- 2 days ago
A botched bank robbery and bomb-clad hostage lead Erie detectives through a bizarre, convoluted scavenger hunt that starts with a pizza delivery, ends with multiple victims, and was concocted by a deranged perpetrator who has plans to kill again.
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00:12We have a bomb or something wrapped around his neck.
00:18We hear a faint, beep, beep, beep, and it exploded.
00:26Investigators found pages upon pages of a bizarre scavenger hunt.
00:31It was going to be an over-complicating scheme no one can solve.
00:35Having a human being go to sites to try to save his own life, I've never seen anything like it.
00:41Not only was there a plan, but there was a plan upon a plan upon a plan.
00:47There's a frozen body. It's in the freezer in the garage.
00:50They tricked him. They duped him. They killed him.
00:55It was just maniacal.
00:561-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2-1-1-1-1-1.
01:25Is anyone hurt?
01:26No.
01:28The guy just walked out with a bomb or something wrapped around his neck.
01:33He's sitting in the parking lot of McDonald's.
01:39I got a phone call at my desk that there was a bank robbery in progress
01:44and gave me the location on Beach Street.
01:47Beach Street is one of the main failures of Erie.
01:50It goes from south to north.
01:53On the way there, FBI was also caught because they handled all bank robberies.
01:58The initial details I received that there was an individual who entered the bank
02:04had something underneath his shirt.
02:07He had said that it was a bomb.
02:10The suspect left the McDonald's parking lot,
02:13pulled over into the iGlass World parking lot where he was stopped.
02:18They asked the individual to get out of the vehicle, walk slowly back toward them.
02:23They had him turn around, handcuffed him,
02:26and immediately the guy said he was forced to wear the bomb and to do the robbery.
02:32At that time, they backed away from him and started to set a perimeter up.
02:41That's when I pull up.
02:43He identifies himself as Brian Wells.
02:46He was working for Mama Mia's Pizza.
02:50He received the call to deliver two pizzas to a location on Peach Street.
02:57And at that point, he was accosted by a group of individuals who told him,
03:03you need to go rob this bank.
03:05And they put the bomb around his neck.
03:08Immediately, our dispatch called Erie City Police, which has a local bomb squad.
03:15While we were waiting for the bomb squad,
03:18all of a sudden, we hear a faint beep, beep, beep, beep, beep.
03:23I told the guys to take cover,
03:25and no sooner than that word bomb got out of my mouth,
03:29it exploded.
03:34I watched Mr. Wells, who was sitting cross-legged, fall directly back.
03:41And I'll never forget this.
03:43I watched his chest go down, and it never came back up.
03:50And I thought, oh my God, this is fatal.
03:53You know, this is just absolutely the worst thing I had seen.
03:58I felt the bomb blast with little particles hitting me,
04:02but it wasn't enough to hurt anybody else or anything like that.
04:07Within minutes of the bomb detonating,
04:10the Erie bomb squad arrived on scene.
04:13They rolled it safe to where the investigators could check.
04:18So when approach was made,
04:20you could see the trauma that Mr. Wells had to his chest.
04:25There was a big cavity all the way down to his spine.
04:32The only thing left of the device itself
04:37was still locked around Mr. Wells' neck.
04:40The box that contained the bombs had detonated,
04:44and those were the pieces landing on the ground.
04:49We called our evidence response team to collect all those pieces,
04:54so the FBI Quantico lab could figure out how that was all put together
05:00to help identify the builder of the bomb.
05:04Traffic has stopped both ways on Peach Street,
05:07and obviously people are wondering what in the world is going on.
05:11Once we heard that the bomb went off and someone was killed,
05:14who would do this?
05:16Was it terrorism?
05:18Was it some kind of organized effort?
05:20It was just so odd and so horrible and so tragic.
05:24With it being just a middle-class kind of area,
05:27more of a sleepy kind of town,
05:28it was something that people were like,
05:30how could this happen here?
05:32At this point,
05:33it was kind of an all-hands-on-deck type of scenario
05:35because law enforcement just hadn't encountered anything
05:38this bizarre before in Erie.
05:42After Mr. Wells was taken from the scene
05:46to the coroner's office in Erie,
05:48you have to start with what you know.
05:51You know you have a deceased individual who robbed the bank.
05:56You're going to talk to the victim tellers.
05:58You're going to talk to anybody that was at the bank.
06:02Witnesses identified Mr. Wells as very cavalier,
06:07carrying a cane,
06:08and it was described as black, long pipe that he had.
06:15He'd come in the bank,
06:17and he stood in line to go up to the teller.
06:20There was some lollipops there.
06:22He actually took one out, unwrapped it, put it in his mouth.
06:26That was such a psychology dichotomy for me.
06:30How could you be that calm
06:32knowing that you had a live device around your neck?
06:35I early on thought he had to have some knowledge of the plan
06:39and my belief because of the way he acted.
06:43And then he ended up jumping the line
06:45and gave a note to the teller demanding money.
06:51We got the note.
