46,726 what evidence we can find there. 274 00:13:46,793 --> 00:13:48,594 - And at that location, they found 275 00:13:48,695 --> 00:13:53,658 tire marks that ultimately matched with Brian's car. 276 00:13:53,725 --> 00:13:56,703 They also matched shoe impression marks 277 00:13:56,736 --> 00:14:00,940 with shoes on his feet at the time of his death. 278 00:14:01,007 --> 00:14:04,577 - And there was a scuff mark on the ground in the dirt 279 00:14:04,644 --> 00:14:06,512 that really determined to us that there was some struggle 280 00:14:06,612 --> 00:14:08,639 that took place back there. 281 00:14:08,740 --> 00:14:10,783 ♪ ♪ 282 00:14:10,883 --> 00:14:14,420 - But there was very little else in the vicinity. 283 00:14:14,487 --> 00:14:16,013 [mysterious music] 284 00:14:16,080 --> 00:14:19,092 Then the phone call to Mama Mia's Pizza 285 00:14:19,158 --> 00:14:21,861 was traced back to a Shell station. 286 00:14:23,496 --> 00:14:25,798 - The call was made from a payphone 287 00:14:25,898 --> 00:14:29,427 outside the Shell station, which was up the street 288 00:14:29,494 --> 00:14:31,763 from the tower site. 289 00:14:31,829 --> 00:14:34,966 - And so we obtained video footage 290 00:14:35,032 --> 00:14:36,275 from the Shell station, 291 00:14:36,342 --> 00:14:38,870 pulled all the cash register receipts 292 00:14:38,936 --> 00:14:42,849 to try to figure out who had called for the pizzas. 293 00:14:42,915 --> 00:14:45,843 - But nothing was found on the video, 294 00:14:45,943 --> 00:14:50,047 no evidence as to who might have done this. 295 00:14:50,148 --> 00:14:51,824 - We then obtained a search warrant 296 00:14:51,924 --> 00:14:53,885 for Mr. Wells' house. 297 00:14:53,951 --> 00:14:57,221 It had very little furniture 298 00:14:57,321 --> 00:15:01,025 or much in the closet at all. 299 00:15:01,125 --> 00:15:04,821 But on the desk in the living room 300 00:15:04,887 --> 00:15:08,808 were two notebooks, and in these notebooks 301 00:15:08,875 --> 00:15:11,828 were the names and phone numbers 302 00:15:11,894 --> 00:15:14,447 of pretty much everybody he knew. 303 00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:19,252 And we started to identify every person on that list. 304 00:15:19,352 --> 00:15:21,345 ♪ ♪ 305 00:15:21,379 --> 00:15:24,090 There were two names on that list, 306 00:15:24,190 --> 00:15:25,383 Angie and Jessica, 307 00:15:25,483 --> 00:15:28,553 that Brian Wells' family didn't recognize. 308 00:15:28,653 --> 00:15:30,663 We immediately want to talk to them. 309 00:15:30,696 --> 00:15:34,700 And with their phone numbers, we do a subscriber check. 310 00:15:34,767 --> 00:15:37,862 We find out who their identities are. 311 00:15:37,895 --> 00:15:42,108 We find both had criminal history for prostitution. 312 00:15:42,175 --> 00:15:47,238 We couldn't locate Angie, but Jessica was interviewed. 313 00:15:48,948 --> 00:15:51,884 And she ended up saying that Brian Wells 314 00:15:51,951 --> 00:15:53,352 was a friend of hers, 315 00:15:53,419 --> 00:15:57,456 and he would drive her around the city of Erie 316 00:15:57,557 --> 00:16:00,117 to purchase crack cocaine. 317 00:16:00,218 --> 00:16:02,628 That information was interesting to us. 318 00:16:02,695 --> 00:16:04,288 [tense music] 319 00:16:04,388 --> 00:16:06,624 But at that point, we were still 320 00:16:06,691 --> 00:16:08,860 running down all the initial things related 321 00:16:08,893 --> 00:16:10,795 to the order for the pizzas, 322 00:16:10,895 --> 00:16:13,206 and one of the employees, who also was 323 00:16:13,272 --> 00:16:15,741 a pizza delivery driver for Mama Mia's Pizza, 324 00:16:15,842 --> 00:16:18,769 Robert Pinetti, was working that day. 325 00:16:18,870 --> 00:16:21,881 When we went to see him, he said he was on his shift. 326 00:16:21,948 --> 00:16:24,542 Would you mind coming back on Monday? 327 00:16:24,609 --> 00:16:27,486 [suspenseful music] 328 00:16:27,587 --> 00:16:28,980 ♪ ♪ 329 00:16:29,046 --> 00:16:34,160 But then on Sunday night, we get a call... 330 00:16:34,260 --> 00:16:36,621 that Mr. Pinetti was found deceased. 331 00:16:36,721 --> 00:16:38,422 ♪ ♪ 332 00:16:38,489 --> 00:16:43,127 Two dead pizza delivery drivers within three days. 333 00:16:43,227 --> 00:16:45,796 You're immediately thinking, this can't be coincidence. 334 00:16:45,897 --> 00:16:47,506 ♪ ♪ 335 00:16:52,695 --> 00:16:55,473 [tense music] 336 00:16:55,573 --> 00:16:57,116 ♪ ♪ 337 00:16:57,216 --> 00:17:01,087 Two dead pizza delivery drivers within three days, 338 00:17:01,153 --> 00:17:03,022 both working at the same pizza shop. 339 00:17:03,122 --> 00:17:05,816 ♪ ♪ 340 00:17:05,917 --> 00:17:08,861 There's no coincidences in Homicide, right? 341 00:17:08,961 --> 00:17:11,063 This can't be one. 342 00:17:11,130 --> 00:17:14,258 - It seemed odd that a fellow pizza delivery 343 00:17:14,325 --> 00:17:16,669 individual by the name of Robert Pinetti 344 00:17:16,769 --> 00:17:21,607 died within a few days of his buddy, Brian Wells. 345 00:17:21,674 --> 00:17:24,844 - He had an overdose of Xanax and methadone, 346 00:17:24,944 --> 00:17:26,379 which killed him. 347 00:17:28,381 --> 00:17:31,150 When we talked to family members of Mr. Pinetti, 348 00:17:31,217 --> 00:17:33,611 we determined that this was out of his character. 