But soon, Rothstein claimed that Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, a local woman with a criminal past who lived with Roden a month before the heist, hatched the bank robbery because her father was squandering her multimillion-dollar inheritance and she needed money to pay a hitman to kill him before all the money was gone.
A federal grand jury indicted Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong and Kenneth Barnes on charges of bank robbery, conspiracy, and weapons charges. Fellow co-conspirator William "Bill" Rothstein had died and his roommate Floyd Stockton was given immunity from prosecution so he could testify against Diehl-Armstrong.
Diehl-Armstrong died from breast cancer in prison on April 4, 2017, at the age of 68. Kenneth Barnes (1954 – June 20, 2019) was a retired television repairman, crack dealer, and Diehl-Armstrong's "fishing buddy".
^ "Diehl-Armstrong comes up short in 2nd appeal". goerie.com. Erie Times-News. 29 December 2015. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016.
He built the bomb that killed Brian Wells. The FBI found bomb-making materials in Rothstein's home. Officials believe he made the bomb using items in his home, as to not have to buy anything and leave a trail. A man with that level of intelligence certainly had the skills needed.
Rothstein who was also a intelligent and manipulative man died of lymphoma in July 2004, aged 60.
Marjorie Diehl-ArmstrongThe events that took place on upper Peach Street claimed the life of 46-year-old pizza delivery man Brian Wells, a moment that would leave a scar on everyone involved. Investigators started to link two main suspects to the crime Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong and Bill Rothstein.
She died of breast cancer at 68 in April 2017 while she was serving her sentence at a federal women's prison close to Fort Worth, Texas. Diehl-Armstrong, who outlived her parents and had no siblings or children, is buried in a cemetery near there, according to the Bureau of Prisons.
She died of breast cancer at 68 in April 2017 while she was serving her sentence at a federal women's prison close to Fort Worth, Texas. Diehl-Armstrong, who outlived her parents and had no siblings or children, is buried in a cemetery near there, according to the Bureau of Prisons.
Jessica Hoopsick Hoopsick was never charged in the pizza bomber case. She testified at Diehl-Armstrong's trial. She was a key character in "Evil Genius," the docuseries on the pizza bomber case, though her contention that Wells had no idea about the pizza bomber plot goes against most of the other evidence in the case.
Following an attempt to rob a PNC Bank, and while surrounded by police, Wells was murdered when an explosive collar locked to his neck detonated. It is known as the "collar bomb" or "pizza bomber" case. The incident was shown live on television. Wells' involvement in the plot is a matter of controversy.
One of the co-conspirators who was serving time for his role in the 2003 pizza collar bomb heist that claimed the life of Brian Wells has died. Kenneth Barnes, 65, passed away Thursday at the Federal Medical Center at Butner, North Carolina.
It could be because he was in on the plot, and he didn't want to snitch on his co-conspirators. It's also possible, however, that he feared he was being watched and, had he snitched, his co-conspirators would have detonated the bomb. — According to Case File, Wells also had a history of at least some violence.
Probate records filed last week, however, show that Diehl's estate is worth an estimated $118,000, and that the estate will be insolvent once Diehl's outstanding medical bills are paid from it.
As a female serial killer, Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong was in a rare category. In the early 1970s, she was a high-achieving graduate student pursuing a career in education but suffered from bipolar disorder. Before her death, she was sentenced to serve life plus thirty years in federal prison.
She was a musical prodigy. Before her spiral downward, Diehl-Armstrong was a gifted musician. Friends also described her as someone who could light up a room, who was very captivating. She was a highly intelligent student, graduating at the top of her class ... until mental illness took hold of her.
In 2005, another man Kenneth Barnes was turned in to police by a family member after speaking freely of his involvement in the Brian Wells case. Once in custody, Barnes cooperated with police and, like Rothstein, claimed that Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong was the mastermind behind the whole operation. Furthermore, with help from Barnes, authorities soon ...
But soon, Rothstein claimed that Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, a local woman with a criminal past who lived with Roden a month before the heist, hatched the bank robbery because her father was squandering her multimillion-dollar inheritance and she needed money to pay a hitman to kill him before all the money was gone.
