The Pizza Bomber Mystery: The Execution of Brian Wells and America’s Most Diabolical Bank Heist
By Dicking Around With Richie – A True Crime Feed, brought to you by The Sassy Gazette
“ACT NOW, THINK LATER OR YOU WILL DIE.”
Those chilling words weren’t lines from a movie script they were the instructions left for Brian Wells on August 28, 2003, as he sat on the pavement in Erie, Pennsylvania, with a live bomb locked around his neck.
This is the story of America’s most bizarre and sinister bank heist the Pizza Bomber case. It’s a tale of twisted minds, elaborate contraptions, and a murder still officially unsolved. And yes, I’ve watched Evil Genius on Netflix (fantastic docuseries, by the way). But let me tell you it barely scratches the surface.
Tunnel Vision or Thorough Investigation?
Let’s get one thing straight: this case was complex as hell. But even with all the chaos, one question haunts me did the police have tunnel vision?
Once the FBI started suggesting Brian Wells was involved, it seemed everything they found got twisted to fit that narrative. Maybe it’s easier to believe the guy wearing the bomb was part of the plan than to accept the horrifying truth that he was a pawn marked for death from the start.
Because if Brian was a true victim, then this case becomes not just a bank robbery gone wrong but a cold-blooded public execution in broad daylight.
And guess what? No one has ever been charged with Brian Wells’ murder. Let that sink in.
Was It About Money or Notoriety?
People love saying this was “just about the money.” Sure it started with money. Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong needed $250,000 so she could pay Kenneth Barnes to kill her own father and secure her inheritance.
But here’s the twist: this crime became about ego and mind games.
It evolved into a psychological chess match between two “fractured intellectuals” Marjorie and William Rothstein. These were people who wanted to outsmart the cops, each other, and probably the world. It wasn’t just about cash it was about proving who was smarter.
Marjorie couldn’t keep her mouth shut because she thought she was the smartest person in every room. She even bragged:
“It’s not like we didn’t fit Brian for the collar!”
Let that quote echo in your mind. It’s pure evil. And it confirms what I’ve always believed: Brian Wells was never supposed to walk away alive.
The Fractured Intellectuals
A band of criminal misfits. That’s how the FBI described them and it’s perfect.
- Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong - Brilliant, volatile, and diagnosed with bipolar disorder. She plotted to kill her father, orchestrated a bank robbery, and confessed way too much because she thought everyone else was an idiot.
- William Rothstein - The suspected mastermind bomb-maker. I honestly believe Rothstein went to his grave still protecting Marjorie. He was cunning enough to hide James Roden’s body in a freezer and then calmly call the police to report it.
- Kenneth Barnes - Crack dealer, “fishing buddy” of Marjorie’s, and the guy she planned to hire as a hitman.
- Floyd Stockton - A fugitive who helped lock the bomb around Brian Wells’ neck.
And then there’s Jessica Hoopsick who might be the wildest part of this story.
Jessica Hoopsick: The Woman Who Set Up Brian Wells?
For years, Jessica Hoopsick stayed silent. Then, in Evil Genius, she dropped a bombshell: she set Brian Wells up.
Jessica claimed Kenneth Barnes offered her money and drugs if she could find someone “who could be scared into robbing a bank.” She gave them Brian’s name because, in her words, he was “a pushover.”
She insists Brian had no idea what was coming for him. No idea there’d be a real bomb. No idea he’d be left for dead on live television.
If Jessica is telling the truth, Brian Wells was completely innocent a good guy caught up because of someone else’s addiction and desperation. And if that’s true, then every person who ever called Brian Wells a co-conspirator owes him, and his family, an apology.
The Ingenious and Evil Collar Bomb
Let’s talk about that bomb.
The ingenuity and malevolence of the Pizza Bomber plot were clearest in the device locked around Brian Wells’ neck. This wasn’t some slapdash homemade contraption. It was a mechanical nightmare designed by someone who knew exactly what they were doing likely William Rothstein.