349 00:17:33,644 --> 00:17:37,123 But they had said that, right after the bombing, 350 00:17:37,189 --> 00:17:40,284 he had been very nervous and that he was talking 351 00:17:40,351 --> 00:17:42,662 to people about trying to get a gun. 352 00:17:42,762 --> 00:17:44,722 And we found that to be very interesting. 353 00:17:44,789 --> 00:17:47,066 ♪ ♪ 354 00:17:47,133 --> 00:17:50,161 - Could it have been where he was worked up 355 00:17:50,227 --> 00:17:52,196 because of what happened to Brian, 356 00:17:52,296 --> 00:17:54,574 and then took something to calm himself down 357 00:17:54,674 --> 00:17:57,977 and just didn't watch what drugs he was using? 358 00:17:58,044 --> 00:18:01,238 Or was he purposely poisoned-- 359 00:18:01,339 --> 00:18:03,449 what we call hot shot, where somebody 360 00:18:03,516 --> 00:18:04,750 would give him something that would 361 00:18:04,850 --> 00:18:07,812 automatically overdose him? 362 00:18:07,845 --> 00:18:09,388 But when they did the autopsy, 363 00:18:09,488 --> 00:18:12,224 they weren't able to say this is an overdose 364 00:18:12,291 --> 00:18:15,194 caused by somebody else. 365 00:18:15,294 --> 00:18:17,396 - So that added another layer of mystery 366 00:18:17,463 --> 00:18:19,565 as to what happened here. 367 00:18:19,632 --> 00:18:20,925 At this point, the investigators 368 00:18:20,992 --> 00:18:22,593 aren't ruling out anything. 369 00:18:22,693 --> 00:18:25,021 - But there was nothing initially 370 00:18:25,087 --> 00:18:29,041 to determine if Mr. Wells and Mr. Pinetti's death 371 00:18:29,108 --> 00:18:31,978 were connected, so we had to move on 372 00:18:32,044 --> 00:18:34,705 to the next evidence for the case. 373 00:18:34,772 --> 00:18:38,743 And then our lab at Quantico did an amazing job 374 00:18:38,843 --> 00:18:40,678 with both the explosive device 375 00:18:40,711 --> 00:18:43,055 and the cane gun. 376 00:18:43,122 --> 00:18:46,626 Our experts were saying the builder of the cane 377 00:18:46,726 --> 00:18:48,085 and the builder of the bomb 378 00:18:48,185 --> 00:18:49,620 were probably the same individual 379 00:18:49,720 --> 00:18:52,023 because of the craftsmanship 380 00:18:52,089 --> 00:18:56,869 and the manner that they used to construct it. 381 00:18:56,936 --> 00:18:59,296 - The bomb itself was angle iron 382 00:18:59,397 --> 00:19:01,132 and pieces of pipe that was filled 383 00:19:01,198 --> 00:19:02,566 with just regular gunpowder 384 00:19:02,633 --> 00:19:04,735 to make the bomb explode. 385 00:19:04,769 --> 00:19:07,713 - But the timing mechanism in this device was 386 00:19:07,780 --> 00:19:10,808 really, really well-designed. 387 00:19:10,908 --> 00:19:13,586 - The timers were wired in series. 388 00:19:13,653 --> 00:19:16,255 So the first timer would run its 30 minutes, 389 00:19:16,322 --> 00:19:17,957 and then it took the second timer 390 00:19:18,024 --> 00:19:20,559 to run to where they would make contact 391 00:19:20,626 --> 00:19:22,662 that would detonate the bomb. 392 00:19:24,930 --> 00:19:27,917 - The ultimate goal of this premeditated plan 393 00:19:27,983 --> 00:19:29,794 was to see someone killed. 394 00:19:31,670 --> 00:19:36,267 - This plan is so unbelievably diabolical. 395 00:19:36,333 --> 00:19:38,744 So investigators, including myself, 396 00:19:38,778 --> 00:19:40,479 with the Behavioral Analysis Unit 397 00:19:40,579 --> 00:19:45,351 worked on the profile of the bomb builder for a few weeks. 398 00:19:45,418 --> 00:19:48,312 [dramatic music] 399 00:19:48,412 --> 00:19:49,922 ♪ ♪ 400 00:19:49,989 --> 00:19:53,292 The profile indicated that the bomb builder was probably 401 00:19:53,392 --> 00:19:58,330 a shop teacher or a handyman, was very meticulous, 402 00:19:58,431 --> 00:20:01,459 probably a loner. 403 00:20:01,525 --> 00:20:04,995 - The person who did this was most likely a packrat, 404 00:20:05,096 --> 00:20:09,467 someone who collected things, someone very intelligent, 405 00:20:09,500 --> 00:20:11,469 electrical engineering background-- 406 00:20:11,535 --> 00:20:13,796 so more than a hobbyist. 407 00:20:13,863 --> 00:20:17,683 - This was a profile of who we would be looking for. 408 00:20:17,783 --> 00:20:21,153 [tense music] 409 00:20:21,220 --> 00:20:24,323 - And then three weeks into the investigation, 410 00:20:24,390 --> 00:20:28,385 state police receive a 911 call from a gentleman 411 00:20:28,486 --> 00:20:31,522 by the name of Bill Rothstein. 412 00:20:44,610 --> 00:20:47,413 - This case just kept getting crazier and crazier. 413 00:20:52,418 --> 00:20:54,979 - Somebody calling in saying, hey, I have a body 414 00:20:55,045 --> 00:20:57,506 in my house is very odd. 415 00:21:02,128 --> 00:21:04,997 - Rothstein was very distraught, 416 00:21:05,030 --> 00:21:07,366 said he was contemplating suicide. 417 00:21:07,433 --> 00:21:11,036 He wanted to get investigators involved to get the body out 418 00:21:11,103 --> 00:21:13,606 and arrest this lady, who he identified 419 00:21:13,706 --> 00:21:15,708 as Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, 420 00:21:15,774 --> 00:21:17,776 who was responsible for the murder. 