06:52This was nine total pages of notes.
06:55I've never seen anything like it.
06:58They're very repetitive
06:59about how it was a bomb hostage.
07:02This bomb's going to go off.
07:04We've been planning this for a long time.
07:08The bank robbery notes identified
07:10what the bank teller needed,
07:12which was $250,000 in cash.
07:16And not to call the police or hit any alarms
07:20or a bomb would detonate and cause destruction.
07:25Banks do not keep that much cash on hand.
07:28And so the teller gave him about $8,700,
07:31and he walked out of the bank.
07:37And then during the search of Mr. Wells' vehicle,
07:41we saw the cane.
07:43And we immediately knew this was different
07:46than any regular cane that we had ever seen.
07:49Once the handle was open,
07:51you could see that it actually contained
07:53a 12-gauge shotgun round
07:55and was fully able to fire that.
07:59We saw the bag of money.
08:01Then we saw notes.
08:03They were instructions to Mr. Wells
08:06to rob the bank as a bank hostage
08:09and then go on a series of stops
08:12like a scavenger hunt
08:13to unlock the collar around his neck.
08:17The first sight was to go to the McDonald's,
08:20which he did,
08:21into the flower bed,
08:23turn over a stone,
08:24and receive another page of notes.
08:26And that note indicated
08:28he used to go back around the eyeglass world
08:31into the parking lot
08:32where there was a fire hydrant
08:34in front of the eyeglass world,
08:36and he was to tie an orange ribbon
08:38on that fire hydrant
08:40to indicate he had received the money
08:41from the bank.
08:44And then someone was supposed to come by in a car
08:47and pick up the money.
08:48It never got to that point.
08:51That's where he was pulled over
08:53by the Pennsylvania State Police.
08:54He never got to the fire hydrant.
08:56And so the bomb detonated,
08:58and he was killed.
09:01Because Mr. Wells couldn't do
09:03these additional sights,
09:05we did them.
09:08The investigators,
09:09as fast as they could in real time,
09:12they started moving forward
09:13to try to catch more clues
09:15down the road in this hunt.
09:18After the eyeglass world,
09:20he was then to head on I-90,
09:23heading towards Cleveland,
09:25get off towards 79 northbound,
09:28and go to another location
09:30that was at the 180 exit,
09:34and go into the woods
09:35and receive another note.
09:41So we went into the woods,
09:43and we saw an orange ribbon,
09:47and attached to that orange ribbon
09:49was a Folgers jar.
09:52Open it up, there's another note.
09:54And it would tell Mr. Wells
09:55to get back on Interchange Road,
09:58head I-79 southbound
10:00to a McCain Township sign
10:02where he would go back into the woods
10:04and receive another note.
10:07But as it turned out,
10:09the McCain Township sign
10:11that we went to
10:12had the orange ribbon,
10:14but it was torn,
10:15and there was nothing
10:16at the end of that.
10:17So we don't know
10:18if he was going to receive
10:19additional instructions,
10:22or that's where the bomb
10:24was to detonate.
10:25But either way,
10:27he never got to that site.
10:30It was just maniacal
10:31when you think about
10:32having a human being
10:34go to sites
10:35to try to save his own life.
10:36Now, the investigators
10:37wanted to find out
10:38how did Brian Wells
10:40get involved in this
10:41and picked as a victim.
10:46We get a call
10:47about someone
10:48who was well-known,
10:50and there was a lot
10:50of death around her.
10:52He said that he helped her
10:53to get rid of the body.
10:55Here you go.
10:56Right in the rocks right here.
10:57Why?
10:58To get rid of any evidence
11:00of blood.
11:13So after the bomb detonated
11:15and Brian Wells was killed,
11:17investigators found
11:19a bizarre scavenger hunt.
11:22Because of some
11:23of the references
11:24in the notes,
11:25there's some indication
11:25that they were local people,
11:27but there's no
11:28telltale signs
11:29in the notes
11:30who might have done this.
11:32So the investigators
11:33wanted a lot more information
11:35about Brian Wells
11:36to figure out
11:37how did he get involved
11:38in this.
11:40You don't know
11:40if he's a hostage.
11:41You don't know
11:42if he's a participant.
11:44We're going to try
11:44to find out
11:45as much as we can
11:46about him.
11:51We immediately had people
11:53at the pizza shop
11:54talking and interviewing
11:55individuals there,
11:57including the owner
11:58of the pizza shop.
12:00What we learned
12:01is that Brian Wells
12:02had been a pizza delivery man
12:04for at least 10 years.
12:05He had a number of friends
12:07that he worked with.
12:08They described him
12:09as quiet, laid back,
12:11easygoing.
12:15Brian Wells was 46 years old,
12:18single, never married,
12:20no children,
12:21lived in a cottage-like house
12:23behind another house.
12:25Brian Wells grew up
12:27in Erie,
12:28was close to his mom,
12:30he had siblings as well.
12:32He liked the Survivor
12:34television show,
12:35puzzles,
12:36and what we learned
12:37was probably his favorite puzzle
12:39was something called
12:39The Great Key Hunt.
