Death of Brian Wells

William Ansel Rothstein (January 17, 1944 – July 30, 2004) dated Diehl-Armstrong in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Marjorie Eleanor Diehl-Armstrong (February 26, 1949 – April 4, 2017) had a history of suffering from multiple mental illnesses including bipolar disorder.

Before her mental health deteriorated in her twenties, Diehl-Armstrong was an "exemplary student" in high school and earned a master's degree from Gannon College.

In 1973, when Wells was a 16-year-old sophomore, he dropped out of East High School in Erie, Pennsylvania and went to work as a mechanic.

At Kenneth Barnes' home, he, Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, and William Rothstein discussed ways they could make money.

Diehl-Armstrong suggested Barnes kill her father, Harold Diehl, so she would receive an inheritance.

Barnes told her he was willing to do this for US$250000 2003.

The collar bomb-bank robbery plot was hatched to obtain enough money to pay Barnes to kill Diehl-Armstrong's father.

In return for a reduced sentence, Barnes later told investigators Diehl-Armstrong was the mastermind of the crime and that she wanted the money to pay Barnes to kill her father, who she believed was wasting her inheritance.

Diehl-Armstrong, Barnes, and Rothstein seem to have suffered from compulsive hoarding.

He was implicated in a 1977 murder after he gave a handgun to a friend who used it to murder a romantic rival; he later attempted to destroy the weapon but was granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony.

Rothstein was a handyman and part-time shop teacher, and was part of a group called the "fractured intellectuals"; intelligent people who were not well-adjusted.

In 1984, she shot her boyfriend Robert Thomas six times as he lay on the couch but was acquitted on claims of self-defense.

Her husband and several other partners also died under suspicious circumstances.

On August 28, 2003, pizza delivery man Brian Douglas Wells robbed a PNC Bank near his hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania, United States.

Upon being apprehended by police, Wells died when an explosive collar locked to his neck detonated.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigation into his death uncovered a complex plot described as "one of the most complicated and bizarre crimes in the annals of the FBI".

Rothstein was admitted to the Millcreek Community Hospital on July 23, 2004, having previously been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma showing diffuse, large-cell type myeloproliferative lymphoma, and died on July 30 that year at the age of 60.

Rothstein was the putative creator of the collar bomb.

Floyd Arthur "Jay" Stockton Jr. (1947 – August 10, 2022) was a convicted rapist of a disabled teenager.

Stockton lived as a fugitive at Rothstein's house.

He was granted immunity for his testimony against Diehl-Armstrong, but was never called to testify in court due to illness.

Stockton died of acute respiratory failure in Bellingham, Washington at the age of 74–75.

His death was ruled accidental.

Immediately after his death, investigators searched Wells' house and found a list of people he knew, including two prostitutes unknown to other members of his family.

One of the prostitutes he frequented, Jessica Hoopsick, knew Kenneth Barnes, who dealt crack and whose house was used by prostitutes.

According to law enforcement reports, Wells participated in the planning of the bank robbery the day before and was aware of the complex plot; he believed the bomb would be fake but would serve as exculpatory evidence if he was caught.

According to an FBI affidavit, two witnesses confirmed that Wells talked about the robbery about a month before it occurred.

In conjunction with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP), the FBI investigation led to Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong and Kenneth Barnes being charged with the crime in 2007.

The investigation determined the plot was masterminded by Diehl-Armstrong to receive an inheritance by hiring Barnes with the money from the bank robbery to kill her father.

William Rothstein and Floyd Stockton were also found to have conspired in the crime, but Rothstein died before being charged and Stockton was granted immunity in exchange for testifying against Diehl-Armstrong.

Diehl-Armstrong was sentenced in 2011 to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, and Barnes received a reduced sentence of 22½ years in exchange for testifying against Diehl-Armstrong; both died in prison.

Wells' involvement in the plot is a matter of controversy.

Investigators concluded Wells was a willing participant in the robbery, but was told the bomb was fake.

Wells' family said he was forced to rob the bank by the conspirators.

Diehl-Armstrong died from breast cancer in prison on April 4, 2017, at the age of 68.

Known as the collar bomb case or pizza bomber case, the incident gained extensive media coverage, including the 2018 Netflix series Evil Genius.

Brian Wells was born in Warren, Pennsylvania, to Rose and Harold Wells, the latter of whom was a Korean War veteran.

Kenneth Barnes (1954 – June 20, 2019) was a retired television repairman, crack dealer, and Diehl-Armstrong's "fishing buddy".

He suffered from diabetes and died in prison on June 20, 2019, at the age of 64–65.