421 00:21:21,505 --> 00:21:23,899 - He said the person in the freezer 422 00:21:23,933 --> 00:21:26,277 is an individual named James Roden, 423 00:21:26,377 --> 00:21:29,188 who was the boyfriend of Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong. 424 00:21:29,255 --> 00:21:30,556 - He said that they got into a fight 425 00:21:30,623 --> 00:21:32,716 and that she shot him, and he helped her 426 00:21:32,783 --> 00:21:34,885 to get rid of the body. 427 00:21:34,952 --> 00:21:38,289 - He did not tell us what they were arguing about. 428 00:21:38,355 --> 00:21:40,416 He just said they had an argument. 429 00:21:40,449 --> 00:21:45,571 But Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, if you were from Erie, 430 00:21:45,638 --> 00:21:47,723 you knew who she was. 431 00:21:54,705 --> 00:21:57,566 [tense music] 432 00:21:57,708 --> 00:21:59,385 ♪ ♪ 433 00:21:59,451 --> 00:22:01,921 - Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong was an interesting, 434 00:22:02,021 --> 00:22:05,057 interesting woman. Born and raised in Erie. 435 00:22:05,124 --> 00:22:07,893 She had stayed here her whole life. 436 00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:11,388 - Marjorie had a history dating all the way back 437 00:22:11,455 --> 00:22:14,700 to the '80s, when she shot and killed a boyfriend 438 00:22:14,767 --> 00:22:16,602 while he was laying on the couch. 439 00:22:16,669 --> 00:22:19,396 - She tried to dispose of the body afterwards, 440 00:22:19,430 --> 00:22:21,131 making frantic phone calls, 441 00:22:21,232 --> 00:22:23,601 trying to pay people to dispose of the body. 442 00:22:23,667 --> 00:22:26,078 - But ultimately, she was acquitted 443 00:22:26,111 --> 00:22:32,051 for a battered spouse defense and was freed. 444 00:22:32,084 --> 00:22:36,722 - So then in 1992, her husband at the time 445 00:22:36,789 --> 00:22:39,516 went to the emergency room, and she said he had fallen 446 00:22:39,617 --> 00:22:41,760 and hit his head on a coffee table. 447 00:22:41,794 --> 00:22:45,965 - And that led to an aneurysm, which he later dies from. 448 00:22:46,031 --> 00:22:47,825 - And there's some speculation 449 00:22:47,925 --> 00:22:49,860 that she might have been involved in his death. 450 00:22:49,927 --> 00:22:52,363 - But there was never any charges rendered. 451 00:22:52,463 --> 00:22:55,174 - And then she did have a landlord 452 00:22:55,241 --> 00:22:57,668 who hung himself, unfortunately. 453 00:22:57,768 --> 00:22:59,678 - She definitely wasn't involved in that, 454 00:22:59,778 --> 00:23:01,647 but he did say that, according to 455 00:23:01,747 --> 00:23:04,942 the coroner's report-- that he was being harangued, 456 00:23:04,975 --> 00:23:07,177 and we think that was by her. 457 00:23:07,278 --> 00:23:09,488 ♪ ♪ 458 00:23:09,555 --> 00:23:11,223 - There was a lot of death around her. 459 00:23:11,323 --> 00:23:14,159 At that point, the police convinced 460 00:23:14,226 --> 00:23:16,795 Mr. Rothstein to actually come 461 00:23:16,862 --> 00:23:19,498 to the Pennsylvania State Police barracks, 462 00:23:19,598 --> 00:23:21,133 which he did. 463 00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:23,235 While Bill Rothstein is detained, 464 00:23:23,335 --> 00:23:26,572 investigators are going to his residence. 465 00:23:26,639 --> 00:23:28,007 [dramatic music] 466 00:23:28,073 --> 00:23:30,401 - Once we got to Bill Rothstein's house, 467 00:23:30,467 --> 00:23:34,330 we saw a lady sitting on the bed in the bedroom-- 468 00:23:34,396 --> 00:23:35,914 learned her to be Marjorie Diehl. 469 00:23:36,015 --> 00:23:38,317 Marjorie was angry and lost it. 470 00:23:38,384 --> 00:23:41,712 She was just hollering, and she wanted us out of there. 471 00:23:41,812 --> 00:23:45,024 And I had a couple troopers stand by in that bedroom 472 00:23:45,090 --> 00:23:47,426 while I go out and search that garage. 473 00:23:47,493 --> 00:23:48,494 [camera clicking] 474 00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:49,795 There's junk on both sides. 475 00:23:49,828 --> 00:23:51,255 You have to actually make a path 476 00:23:51,322 --> 00:23:53,857 to get through all the junk. 477 00:23:53,924 --> 00:23:56,869 But I found the freezer. 478 00:23:56,936 --> 00:23:58,721 Open it up, 479 00:23:58,754 --> 00:24:02,174 and there was a body in the fetal position 480 00:24:02,241 --> 00:24:03,934 wrapped up with clear plastic. 481 00:24:04,001 --> 00:24:05,377 ♪ ♪ 482 00:24:05,477 --> 00:24:07,104 Once I found the body, 483 00:24:07,204 --> 00:24:08,881 Marjorie was in a state of shock. 484 00:24:08,948 --> 00:24:10,316 And I said, Marjorie, 485 00:24:10,349 --> 00:24:12,042 I'm now placing you under arrest 486 00:24:12,109 --> 00:24:14,853 for killing James Roden. 487 00:24:14,887 --> 00:24:17,690 - As the police are searching Bill Rothstein's house, 488 00:24:17,723 --> 00:24:21,885 they find what is a very peculiar suicide note 489 00:24:21,952 --> 00:24:24,964 in which Bill says that this has nothing to do 490 00:24:25,064 --> 00:24:26,699 with the Brian Wells case. 491 00:24:26,765 --> 00:24:29,593 - Why would you even put that in the suicide note? 492 00:24:30,803 --> 00:24:33,756 - It was very bizarre. 493 00:24:33,789 --> 00:24:36,058 [tense music] 494 00:24:36,125 --> 00:24:37,468 - That information was passed on 495 00:24:37,568 --> 00:24:38,978 to the federal law enforcement agents 496 00:24:39,011 --> 00:24:42,348 investigating the Brian Wells case. 497 00:24:42,414 --> 00:24:44,074 - Bill Rothstein's house, 498 00:24:44,108 --> 00:24:46,810 that's exactly next-door to where 499 00:24:46,877 --> 00:24:49,880 the pizzas were delivered by Mr. Wells. 