12:41One of the newspapers
12:43in Erie,
12:43they would put clues
12:44in the newspaper
12:45where people would have
12:46to find this key,
12:48and then if you got the key,
12:50you'd go to the newspaper
12:51and open a lockbox
12:52and there'd be a prize
12:53in the lockbox.
12:55In the past,
12:56Brian came pretty close
12:58to winning a car
12:58for following clues
13:00from one location
13:01to the next.
13:03So that would show me
13:05that somebody knew
13:06Brian well
13:07and purposely targeted him.
13:09with the scavenger hunt
13:11in the notes.
13:13And we backtracked
13:14at Mamma Mia's
13:15because that's where
13:16the initial call come in
13:18to order the pizzas.
13:21It was determined
13:22that a call came in
13:23around 1.30.
13:25From what we were told,
13:26it was a mail.
13:28Brian Wells took the call
13:29and got the information
13:31for the pizza order
13:33and left heading towards
13:358631 Peach Street,
13:37which is a tower site
13:39that is not seen
13:41from the road
13:41and it's enclosed
13:42by trees.
13:44And we're going to
13:46immediately search
13:47that area to determine
13:48what evidence
13:49we can find there.
13:51And at that location,
13:53they found tire marks
13:55that ultimately matched
13:57with Brian's car.
13:58They also matched
13:59shoe impression marks
14:01with shoes on his feet
14:03at the time of his death.
14:05And there was a scuff mark
14:07on the ground
14:08in the dirt
14:09that really determined to us
14:10that there was some struggle
14:11that took place back there.
14:15But there was very little
14:17else in the vicinity.
14:20Then the phone call
14:22to Mamma Mia's Pizza
14:23was traced back
14:25to a Shell station.
14:28The call was made
14:29from a pay phone
14:30outside the Shell station,
14:33which was up the street
14:34from the tower site.
14:37And so we obtained
14:38video footage
14:39from the Shell station,
14:41pulled all the
14:42cash register receipts
14:43to try to figure out
14:45who had called
14:46for the pizzas.
14:47But nothing was found
14:49on the video.
14:51No evidence
14:52as to who might
14:53have done this.
14:54We then obtained
14:56a search warrant
14:56for Mr. Wells' house.
14:59It had very little
15:01furniture
15:02or much in the closet
15:04at all.
15:06But on the desk,
15:07in the living room,
15:10were two notebooks.
15:12And in these notebooks
15:13were the names
15:15and phone numbers
15:16of pretty much
15:17everybody he knew.
15:19And we started
15:20to identify
15:21every person
15:22on that list.
15:26There were two names
15:27on that list,
15:29Angie and Jessica,
15:30that Brian Wells' family
15:32didn't recognize.
15:33We immediately
15:34want to talk to them.
15:35And with their phone numbers,
15:37we do a subscriber check.
15:39We find out
15:40who their identities are.
15:42We find both
15:44had criminal history
15:45for prostitution.
15:46We couldn't locate Angie.
15:49But Jessica
15:50was interviewed.
15:53And she ended up saying
15:55that Brian Wells
15:56was a friend of hers
15:58and he would drive her
16:00around in the city
16:01of Erie
16:02to purchase crack cocaine.
16:04That information
16:05was interesting to us.
16:09But at that point,
16:11we were still
16:11running down
16:12all the initial things
16:13related to
16:14the order for the pizzas.
16:16And one of the employees
16:17who also was a pizza
16:18delivery driver
16:19from Mamma Mia's Pizza,
16:21Robert Panetti,
16:21was working that day.
16:23When we went to see him,
16:25he said he was on his shift.
16:27Would you mind
16:27coming back on Monday?
16:33But then,
16:35on Sunday night,
16:36we get a call
16:38that Mr. Panetti
16:40was found deceased.
16:43Two dead pizza delivery drivers
16:46within three days.
16:47You're immediately thinking,
16:49this can't be a coincidence.
17:02Two dead pizza delivery drivers
17:04within three days,
17:06both working
17:07at the same pizza shop.
17:10There's no coincidences
17:12in homicide, right?
17:13This can't be one.
17:16It seemed odd
17:17that a fellow pizza delivery
17:19individual
17:19by the name
17:20of Robert Panetti
17:21died within a few days
17:23of his buddy,
17:24Brian Wells.
17:26He had an overdose
17:28of Xanax and methadone,
17:30which killed him.
17:33When we talked
17:34to family members
17:35of Mr. Panetti,
17:36we determined that
17:37this was out
17:37of his character,
17:38but they had said
17:40that right after the bombing,
17:42he had been very nervous
17:43and that he was talking
17:45to people
17:45about trying to get a gun.
17:47And we found that
17:48to be very interesting.
17:51Could it have been
17:53where he was worked up
17:54because of what happened
17:57to Brian
17:57and then took something
17:58to calm himself down
17:59and just didn't watch
18:00what drugs he was using?