Two years later, Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, the woman who everyone had been calling the mastermind all along, got her day in court in the bank robbing case. She appeared unhinged on the stand (she’d claimed mental illness for years) as she ranted unceasingly and ignored the judges’ demands to control herself.
Diehl-Armstrong then killed Roden when he threatened to tell police about the whole thing. Police now had enough to arrest Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, but Rothstein’s role in the whole affair remained unclear.
They also believe the co-conspirators simply lied about Wells’ involvement as a cover story. However, Barnes stuck to his story about Wells’ involvement. And even though he’d cooperated with authorities, he was still sentenced to 45 years in prison after pleading guilty to bank robbing charges in 2008.
According to The Associated Press, Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong was 68 when she died at the Federal Medical Center-Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas. Diehl-Armstrong, who had been diagnosed bipolar disorder, had previously served seven to 20 years in prison for the murder of her boyfriend, William Roden. She pleaded guilty, but mentally ill, in 2005 in ...
On March 21, Diehl-Armstrong was found unconscious and “deemed futile,” by medical staff. “She was breathing on her own, vital signs were stable, however she did not respond to verbal stimuli nor to questions,” the report states. She died two weeks later at Kindred Hospital at 4:48 a.m. on April 4, 2017, records show.
In court documents, Mark Marvin claims he is Diehl-Armstrong’s husband and says they met through letters while she was in prison. Marvin said in his petition that he met Diehl-Armstrong in person while she was being held at a Pennsylvania state prison and he filed legal documents for her, though he is not an attorney.
Federal prosecutors said Die hl-Armstrong conspired with others, including her fishing buddy, Kenneth Barnes, and her ex-boyfriend, William Rothstein, ...
Rothstein died of lymphoma on July 30, 2004, at the age of 60. Kenneth Barnes is serving a 45-year sentence in federal prison. Another co-conspirator, convicted child rapist Floyd Stockton, testified against Barnes and Diehl-Armstrong and was given immunity. He was released from federal custody after completing a.
Before her death, she was sentenced to serve life plus thirty years in federal prison.
And she was convicted in one of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's strangest cases: the Pizza Bomber case, in which a pizza deliveryman died when a bomb locked to his neck exploded after he robbed a bank in 2003 near Erie, Pennsylvania, Diehl-Armstrong's hometown.
Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, as one judge described her, was "a coldly calculated criminal recidivist and serial killer.". She had experienced a lifetime of murder, mayhem, and mental illness. She killed two boyfriends, including one whose body was stuffed in a freezer.
In Mania and Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, Jerry Clark and Ed Palattella examine female serial killers by focusing on the fascinating and tragic life of one woman.
A federal grand jury indicted Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong and Kenneth Barnes on charges of bank robbery, conspiracy, and weapons charges. Fellow co-conspirator William "Bill" Rothstein had died and his roommate Floyd Stockton was given immunity from prosecution so he could testify against Diehl-Armstrong.
Following an attempt to rob a PNC Bank, and while surrounded by police, Wells was murdered when an explosive collar locked to his neck detonated. It is known as the "collar bomb" or "pizza bomber" case. The incident was shown live on television. Wells' involvement in the plot is a matter of controversy.
On September 20, 2003, Rothstein, who lived near the television tower, called police to inform them the body of a man, James Roden, was hidden in a freezer in a garage at his house. After he telephoned police, Rothstein wrote a suicide note indicating his planned death had nothing to do with Wells.
Wells' family said he was not a willing participant in the incident. The multiple aspects of the crime meant the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) led an investigative task force in conjunction with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP).
Investigators concluded and a federal prosecutor's indictment alleged Wells was a knowing participant in the bank robbery but was told the bomb was fake and did not know his co-conspirators intended for him to die.
According to law enforcement reports , Wells participated in the planning of the bank robbery the day before and was aware of the complex plot, although he believed the bomb would be fake and would serve as an alibi if he was caught. According to an FBI affidavit, two witnesses confirmed that Wells talked about the robbery about a month before it occurred. Wells was seen leaving Rothstein's house the day before the incident, and investigators believe he participated in a rehearsal. It was believed Wells was killed to reduce the number of witnesses.