500 00:24:49,913 --> 00:24:52,925 That cannot be a coincidence. 501 00:24:52,992 --> 00:24:57,821 And so my job was to determine if Mr. Wells, 502 00:24:57,921 --> 00:25:01,058 Mr. Pinetti's death, and Mr. Roden's death 503 00:25:01,125 --> 00:25:03,927 are all in one case. 504 00:25:03,961 --> 00:25:06,605 And so immediately, I responded to 505 00:25:06,672 --> 00:25:08,165 the Pennsylvania State Police barracks. 506 00:25:08,265 --> 00:25:11,910 However, I could not interview Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong 507 00:25:11,977 --> 00:25:15,447 because she had requested a lawyer. 508 00:25:15,514 --> 00:25:18,283 But they allowed me to interview Mr. Rothstein, 509 00:25:18,350 --> 00:25:19,576 and that's what I did. 510 00:25:19,610 --> 00:25:22,012 [mysterious music] 511 00:25:22,112 --> 00:25:24,948 So Bill Rothstein identifies his relationship 512 00:25:24,982 --> 00:25:26,291 with Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong 513 00:25:26,358 --> 00:25:29,161 as going all the way back to the 1970s, 514 00:25:29,261 --> 00:25:34,366 where they had met at his father's Rola Cola business. 515 00:25:34,466 --> 00:25:37,836 They dated, and they were actually engaged at one point. 516 00:25:37,936 --> 00:25:40,172 And they sort of drifted a little bit apart, 517 00:25:40,272 --> 00:25:42,199 but still were very good friends. 518 00:25:42,266 --> 00:25:43,834 ♪ ♪ 519 00:25:43,934 --> 00:25:48,080 When I asked Rothstein about the Wells case, 520 00:25:48,113 --> 00:25:50,541 he was sticking with the story, 521 00:25:50,607 --> 00:25:53,210 I don't know anything about the Wells case. 522 00:25:53,310 --> 00:25:56,655 I've never been back on the tower site road. 523 00:25:56,722 --> 00:26:01,218 Also, Mr. Rothstein was one of the most arrogant 524 00:26:01,318 --> 00:26:03,187 people I had ever interviewed. 525 00:26:03,287 --> 00:26:05,180 He was a true narcissist. 526 00:26:05,214 --> 00:26:07,991 I picked up on it, and I worked with that. 527 00:26:08,025 --> 00:26:10,936 I said, Bill, I just can't figure this out. 528 00:26:11,003 --> 00:26:12,563 Hypothetically, how would you even 529 00:26:12,663 --> 00:26:14,731 go about making a pipe bomb? And he said, hypothetically? 530 00:26:14,832 --> 00:26:16,175 Yea, hypothetically. 531 00:26:16,275 --> 00:26:20,170 He said, I would cut the tops off a shotgun shells 532 00:26:20,204 --> 00:26:23,407 and pour the black powder in to the pipes. 533 00:26:23,507 --> 00:26:25,150 I almost slid out of the chair 534 00:26:25,217 --> 00:26:27,519 because I knew from our lab 535 00:26:27,619 --> 00:26:31,090 that that's exactly how that bomb was constructed. 536 00:26:31,123 --> 00:26:33,926 Also we find out he was a shop teacher. 537 00:26:34,026 --> 00:26:36,361 He worked in HVAC. 538 00:26:36,428 --> 00:26:38,088 He lived alone and was a loner. 539 00:26:38,155 --> 00:26:41,658 He had a shop in his garage, and he was a packrat. 540 00:26:41,725 --> 00:26:44,595 He would fit a number of the characteristics in the profile 541 00:26:44,695 --> 00:26:47,364 of the bomb builder perfectly. 542 00:26:47,431 --> 00:26:49,600 I knew he was involved. 543 00:26:49,666 --> 00:26:52,478 But he's not gonna make any confession right there. 544 00:26:52,544 --> 00:26:54,680 So I terminated the interview at that time. 545 00:26:54,746 --> 00:26:58,008 Said, Bill, hopefully we can talk again soon. 546 00:26:58,075 --> 00:27:00,085 He was further detained at that time 547 00:27:00,152 --> 00:27:02,221 for the dead body in the garage. 548 00:27:02,321 --> 00:27:06,216 And he was in discussions with the Pennsylvania State Police 549 00:27:06,283 --> 00:27:08,227 on James Roden's murder, 550 00:27:08,293 --> 00:27:11,788 helping cooperate against Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong. 551 00:27:11,855 --> 00:27:14,958 Bill told us he feared that she was gonna 552 00:27:15,058 --> 00:27:17,561 kill him if he didn't do something, 553 00:27:17,628 --> 00:27:19,771 and that's why he turned her in. 554 00:27:19,872 --> 00:27:21,406 [dramatic music] 555 00:27:21,473 --> 00:27:24,276 - We had already searched Bill Rothstein's house, 556 00:27:24,343 --> 00:27:26,403 where we found the body. 557 00:27:26,470 --> 00:27:29,615 So two days later, we obtained a search warrant 558 00:27:29,715 --> 00:27:32,918 for Marjorie Diehl's house, where she killed Roden. 559 00:27:32,985 --> 00:27:36,255 - Ready to go, or are you still writing? 560 00:27:36,355 --> 00:27:39,224 - Mr. Rothstein went to Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong's 561 00:27:39,291 --> 00:27:42,494 house with the investigators. 562 00:27:46,865 --> 00:27:50,002 - During the admission of Bill Rothstein, 563 00:27:50,102 --> 00:27:52,571 it was discovered that Marjorie Diehl purchased 564 00:27:52,638 --> 00:27:55,374 a 12-gauge shotgun, shot James Roden, 565 00:27:55,440 --> 00:27:56,775 and solicited Bill Rothstein 566 00:27:56,842 --> 00:28:00,137 to help her clean up the crime scene. 