18:03Or was he purposely poisoned?
18:06What we call a hot shot,
18:08where somebody would give him
18:09something that would
18:10automatically overdose him.
18:12But when they did the autopsy,
18:14they weren't able to say
18:16this is an overdose
18:17caused by somebody else.
18:19So that added
18:21another layer of mystery
18:22as to what happened here.
18:24At this point,
18:25the investigators
18:26aren't ruling out anything.
18:28But there was nothing
18:29initially determined
18:30if Mr. Wells,
18:32Mr. Panetti's death
18:33were connected.
18:35So we had to move on
18:37to the next evidence
18:37for the case.
18:39And then our lab
18:41at Quantico
18:42did an amazing job
18:43with both the explosive device
18:45and the cane gun.
18:47Our experts were saying
18:49the builder of the cane
18:51and the builder of the bomb
18:53were probably
18:53the same individual
18:54because of the craftsmanship
18:57and the manner
18:58that they used
18:59to construct it.
19:01The bomb itself
19:03was angle iron
19:04and pieces of pipe
19:05that was filled
19:06with just regular gunpowder
19:07to make the bomb explode.
19:09But the timing mechanism
19:11in this device
19:12was really,
19:13really well designed.
19:15The timers
19:17were wired in series.
19:18So the first timer
19:19would run its 30 minutes
19:21and then it took
19:22the second timer to run
19:23to where they would
19:24make contact
19:25that would detonate the bomb.
19:29The ultimate goal
19:30of this premeditated plan
19:32was to see someone killed.
19:36This plan
19:37is so unbelievably diabolical.
19:41So investigators,
19:43including myself,
19:44with the behavioral analysis
19:45unit,
19:45worked on the profile
19:47of the bomb builder
19:48for a few weeks.
19:54The profile indicated
19:56that the bomb builder
19:57was probably a shop teacher
19:59or a handyman,
20:01was very meticulous,
20:03probably a loner.
20:06The person who did this
20:07was most likely
20:08a pack rat,
20:10someone who collected things,
20:12someone very intelligent,
20:14electrical engineering background,
20:17so more than a hobbyist.
20:18This was a profile
20:20of who we would be looking for.
20:26And then three weeks
20:27into the investigation,
20:29state police receive
20:30a 911 call
20:32from a gentleman
20:33by the name of
20:34Bill Rossky.
20:48This case just kept
20:50getting crazier,
20:51crazier.
20:52How do you know that,
20:53sir?
20:54I'm the guy who lives there.
20:57Somebody calling in saying,
20:59hey, I have a body
20:59in my house
21:01is very odd.
21:02There's a frozen body
21:03in the freezer.
21:05In the garage,
21:06that is correct.
21:07Ross Dean was very distraught,
21:10said he was
21:10contemplating suicide.
21:12He wanted to get
21:13investigators involved
21:15to get the body out
21:16and arrest this lady
21:17who he identified
21:18as Marjorie Deal Armstrong,
21:20who was responsible
21:21for the murder.
21:23Okay, and Marjorie Deal
21:24is at that residence now?
21:25Yes.
21:26He said the person
21:27in the freezer
21:28is an individual
21:29named James Roden,
21:31who was the boyfriend
21:32of Marjorie Deal Armstrong.
21:34He said that they got
21:35into a fight
21:35and that she shot him.
21:36And he helped her
21:37to get rid of the body.
21:39He did not tell us
21:41what they were arguing about.
21:43He just said
21:44they had an argument.
21:46But Marjorie Deal Armstrong,
21:48if you were from Erie,
21:50you knew who she was.
22:04Marjorie Deal Armstrong
22:05was an interesting,
22:07interesting woman.
22:08Born and raised in Erie,
22:10she had stayed here
22:11her whole life.
22:13Marjorie had a history
22:15dating all the way
22:16back to the 80s
22:17when she shot
22:18and killed a boyfriend
22:19while he was laying
22:20on the couch.
22:21She tried to expose
22:23the body afterwards,
22:24making frantic phone calls,
22:26trying to pay people
22:27to dispose of the body.
22:28But ultimately,
22:30she was acquitted
22:30for a battered spouse defense
22:34and was freed.
22:36So then, in 1992,
22:39her husband, at the time,
22:41went to the emergency room
22:43and she said he had fallen
22:44and hit his head
22:45on a coffee table.
22:46And that led
22:48to an aneurysm
22:49which he later dies from.
22:51And there's some speculation
22:52that she might have been
22:53involved in his death.
22:55But there was never
22:55any charges rendered.
22:57And then,
22:58she did have a landlord
23:00who hung himself,
23:01unfortunately.
23:02She definitely
23:03wasn't involved in that,
23:04but he did say that,
23:06according to the coroner's report,
23:07that he was being harangued.
23:09And we think that was by her.
23:14There was a lot of death
23:15around her at that point.
23:17The police convinced
23:19Mr. Rothstein
23:20to actually come
23:21to the Pennsylvania
23:23State Police barracks,
23:24which he did.