- A triple-banded metal collar basically an oversized handcuff for the neck.
- Four separate keyholes under the chin requiring multiple keys and complex unlocking mechanisms.
- A rectangular housing containing two pipe bombs and two kitchen timers.
- An electronic timer hanging visibly over Brian’s chest, counting down to his doom.
- Decoy wires, a toy cell phone, and fake clues engineered to confuse anyone trying to disarm it.
This bomb was equal parts weapon and psychological torture device. It was built to terrify, control, and ultimately kill. There was no way Brian Wells was ever getting out alive.
The Scavenger Hunt: A Cruel Charade
Remember that nine-page letter labeled “Bomb Hostage” found in Brian’s car?
It outlined a scavenger hunt an elaborate list of stops and timed tasks supposedly designed to collect keys that would defuse the bomb. It was full of warnings:
“ACT NOW, THINK LATER OR YOU WILL DIE!”
But here’s the truth: it was a cruel charade.
There was no path to freedom. Investigators later proved it was physically impossible to finish the scavenger hunt before the bomb’s timer ran out. The conspirators never intended for Brian Wells to survive. The scavenger hunt was simply:
- A psychological torture tactic to keep Brian obedient.
- A way to convince him the bomb might be fake or removable.
- A shield for the conspirators to claim Brian was just a hostage.
This elevates the crime from a robbery to first-degree murder. The robbery was only a tool to fund Marjorie’s murder-for-hire plot. Brian’s death wasn’t collateral damage it was the plan.
Why Has No One Been Charged with Brian Wells’ Murder?
This is the question that enrages me the most.
Despite everything we know despite confessions, court cases, and Evil Genius no one has ever been charged with Brian Wells’ murder.
The conspirators who survived (like Marjorie and Kenneth) were charged with conspiracy, robbery, and use of a destructive device. But murder? Never.
Why? Because once Brian was labeled a co-conspirator, prosecutors argued they couldn’t charge anyone with his murder. If Brian was in on the plot even partially it changed the charges from murder to felony homicide in commission of another crime.
In my opinion, calling Brian a co-conspirator was about one thing: avoiding the death penalty for the other players. It gave them just enough legal wiggle room to escape being tried for capital murder.
And that, my friends, is an injustice that still haunts this case.
The Battle of the Minds
At the core of this entire twisted saga was a mental duel between William Rothstein and Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong.
- Marjorie: Intelligent, unstable, manipulative. Couldn’t stay quiet because she needed to prove how brilliant she was.
- Rothstein: Equally sharp, methodical, and in my view, still protecting Marjorie even from beyond the grave.
If Rothstein had lived to testify, the courtroom drama would have been legendary. We’ll never know the full truth he carried to his grave.
Brian Wells: Innocent or Accomplice?
The biggest question that still divides people: Was Brian Wells innocent?
The FBI claims he was part of the plot. They point to alleged conversations Brian supposedly had about the robbery a month earlier and his visits to Rothstein’s home the day before the crime.
But I don’t buy it.
Everything from Jessica Hoopsick’s confession to the impossible scavenger hunt tells me Brian Wells was an innocent man used as a pawn. He was lured into delivering a pizza and left to die wearing a bomb. The man’s final words “It’s going to go off. I’m not lying!” were not the words of a co-conspirator. They were the desperate cries of a victim.
A Legacy of Cruelty and Mystery
This case remains one of the most bizarre and heartbreaking chapters in American crime history. It’s a story of fractured intellectuals, twisted schemes, and a murder carried out in front of an entire nation.
If you ask me, Brian Wells deserves to be remembered as the victim he was. A good man. A pizza delivery guy who got caught in a web of madness spun by people who thought they were smarter than everyone else.
And as for Marjorie, Rothstein, Barnes, and the rest? They may be gone or locked up but the truth about this case still hasn’t been fully told.
Stay tuned for Dicking Around With Richie’s next deep dive: Gary Heidnik.
Brought to you by The Sassy Gazette.
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