567 00:28:06,518 --> 00:28:08,745 - So what the investigation determined was that 568 00:28:08,812 --> 00:28:11,281 Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong was responsible 569 00:28:11,315 --> 00:28:12,925 for James Roden's death, 570 00:28:12,958 --> 00:28:15,727 but Marjorie and Bill were not yet connected 571 00:28:15,794 --> 00:28:19,289 to the Brian Wells case other than the note at Bill's. 572 00:28:19,356 --> 00:28:22,534 - Bill Rothstein pled guilty for abuse of a corpse 573 00:28:22,601 --> 00:28:24,194 and disposing of evidence. 574 00:28:24,294 --> 00:28:26,772 But Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong was immediately 575 00:28:26,805 --> 00:28:29,132 declared incompetent to stand trial 576 00:28:29,199 --> 00:28:31,101 for the James Roden case. 577 00:28:31,168 --> 00:28:34,246 - Investigators were prohibited by law 578 00:28:34,279 --> 00:28:36,648 from talking to her about the Wells case. 579 00:28:36,715 --> 00:28:39,318 And that puts everything on hold. 580 00:28:39,418 --> 00:28:42,004 - This was a real obstacle in this case. 581 00:28:42,037 --> 00:28:44,890 [tense music] 582 00:28:44,990 --> 00:28:46,858 ♪ ♪ 583 00:28:46,925 --> 00:28:48,977 And then I hear Bill Rothstein's 584 00:28:49,044 --> 00:28:51,730 in the hospital, very ill. 585 00:28:51,830 --> 00:28:54,224 - Bill Rothstein was suffering from cancer. 586 00:28:54,324 --> 00:28:55,667 The last time they interviewed him, 587 00:28:55,767 --> 00:28:58,003 he essentially was dying. 588 00:28:58,103 --> 00:28:59,496 [vitals monitor beeps] 589 00:28:59,563 --> 00:29:01,406 - I said, Bill, don't take this with you. 590 00:29:01,506 --> 00:29:02,874 Cleanse your soul. 591 00:29:02,975 --> 00:29:05,043 Tell me these cases are related. 592 00:29:05,143 --> 00:29:09,539 And he lifts his big arm out of the bed and makes a no. 593 00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:12,676 ♪ ♪ 594 00:29:12,743 --> 00:29:15,687 Four days later, he dies. 595 00:29:15,754 --> 00:29:19,057 This was really a huge blow to our investigation 596 00:29:19,124 --> 00:29:21,326 because we knew he had knowledge 597 00:29:21,393 --> 00:29:23,262 about the Brian Wells case. 598 00:29:23,328 --> 00:29:24,588 He just wasn't sharing it. 599 00:29:24,688 --> 00:29:28,266 And now that he's gone, we weren't gonna get it. 600 00:29:28,367 --> 00:29:30,168 With Bill Rothstein dead, 601 00:29:30,202 --> 00:29:32,663 we really needed to talk to Marjorie. 602 00:29:32,729 --> 00:29:36,900 But we had to wait until 2005. 603 00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:39,077 ♪ ♪ 604 00:29:39,144 --> 00:29:42,581 - In January of 2005, 605 00:29:42,681 --> 00:29:46,034 she pleaded guilty but mentally ill 606 00:29:46,101 --> 00:29:48,378 in Roden's death. 607 00:29:48,445 --> 00:29:52,858 She was sentenced to 7 to 20 years in state prison. 608 00:29:52,924 --> 00:29:54,726 Once she got there 609 00:29:54,793 --> 00:29:58,063 and her mental health had stabilized, 610 00:29:58,130 --> 00:29:59,956 then the investigators were able to talk 611 00:30:00,057 --> 00:30:02,793 to her about the Wells cases. 612 00:30:02,893 --> 00:30:05,429 - And the first piece of information that she gave 613 00:30:05,529 --> 00:30:07,372 was that they should take a look at a man 614 00:30:07,439 --> 00:30:09,074 named Ken Barnes. 615 00:30:09,141 --> 00:30:12,077 He had something to do with the robbery. 616 00:30:12,144 --> 00:30:14,913 - This plan, it just kept unraveling 617 00:30:14,980 --> 00:30:17,541 into this one giant, 618 00:30:17,607 --> 00:30:20,652 really diabolical scheme to kill. 619 00:30:27,259 --> 00:30:29,995 [soft dramatic music] 620 00:30:30,095 --> 00:30:32,130 ♪ ♪ 621 00:30:32,197 --> 00:30:36,259 - In Erie, the state police and the Erie city police 622 00:30:36,326 --> 00:30:40,272 knew Ken Barnes, whose name first arises 623 00:30:40,338 --> 00:30:42,899 from Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong in 2005 624 00:30:42,933 --> 00:30:46,002 as having been a known crack dealer. 625 00:30:46,103 --> 00:30:48,839 We started thinking, wow, that's interesting 626 00:30:48,939 --> 00:30:52,509 because we did have crack in this case 627 00:30:52,609 --> 00:30:54,102 come up in the past. 628 00:30:54,169 --> 00:30:56,346 And that was with Jessica, 629 00:30:56,413 --> 00:31:01,418 whose name was in Brian Wells's notebook. 630 00:31:01,485 --> 00:31:02,786 - This woman didn't have a car. 631 00:31:02,853 --> 00:31:04,696 And so she was a friend of Brian Wells. 632 00:31:04,796 --> 00:31:07,299 And Brian would drive her to buy drugs. 633 00:31:07,399 --> 00:31:11,169 - And we started thinking, wow, maybe here's our connection. 634 00:31:11,269 --> 00:31:13,263 [tense music] 635 00:31:13,330 --> 00:31:15,006 We started interviewing Ken Barnes. 636 00:31:15,073 --> 00:31:19,469 And he initially would say he doesn't know anything. 637 00:31:19,536 --> 00:31:22,848 He knows Marjorie. He knows Bill Rothstein. 638 00:31:22,948 --> 00:31:28,353 And he knows Brian Wells because Brian Wells 639 00:31:28,420 --> 00:31:30,422 would drive Jessica over 640 00:31:30,489 --> 00:31:33,175 to his house to buy crack cocaine, 641 00:31:33,208 --> 00:31:36,887 but wasn't linking them together. 