23:26While Bill Rothstein
23:27is detained,
23:28investigators are going
23:30to his residence.
23:32Once we got to
23:33Bill Rothstein's house,
23:35we saw a lady sitting
23:36on the bed,
23:37in the bedroom,
23:39learning her to be
23:39Marjorie Dill.
23:41Marjorie was angry
23:42because she lost it.
23:43She was just hollering
23:44and she wanted us
23:45out of there.
23:46And I had a couple
23:48of troopers stand by
23:49in that bedroom
23:50while I go out
23:51and search their garage.
23:53There's junk on both sides.
23:54You have to actually
23:55make a path
23:56to get through
23:56all the junk.
23:59But I found the freezer,
24:01opened it up,
24:03and there was a body
24:05in the fetal position
24:07wrapped up
24:08with clear plastic.
24:10Once I found the body,
24:12Marjorie was in
24:13a state of shock.
24:14And I said,
24:14Marjorie,
24:15I'm not placing you
24:16under arrest
24:16for killing James Roden.
24:19As the police
24:20are searching
24:21Bill Rothstein's house,
24:22they find
24:23what is a very peculiar
24:25suicide note,
24:26in which Bill says
24:28that this has nothing
24:30to do with the
24:30Brian Wells case.
24:32Why would you even
24:33put that in a suicide note?
24:35It was very bizarre.
24:40That information
24:41was passed on
24:42to the federal
24:43law enforcement agents
24:44investigating
24:44the Brian Wells case.
24:47Bill Rothstein's house,
24:49that's exactly next door
24:51to where the pizzas
24:52were delivered
24:52by Mr. Wells.
24:54That cannot be
24:56a coincidence.
24:58And so my job
25:00was to determine
25:01if Mr. Wells,
25:03Mr. Panetti's death,
25:04and Mr. Roden's death
25:06are all in one case.
25:08And so immediately,
25:10I responded
25:11to the Pennsylvania
25:12State Police barracks.
25:13However,
25:14I could not interview
25:15Marjorie Deal Armstrong
25:16because she had
25:18requested a lawyer.
25:20But they allowed me
25:22to interview Mr. Rothstein,
25:23and that's what I did.
25:26So Bill Rothstein
25:28identifies his relationship
25:29with Marjorie Deal Armstrong
25:31as going all the way
25:32back to the 1970s,
25:34where they had met
25:35at his father's
25:36roller-cola business.
25:39They dated,
25:40and they were actually
25:41engaged at one point.
25:43And they sort of
25:44drifted a little bit apart,
25:45but still were
25:45very good friends.
25:49When I asked Rothstein
25:51about the Wells case,
25:53he was sticking
25:54with the story.
25:55I don't know anything
25:56about the Wells case.
25:58I've never been back
25:59on the towersite road.
26:01Also, Mr. Rothstein
26:03was one of the most
26:05arrogant people
26:06I had ever interviewed.
26:08He was a true narcissist.
26:10I picked up on it,
26:11and I worked with that.
26:13I said,
26:14Bill,
26:14I just can't figure this out.
26:16Hypothetically,
26:17how would you even go
26:17about making a pipe bomb?
26:19And he said,
26:19hypothetically?
26:20Yeah, hypothetically.
26:20He said,
26:22I would cut the tops
26:23off of shotgun shells
26:24and pour the black powder
26:26into the pipes.
26:28I almost slid out
26:29of the chair
26:30because I knew
26:31from our lab
26:32that that's exactly
26:33how that bomb
26:34was constructed.
26:36Also,
26:36we find out
26:37he was a shop teacher.
26:38He worked in HVAC.
26:41He lived alone
26:42and was a loner.
26:43He had a shop
26:43in his garage,
26:44and he was a pack rat.
26:46He would fit
26:47a number of the characteristics
26:48in the profile
26:49of the bomb builder
26:51perfectly.
26:52I knew he was involved.
26:54But he's not going
26:56to make any confession
26:56right there.
26:57So I terminated
26:58the interview
26:59at that time,
26:59said,
27:00Bill,
27:00hopefully we can
27:01talk again soon.
27:03He was further detained
27:04at that time
27:05for the dead body
27:06in the garage,
27:07and he was in discussions
27:08with the Pennsylvania
27:10State Police
27:10on James Roden's murder,
27:13helping cooperate
27:14against Marjorie Deal Armstrong.
27:16Bill told us
27:17he feared
27:18that she was going
27:20to kill him
27:20if he didn't do something,
27:22and that's why
27:23he turned her in.
27:26I had already searched
27:28Bill Rothstein's house.
27:29We found the body.
27:31So two days later,
27:33we obtained
27:33a search warrant
27:34for Marjorie Deal's house
27:36where she killed Roden.
27:38Ready to go?
27:39Are you still writing?
27:41Mr. Rothstein
27:42went to Marjorie Deal Armstrong
27:44house
27:44with the investigators.
27:47His body was laying
27:48roughly
27:4945-degree angle
27:50on the bed.
27:51During the admission
27:53of Bill Rothstein,
27:55it was discovered
27:55that Marjorie Deal
27:57purchased a 12-gauge shotgun,
27:59shot James Roden,
28:00and solicited Bill Rothstein
28:02to help her
28:02clean up the crime scene.
28:04I dumped
28:05hydrogen peroxide here.
28:07Why?
28:09to get rid of any evidence
28:10of blood.
28:11So what the investigation
28:12determined
28:13was that Marjorie Deal Armstrong
28:15was responsible
28:16for James Roden's death,
28:17but Marjorie and Bill
28:19were not yet connected
28:20to the Brian Wells case,
28:21other than the note
28:23that Bill's.
28:24Bill Rothstein
28:25pled guilty
28:26for abuse of corpse
28:27and disposing
28:28of evidence.
28:29But Marjorie Deal Armstrong
28:30was immediately
28:31declared incompetent
28:33to stand trial
28:34for the James Roden case.
28:36Investigators
28:37prohibited my law
28:39from talking to her
28:40about the Wells case,
28:41and that puts
28:42everything on hold.
28:44This was a real obstacle
28:46in this case.
28:51And then I hear
28:52Bill Rothstein's
28:54in the hospital
28:55very ill.
28:56Bill Rothstein
28:58was suffering from cancer.
28:59The last time
29:00they interviewed him,
29:00he essentially was dying.
29:03I say,
29:04Bill,
29:05don't take this with you.
29:06Cleanse your soul.
29:07Tell me these cases
29:09are related.
29:10And he lifts
29:11his big arm
29:12out of the bed
29:13and makes a no.
29:17Four days later,
29:18he dies.
29:20This was really
29:21a huge blow
29:22to our investigation
29:23because we knew
29:25he had knowledge
29:26about the Brian Wells case.
29:28He just wasn't sharing it.
29:29And now that he's gone,
29:31we weren't going to get it.
29:33With Bill Rothstein dead,
29:35we really needed
29:35to talk to Marjorie.
29:37But we had to wait
29:39until 2005.
29:43In January of 2005,
29:47she pleaded guilty
29:49but mentally ill
29:50in William's death.
29:53She was sentenced
29:54to seven to 20 years
29:55in state prison.
29:58Once she got there
29:59and her mental health
30:01had stabilized,
30:03then the investigators
30:04were able to talk to her
30:05about the Wells case.
30:07And the first piece
30:09of information
30:09that she gave
30:10was that they should
30:11take a look
30:11at a man named Ken Barnes.
30:14He had something
30:15to do with robbery.
30:17This plan,
30:18it just kept unraveling
30:20into this one giant,
30:23really diabolical scheme
30:24to kill.
30:37In Erie,
30:38the state police
30:39and the Erie City Police
30:41knew Ken Barnes,
30:43whose name first arises
30:45from Marjorie Deal Armstrong
30:46in 2005,
30:47as having been
30:48a known crack dealer.
30:50We started thinking,
30:52wow, that's interesting
30:54because we did have
30:55crack in this case
30:56come up in the past
30:58and that was with Jessica,
31:01whose name was
31:02in Brian Wells' notebook.
31:06This woman didn't have a car
31:07and so she was a friend
31:09of Brian Wells
31:09and Brian would drive her
31:11to buy drugs.
31:12And we started thinking,
31:14wow, maybe here's
31:15our connection.
31:18We started interviewing
31:19Ken Barnes
31:20and he initially
31:22would say
31:22he doesn't know anything,
31:24he knows Marjorie,
31:26he knows Bill Rothstein
31:27and he knows
31:29Brian Wells
31:31because Brian Wells
31:33would drive Jessica
31:34over to his house
31:36to buy crack cocaine
31:38but wasn't linking
31:39them together.
31:41During that time,
31:43we received a tip
31:44from a UPS driver
31:45that he had seen
31:47William Rothstein
31:48and Marjorie Deal Armstrong
31:50at a payphone
31:51outside near the PNC bank,
31:53the exact payphone
31:54where the call was made
31:56to order the pizza.
31:58So we started going
32:00back to the footage
32:01that we had
32:02inside the shell station
32:03and determined
32:04that we had Ken Barnes
32:06inside the shell station.
32:07So we interviewed him again.
32:11But Ken Barnes,
32:14initially he wasn't
32:15very cooperative
32:16or forthcoming.
32:18It was a series
32:20of just interview
32:21after interview
32:22after interview
32:23for years.
32:24It was intense
32:25at times,
32:27but we all cared
32:28and I just
32:29was not going
32:30to let it go unsolved.
32:32Every time we went
32:33to have a conversation
32:34with him,
32:35he'd talk with us.
32:36It may only be
32:37for a short time,
32:38but he would talk to us.
32:40Until finally,
32:41he reached the point
32:42where,
32:43okay,
32:43I'm just going to
32:44tell you
32:45everything I know.
32:47Ken Barnes
32:48finally decided
32:49to tell the truth
32:50and to,
32:52in fact,
32:53act as a cooperating witness.