642 00:31:36,987 --> 00:31:39,097 - During that time, we received a tip from 643 00:31:39,164 --> 00:31:43,635 a UPS driver that he had seen William Rothstein 644 00:31:43,702 --> 00:31:46,696 and Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong at a payphone 645 00:31:46,797 --> 00:31:48,807 outside near the PNC Bank, 646 00:31:48,874 --> 00:31:50,609 the exact payphone where the call 647 00:31:50,675 --> 00:31:53,003 was made to order the pizza. 648 00:31:53,069 --> 00:31:56,414 So we started going back to the footage 649 00:31:56,448 --> 00:31:58,575 that we had inside the Shell station 650 00:31:58,675 --> 00:32:01,011 and determined that we had Ken Barnes 651 00:32:01,077 --> 00:32:02,988 inside the Shell station. 652 00:32:03,054 --> 00:32:07,159 So we interviewed him again. 653 00:32:07,225 --> 00:32:10,562 - But Ken Barnes, initially he wasn't 654 00:32:10,629 --> 00:32:13,498 very cooperative or forthcoming. 655 00:32:13,565 --> 00:32:17,060 - It was a series of just interview after interview 656 00:32:17,160 --> 00:32:19,863 after interview for years. 657 00:32:19,896 --> 00:32:23,558 It was intense at times, but we all cared. 658 00:32:23,592 --> 00:32:27,270 And I just was not gonna let it go unsolved. 659 00:32:27,337 --> 00:32:29,948 - Every time we went to have a conversation with him, 660 00:32:30,048 --> 00:32:31,249 he'd talk with us. 661 00:32:31,316 --> 00:32:33,218 It may only be for a short time, 662 00:32:33,285 --> 00:32:35,745 but he would talk to us. 663 00:32:35,846 --> 00:32:38,114 - Until finally he reached the point where, 664 00:32:38,215 --> 00:32:41,293 OK, I'm just gonna tell you everything I know. 665 00:32:42,219 --> 00:32:44,788 - Ken Barnes finally decided 666 00:32:44,888 --> 00:32:48,033 to tell the truth and to, in fact, 667 00:32:48,099 --> 00:32:50,760 act as a cooperating witness. 668 00:32:50,861 --> 00:32:53,538 - He said he knew Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong 669 00:32:53,605 --> 00:32:56,299 because they would go fishing at the South Pier in Erie. 670 00:32:56,366 --> 00:33:00,078 He knew Bill Rothstein because he was friends 671 00:33:00,145 --> 00:33:02,472 with Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong. 672 00:33:02,572 --> 00:33:05,275 - The way Ken Barnes puts it, Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong 673 00:33:05,375 --> 00:33:09,187 is upset because her father was worth about 674 00:33:09,221 --> 00:33:11,147 more than $1 million at the time. 675 00:33:11,248 --> 00:33:13,450 And he is handing out his money 676 00:33:13,550 --> 00:33:14,818 to friends and neighbors, 677 00:33:14,918 --> 00:33:17,654 even the mail carrier, because he doesn't want 678 00:33:17,754 --> 00:33:22,058 her to get money when he dies. 679 00:33:22,125 --> 00:33:25,262 She believes that that money belongs to her. 680 00:33:25,328 --> 00:33:26,872 That's her inheritance. 681 00:33:26,938 --> 00:33:30,075 And then if he dies now, she'll get the money. 682 00:33:30,141 --> 00:33:32,978 So Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong solicits Barnes 683 00:33:33,044 --> 00:33:37,682 to kill her father, and Barnes said he'd do it for $250,000. 684 00:33:37,716 --> 00:33:40,185 So Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong and Bill Rothstein 685 00:33:40,285 --> 00:33:44,656 came up with this plot to rob this PNC Bank branch, 686 00:33:44,723 --> 00:33:49,611 and that money would be used to pay Ken Barnes as a hit man. 687 00:33:50,896 --> 00:33:54,024 - According to Ken Barnes, Bill Rothstein 688 00:33:54,124 --> 00:33:56,459 decides, well, I'm gonna come up 689 00:33:56,526 --> 00:33:58,662 with the perfect crime. 690 00:33:58,762 --> 00:34:01,623 - It's gonna be an overcomplicated scheme 691 00:34:01,690 --> 00:34:03,141 no one can solve. 692 00:34:03,208 --> 00:34:06,311 - Let's use a patsy to rob the bank. 693 00:34:06,378 --> 00:34:07,671 They'll be a hostage. 694 00:34:07,771 --> 00:34:10,081 We'll get rid of him as a witness. 695 00:34:10,148 --> 00:34:13,677 They all decided Brian Wells would be perfect for this. 696 00:34:13,777 --> 00:34:16,212 He's that guy that comes over with Jessica. 697 00:34:16,279 --> 00:34:20,825 He is very naive, and we could talk him into this. 698 00:34:20,926 --> 00:34:23,194 - What they told Brian was that, if he was caught, 699 00:34:23,261 --> 00:34:24,663 he'd say, hey, I don't know who did this. 700 00:34:24,729 --> 00:34:26,898 I was a bomb hostage. 701 00:34:26,998 --> 00:34:30,368 - Ken Barnes told law enforcement that Brian Wells 702 00:34:30,435 --> 00:34:33,038 agreed to participate in the bank robbery in exchange 703 00:34:33,104 --> 00:34:36,341 for $5,000, but we don't think 704 00:34:36,408 --> 00:34:39,069 that Brian really knew the full extent 705 00:34:39,169 --> 00:34:41,579 of what he was agreeing to do. 706 00:34:41,613 --> 00:34:44,649 - He was told the device would be fake. 707 00:34:44,716 --> 00:34:47,986 And then Barnes said there was a pre-planning meeting 708 00:34:48,019 --> 00:34:50,847 on August 27th, the day before the robbery, 709 00:34:50,914 --> 00:34:53,558 and Mr. Wells was there. 710 00:34:53,658 --> 00:34:56,252 But he never saw the real device. 711 00:34:56,353 --> 00:34:59,381 A day later, when the bank robbery happens, 712 00:34:59,414 --> 00:35:03,301 Brian Wells shows up, delivers the pizzas. 713 00:35:03,368 --> 00:35:05,495 They go to put the bomb on him. He sees it. 714 00:35:05,528 --> 00:35:06,805 He goes, that looks too real. 715 00:35:06,838 --> 00:35:08,431 I don't want to do this anymore. 