32:55He said
32:56he knew
32:57Marjorie Deal Armstrong
32:58because they would
32:59go fishing
32:59at the South Pier
33:00and Erie.
33:01He knew
33:02Bill Rothstein
33:03because he was
33:04friends with
33:05Marjorie Deal Armstrong.
33:07The way Ken Barnes
33:08puts it,
33:09Marjorie Deal Armstrong
33:10is upset
33:11because her father
33:12was worth about
33:13more than a million dollars
33:15at the time
33:16and he is handing out
33:18his money
33:18to friends and neighbors,
33:20even the mail carrier,
33:21because he doesn't want
33:22her to get money
33:24when he dies.
33:27She believes
33:28that that money
33:28belongs to her,
33:30that's her inheritance,
33:32and then if he dies now,
33:34she'll get the money.
33:35So Marjorie Deal Armstrong
33:37solicits Barnes
33:38to kill her father
33:39and Barnes said
33:40he'd do it
33:41for $250,000.
33:42So Marjorie Deal Armstrong,
33:44Bill Rothstein,
33:45came up with
33:46this plot
33:46to rob
33:47this PNC bank branch
33:49and that money
33:50would be used
33:51to pay Ken Barnes
33:53as a hit man.
33:55According to Ken Barnes,
33:57Bill Rothstein
33:59decides,
34:00well, I'm going to come up
34:01with the perfect crime.
34:03It was going to be
34:04an overcomplicated scheme.
34:06No one can solve.
34:08Let's use a patsy
34:10to rob the bank.
34:11They'll be a hostage.
34:12We'll get rid of them
34:14as a witness.
34:14They all decided
34:16Brian Wells
34:17would be perfect for this.
34:18He's that guy
34:19that comes over
34:20with Jessica.
34:21He is very naive
34:23and we could talk him
34:25into this.
34:25What they told Brian
34:26was that if he was caught,
34:28he'd say,
34:28hey, I don't know
34:29who did this.
34:30I was a bomb hostage.
34:32Ken Barnes
34:33had told law enforcement
34:34that Brian Wells
34:35agreed to participate
34:36in the bank robbery
34:37in exchange for $5,000.
34:40but we don't think
34:41that Brian really knew
34:43the full extent
34:44of what he was
34:44agreeing to do.
34:46He was told
34:47the device would be fake
34:49and then Barnes said
34:51there was a pre-planning meeting
34:53on August 27th,
34:54the day before the robbery
34:55and Mr. Wells
34:57was there.
34:58But he never saw
34:59the real device.
35:01The day later
35:02when the bank robbery
35:03happens,
35:04Brian Wells
35:05shows up,
35:06delivers the pizzas,
35:08they go to put the bomb
35:09on him,
35:10he sees it,
35:10he goes,
35:11that looks too real,
35:11I don't want to do this
35:12anymore.
35:13Ken Barnes grabs him,
35:15punches him,
35:16knocks him to the ground
35:17and that's when
35:18they put it
35:19around his neck.
35:22They give him the notes
35:23and they give him
35:24the cane gun
35:24and then he's on his way
35:27and they told him
35:28that if he disclosed
35:30what happened
35:30then we're going
35:31to kill him.
35:32But he was never
35:33going to survive
35:34because he would
35:36have never had time
35:37to accomplish
35:38all those routes
35:40he was to do.
35:41That bomb
35:42was just going
35:43to detonate
35:43wherever he was
35:44in the scavenger hunt.
35:46They tricked him,
35:48they duped him,
35:49they killed him
35:50and it was horrific
35:51what happened to him.
35:54We also had
35:55other corroborating witnesses
35:56from the various prisons
35:58that Marjorie
35:59had been incarcerated at.
36:00She would sit in there
36:02and she would tell everybody
36:03what she did,
36:04brag about being involved
36:07in the Brian Wells case
36:08and that she shot
36:10her boyfriend,
36:11James Roden,
36:12because he would
36:13not cooperate.
36:17through the inmate witnesses
36:19we determined
36:21that James Roden
36:22was part of the scheme
36:24to rob the bank.
36:26And in the end
36:27he had an argument
36:28with Marjorie
36:29and he threatened
36:30to contact law enforcement
36:31and tell them
36:32about their plans
36:33to commit the bank robbery
36:34and that's why
36:35she killed him,
36:36to keep him quiet.
36:38Before his death,
36:39Bill Rothstein
36:40had said
36:40that they had
36:41an argument
36:42but it turns out
36:43that argument
36:43becomes pretty important
36:44as to what they
36:45were arguing about.
36:49The inmate witnesses
36:50also told us
36:51there was an individual
36:53that was living
36:55in Bill Rothstein's house
36:56right before
36:57the bank robbery.
36:58his name
36:59was Floyd Stockton.
37:03After doing
37:04criminal history
37:05we realized
37:05that Floyd Stockton
37:07was a wanted
37:08fugitive
37:10from the state
37:10of Washington
37:11for a rape charge
37:13and he had been
37:14hiding out
37:15in Erie, Pennsylvania.
37:18So we found
37:19Mr. Stockton
37:20and arrested him
37:21for the rape charge
37:23and before he was
37:24extradited
37:25back to Washington State
37:26we interviewed him.
37:28Tell us about
37:29the Brian Walls case.
37:40Floyd Stockton
37:41was a very close friend
37:43of Bill Rothstein
37:45and gave a long statement
37:48and made the admission
37:50he was involved
37:51in the case.
37:52Mr. Stockton
37:53was at the pre-planning meeting
37:55and his role
37:56was put the bomb
37:58around Brian Walls' neck.
38:00Also
38:01he saw Robert Panetti
38:03the other pizza
38:04delivery driver.
38:06His role
38:07was to make sure
38:08that Brian Walls
38:10continued to cooperate
38:11and he was
38:14going to get
38:14money to do that.
38:17Panetti
38:18talked him into it
38:19basically
38:20they were friends.
38:21now
38:22now
38:22we know
38:22many
38:23was definitely
38:24involved in the plot.
38:26After the death
38:27of Brian Walls
38:28I think he panicked
38:29I think he was looking
38:30for something
38:31to calm him down
38:32and I think
38:32Ken Barnes
38:33gave him a hot shot
38:34that's never been charged
38:36but
38:37that's what we think
38:38happened.
38:39So
38:39it all pieces together
38:41and this plan
38:43is like
38:44no other
38:45we've ever seen.
38:51Marjorie Deal Armstrong
38:53is furious
38:54when she learns
38:55that her father
38:56has been spending
38:57his money
38:58that she believes
38:59to be her inheritance.
39:01So she was
39:01soliciting Ken Barnes
39:02for $250,000
39:03to kill her father.
39:06And
39:07they would get
39:07the $250,000
39:09by robbing
39:10a PNC bank.
39:11Then they
39:12found somebody
39:13who was allegedly
39:13a hostage
39:15Brian Walls
39:16to further
39:17their plan.
39:18Over a couple
39:19of months
39:19Bill Rossi
39:21constructed the bomb
39:22and gave him
39:22a cane gun
39:23and came up
39:24with a scavenger hunt.
39:26One day
39:27before the bank robbery
39:28all of the
39:29co-conspirators
39:30got together
39:30at the tower site
39:31to discuss
39:32the robbery.
39:33The next day
39:34call comes
39:35into the pizza shop
39:36Brian Walls
39:37delivers the pizzas
39:38and the device
39:40is attached
39:41to his neck.
39:43And then
39:44Brian Walls
39:44drives directly
39:45to the bank
39:46and robs it
39:47still believing
39:49that that device
39:50is a fake.
39:52He got into his car
39:54and he began
39:55the scavenger hunt.
39:57And then
39:58at some point
39:59they were going
39:59to intercept him
40:00to get the money.
40:01But during the rest
40:03of the scavenger hunt
40:04the bomb
40:05was set to explode
40:06and that would
40:07eliminate Brian
40:08from going
40:08to the police.
40:12not only
40:13was there
40:14a plan
40:14but there was
40:16a plan
40:16upon a plan
40:17upon a plan.
40:18It's difficult
40:19to think
40:20that somebody
40:21was tricked
40:23into death.
40:25I still feel
40:26horrible
40:27for the
40:27Walls family.
40:29The co-conspirators
40:30treated Brian
40:31Walls as a thing
40:32not as a person
40:33he was treated
40:34as a means
40:35to an end.
40:43Ken Barnes
40:44and Marjorie
40:44Dole Armstrong
40:45were charged
40:46with three offenses
40:47conspiracy
40:48to commit
40:49arm bank robbery
40:50committing the
40:50arm bank robbery
40:51and then they were
40:52charged with using
40:53a destructive device
40:54to commit
40:55the arm bank robbery.
40:56They were not
40:57charged with murder
40:58there is no federal
40:59charge for murder
41:00but the conspiracy
41:01charges
41:02applied to
41:03bank robbery
41:04involving a death.
41:08William Rothstein
41:09was already
41:09deceased
41:10so he wasn't
41:10included
41:11in the indictment.
41:12Floyd Stockton
41:13we chose
41:13not to charge him
41:15but to use
41:16his cooperation
41:17to be able
41:18to charge
41:19Ken and Marjorie.
41:20to be continued
41:50to be continued
41:53this is probably the most premeditated case you'll ever see
41:58their whole plan was crazy you're going to hire a guy to kill your father he wants $250,000 so
42:05you're going to have a guy rob a bank then he killed three men and at the end of it
42:11marjorie
42:11didn't inherit any money it's such a bizarre situation it's a very strange case and the
42:19strangest one I've ever worked on something nobody will ever forget this plan and this plot is evil
42:28just no consideration of human life this happened in Erie Pennsylvania a town I love and adore and
42:37I'm just really really glad that we were able to get to the bottom of it and bring justice
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