716 00:35:08,498 --> 00:35:11,543 Ken Barnes grabs him, punches him, 717 00:35:11,643 --> 00:35:14,004 knocks him to the ground, and that's when 718 00:35:14,037 --> 00:35:15,947 they put it around his neck. 719 00:35:16,047 --> 00:35:17,716 ♪ ♪ 720 00:35:17,782 --> 00:35:19,918 - They give him the notes, and they give him the cane gun, 721 00:35:19,985 --> 00:35:22,153 and then he's on his way. 722 00:35:22,220 --> 00:35:25,382 And they told him that, if he disclosed what happened, 723 00:35:25,448 --> 00:35:27,250 they were gonna kill him. 724 00:35:27,350 --> 00:35:30,862 - But he was never going to survive because he would 725 00:35:30,895 --> 00:35:33,531 have never had time to accomplish 726 00:35:33,598 --> 00:35:35,925 all those routes he was to do. 727 00:35:36,026 --> 00:35:38,737 That bomb was just going to detonate 728 00:35:38,837 --> 00:35:41,640 wherever he was in that scavenger hunt. 729 00:35:41,706 --> 00:35:44,067 They tricked him. They duped him. 730 00:35:44,134 --> 00:35:45,593 They killed him. 731 00:35:45,627 --> 00:35:49,773 And it was horrific what happened to him. 732 00:35:49,873 --> 00:35:52,217 - We also had other corroborating witnesses 733 00:35:52,283 --> 00:35:54,486 from the various prisons that Marjorie 734 00:35:54,519 --> 00:35:56,087 had been incarcerated at. 735 00:35:56,154 --> 00:35:58,548 - She would sit in there, and she would tell everybody 736 00:35:58,615 --> 00:36:02,085 what she did, brag about being involved 737 00:36:02,152 --> 00:36:03,653 in the Brian Wells case 738 00:36:03,753 --> 00:36:06,398 and that she shot her boyfriend, 739 00:36:06,431 --> 00:36:09,292 James Roden, because he would not cooperate. 740 00:36:09,392 --> 00:36:12,062 ♪ ♪ 741 00:36:12,128 --> 00:36:14,539 Through the inmate witnesses, 742 00:36:14,606 --> 00:36:17,809 we determined that James Roden was 743 00:36:17,909 --> 00:36:20,879 part of the scheme to rob the bank. 744 00:36:20,912 --> 00:36:24,482 - And in the end, he had an argument with Marjorie, 745 00:36:24,582 --> 00:36:26,951 and he threatened to contact law enforcement 746 00:36:27,052 --> 00:36:29,954 and tell them about their plans to commit the bank robbery. 747 00:36:30,021 --> 00:36:32,682 And that's why she killed him, to keep him quiet. 748 00:36:32,782 --> 00:36:35,610 - Before his death, Bill Rothstein had said 749 00:36:35,677 --> 00:36:37,095 that they had an argument. 750 00:36:37,162 --> 00:36:38,897 But it turns out that argument becomes 751 00:36:38,930 --> 00:36:41,324 pretty important as to what they were arguing about. 752 00:36:41,424 --> 00:36:44,360 ♪ ♪ 753 00:36:44,461 --> 00:36:46,796 The inmate witnesses also told us 754 00:36:46,863 --> 00:36:50,375 there was an individual that was living 755 00:36:50,475 --> 00:36:53,870 in Bill Rothstein's house right before the bank robbery. 756 00:36:53,937 --> 00:36:55,947 His name was Floyd Stockton. 757 00:36:55,980 --> 00:36:58,149 ♪ ♪ 758 00:36:58,216 --> 00:37:00,085 After doing criminal history, 759 00:37:00,118 --> 00:37:02,479 we realized that Floyd Stockton 760 00:37:02,545 --> 00:37:06,424 was a wanted fugitive from the State of Washington 761 00:37:06,491 --> 00:37:10,195 for a rape charge, and he had been hiding out 762 00:37:10,261 --> 00:37:13,031 in Erie, Pennsylvania. 763 00:37:13,098 --> 00:37:16,835 So we found Mr. Stockton and arrested him 764 00:37:16,901 --> 00:37:19,971 for the rape charge, and before he was extradited 765 00:37:20,004 --> 00:37:23,066 back to Washington State, we interviewed him. 766 00:37:23,166 --> 00:37:25,994 Tell us about the Brian Wells case. 767 00:37:32,308 --> 00:37:35,311 [tense music] 768 00:37:35,378 --> 00:37:41,159 - Floyd Stockton was a very close friend of Bill Rothstein 769 00:37:41,226 --> 00:37:45,430 and gave a long statement and made the admission 770 00:37:45,530 --> 00:37:46,965 he was involved in the case. 771 00:37:46,998 --> 00:37:50,368 - Mr. Stockton was at the pre-planning meeting. 772 00:37:50,468 --> 00:37:52,929 And his role was to put 773 00:37:53,029 --> 00:37:55,707 the bomb around Brian Wells's neck. 774 00:37:55,740 --> 00:37:58,910 Also, he saw Robert Pinetti, 775 00:37:59,010 --> 00:38:01,112 the other pizza delivery driver. 776 00:38:01,212 --> 00:38:04,048 His role was to make sure that 777 00:38:04,149 --> 00:38:07,352 Brian Wells continued to cooperate. 778 00:38:07,452 --> 00:38:12,248 And he was gonna get money to do that. 779 00:38:12,282 --> 00:38:16,594 - Pinetti talked him into it. Basically, they were friends. 780 00:38:16,628 --> 00:38:19,230 Now, we know Pinetti was definitely 781 00:38:19,330 --> 00:38:20,865 involved in the plot. 782 00:38:20,932 --> 00:38:22,901 - After the death of Brian Wells, 783 00:38:22,934 --> 00:38:24,302 I think he panicked. 784 00:38:24,402 --> 00:38:27,038 I think he was looking for something to calm him down. 785 00:38:27,105 --> 00:38:29,808 And I think Ken Barnes gave him a hot shot. 786 00:38:29,908 --> 00:38:34,204 That's never been charged, but that's what we think happened. 787 00:38:34,270 --> 00:38:38,283 So all pieces together, and this plan 788 00:38:38,316 --> 00:38:40,985 is like no other we've ever seen. 789 00:38:41,085 --> 00:38:45,990 ♪ ♪ 790 00:38:46,090 --> 00:38:48,326 - Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong 791 00:38:48,426 --> 00:38:50,153 is furious when she learns that 792 00:38:50,253 --> 00:38:54,132 her father has been spending his money that she believes 793 00:38:54,165 --> 00:38:56,000 to be her inheritance. 794 00:38:56,100 --> 00:38:59,404 - So she solicits Ken Barnes for $250,000 795 00:38:59,470 --> 00:39:01,506 to kill her father. 796 00:39:01,606 --> 00:39:06,578 - And they would get the $250,000 by robbing a PNC Bank. 797 00:39:06,611 --> 00:39:10,081 - Then they found somebody who was allegedly a hostage, 798 00:39:10,181 --> 00:39:13,017 Brian Wells, to further their plan. 799 00:39:13,117 --> 00:39:16,154 - Over a couple of months, Bill Rothstein 800 00:39:16,254 --> 00:39:18,756 constructed the bomb and the cane gun, 801 00:39:18,790 --> 00:39:21,426 and came up with the scavenger hunt. 802 00:39:21,492 --> 00:39:23,494 - One day before the bank robbery, 803 00:39:23,595 --> 00:39:25,797 all of the co-conspirators got together 804 00:39:25,897 --> 00:39:28,333 at the tower site to discuss the robbery. 805 00:39:28,433 --> 00:39:31,436 - The next day, call comes in to the pizza shop. 806 00:39:31,502 --> 00:39:34,197 Brian Wells delivers the pizzas. 807 00:39:34,297 --> 00:39:38,009 The device is attached to his neck. 808 00:39:38,109 --> 00:39:41,145 And then Brian Wells drives directly to the bank 809 00:39:41,179 --> 00:39:47,719 and robs it, still believing that that device is a fake. 810 00:39:47,819 --> 00:39:52,557 - He got into his car, and he began the scavenger hunt. 811 00:39:52,657 --> 00:39:55,193 - And then at some point, they were gonna 812 00:39:55,226 --> 00:39:57,161 intercept him to get the money. 813 00:39:57,228 --> 00:39:59,163 - But during the rest of the scavenger hunt, 814 00:39:59,197 --> 00:40:01,391 the bomb was set to explode. 815 00:40:01,457 --> 00:40:04,986 And that would eliminate Brian from going to the police. 816 00:40:07,906 --> 00:40:11,542 - Not only was there a plan, but there was a plan 817 00:40:11,576 --> 00:40:14,037 upon a plan upon a plan. 818 00:40:14,070 --> 00:40:17,348 - It's difficult to think that somebody 819 00:40:17,448 --> 00:40:20,576 was tricked into death. 820 00:40:20,643 --> 00:40:23,988 I still feel horrible for the Wells family. 821 00:40:24,055 --> 00:40:26,691 - The co-conspirators treated Brian Wells 822 00:40:26,724 --> 00:40:29,394 as a thing, not as a person. 823 00:40:29,427 --> 00:40:32,055 He was treated as a-- as a means to an end. 824 00:40:33,965 --> 00:40:36,934 [soft dramatic music] 825 00:40:37,035 --> 00:40:38,202 ♪ ♪ 826 00:40:38,303 --> 00:40:40,204 - Ken Barnes and Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong 827 00:40:40,271 --> 00:40:42,607 were charged with three offenses-- 828 00:40:42,707 --> 00:40:45,343 conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery, 829 00:40:45,376 --> 00:40:46,678 committing the armed bank robbery, 830 00:40:46,744 --> 00:40:48,179 and then they were charged with using 831 00:40:48,246 --> 00:40:51,941 a destructive device to commit the armed bank robbery. 832 00:40:52,041 --> 00:40:53,384 - They were not charged with murder. 833 00:40:53,418 --> 00:40:55,453 There's no federal charge for murder, 834 00:40:55,553 --> 00:40:57,580 but the conspiracy charges 835 00:40:57,613 --> 00:41:00,625 apply to bank robbery involving a death. 836 00:41:00,725 --> 00:41:02,694 ♪ ♪ 837 00:41:02,760 --> 00:41:05,129 - William Rothstein was already deceased, 838 00:41:05,229 --> 00:41:07,365 so he wasn't included in the indictment. 839 00:41:07,432 --> 00:41:10,368 Floyd Stockton, we chose not to charge him, 840 00:41:10,435 --> 00:41:14,172 but to use his cooperation to be able to charge 841 00:41:14,205 --> 00:41:15,640 Ken and Marjorie. 842 00:41:15,740 --> 00:41:22,772 ♪ ♪ 843 00:41:44,068 --> 00:41:46,838 [gentle music] 844 00:41:46,938 --> 00:41:48,339 ♪ ♪ 845 00:41:48,439 --> 00:41:51,109 - This is probably the most premeditated case 846 00:41:51,209 --> 00:41:53,169 you'll ever see. 847 00:41:53,269 --> 00:41:55,513 Their whole plan was crazy. 848 00:41:55,613 --> 00:41:58,316 You're gonna hire a guy to kill your father, 849 00:41:58,349 --> 00:42:00,284 and he wants $250,000. 850 00:42:00,318 --> 00:42:02,120 So you're gonna have a guy rob a bank, 851 00:42:02,153 --> 00:42:04,455 and then you kill three men. 852 00:42:04,555 --> 00:42:06,182 And at the end of it, 853 00:42:06,249 --> 00:42:08,760 Marjorie didn't inherit any money. 854 00:42:08,860 --> 00:42:12,597 It's such a bizarre situation. 855 00:42:12,663 --> 00:42:14,323 - It's a very strange case, 856 00:42:14,357 --> 00:42:16,134 and it's the strangest one I've ever worked on, 857 00:42:16,234 --> 00:42:19,303 something nobody will ever forget. 858 00:42:19,404 --> 00:42:23,199 - This plan and this plot is evil, 859 00:42:23,299 --> 00:42:26,377 just no consideration of human life. 860 00:42:26,444 --> 00:42:29,313 - This happened in Erie, Pennsylvania, 861 00:42:29,414 --> 00:42:31,516 a town I love and adore, 862 00:42:31,616 --> 00:42:34,519 and I'm just really, really glad 863 00:42:34,619 --> 00:42:36,754 that we were able to get to the bottom of it 864 00:42:36,821 --> 00:42:38,681 and bring justice.