Transcripts For MSNBCW Dateline 20201123

The notes say we are following you. It seemed like someone playing a game. The whole plan was designed for him to die. Interviews heard here first. It was murder. I held my silence for 15 years. Inside the riveting story datelines covered from the start. There is a frozen body. Its in the freezer in the garage. We have three different deaths. How are they related . Im thinking, wow, she could really be the mastermind of this. Evil and death and greed. Its not a script. Its not makebelieve. How horrible can you be . May they burn in hell. What a pretty late summer afternoon it had been along the great lake. August 28th, 2003, a day that people of erie, pennsylvania, will long remember, not for its pleasant breezes but for that spasm of unexpected violence. Dateline was there. It all started with a pizza delivery. It ended two hours later in one of the most bizarre Crimes Police have ever witnessed. Maybe you remember bits of it. A pizza delivery guy robbing a bank claiming he had a ticking time bomb locked around his neck. The images are hard to forget and still painful to watch. Horrific, bizarre, almost like the mother of all, you know, whodunits. Strange indeed. But on that day, we didnt have a clue about all that was ahead. A few weeks after the bank heist this happened. There is a frozen body. Its in the freezer in the garage. A 911 caller said there was a man dead in a freezer in his garage, and a woman in his living room very much alive. Who is she to you, sir . Uh, i helped her do some stuff that i shouldnt have. That call was made by a huge guy in bib overalls who looked like an extra from the old show heehaw. He was the smartest guy in the room. He would become one of the leads, maybe the mastermind in a colorful cast of characters, people on the fringes of society. Lets just call them unconventional. All the broken toys of erie, pennsylvania, show up in one story. Marjorie diehlarmstrong. Where do you even begin . She had danger written all over her. She did. She has a magnetic quality about her. You know, some people have described it as magnetically revolting. The amazing part for me is that these people all found each other with the same likemindedness of evil and death and greed. It started on a thursday 1 30 in the afternoon. An order came into mama mias pizzeria. Two sausage and pepperoni pies for delivery. The driver scribbled down the address. It wasnt a home or even a business. The caller wanted the pizzas delivered to a cluster of tv station antennas and satellite dishes nestled in the woods. The delivery man headed out. About an hour after that, another call came in, this one to 911. This is an emergency. We have a bank robbery at pnc bank. Fbi special agent jerry clark was in his office looking forward to a long labor day weekend. I was downtown and got notified that there was a bank robbery at 7200 peach street. This one sounded different though. Security cameras showed just how different. The robber was brian wells, the delivery guy from mama mias. He handed the teller a note saying this is a bank robbery, i have a bomb, and i need 250,000 in cash. He had something underneath his shirt. But you really couldnt see exactly what it was. Whatever the device was, it was attached around his neck with something that looked like a giant handcuff. He was holding a bag in one hand, a cane in the other. At least it looked like a cane. He was calm. That was a bizarre thing for us. Sort of swinging the cane and walking with the money very casually. Grabs a lollipop which they have on the counter. To feel comfortable enough to reach into the basket and pull out a lollipop actually surprised me. Wells strolled out with a bag of money, but he might not have been so calm if he knew just how fast Law Enforcement was responding. A guy just walked out with a, i dont know how much cash in a bag. He had a bomb or something. Hes sitting in the mcdonalds parking lot. Im watching him now. State troopers were closing in. I got called that there was a bank robbery in progress. Pennsylvania state Police Crime Unit supervisor lamont king rolled out. Jerry clark of the fbi was on his way. So was the erie pd bomb squad. Tv news live vans were not far behind. The pizza guy turned bank robber drove out of the mcdonalds parking lot out of the bank but didnt get far. Wells was intercepted just up the hill by troopers only a few hundred yards from the bank itself. I had him get out of the vehicle, at which time they noticed the collar around his neck. The robber told him he was wearing a bomb. They werent about to doubt him. The troopers took precaution, handcuffed the individual, kneeled him down and then they proceeded to take cover. Fbi man jerry clark arrived moments later. I came screaming up peach and i pulled exactly to the end of the lot and thought, oh, man, thats too close. So i immediately reversed, came around, and got into this parking lot. And hes talking to the officers . He is. Wells identified himself, said he was a pizza delivery man. Sitting on the pavement crosslegged and handcuffed, wells seemed more desperate than desperado. He pleaded for a cigarette and help. And then he told his story, his words, some black men had accosted him, locked the collar around his neck and activated the bomb. The conversations back and forth and went on for quite a while. Police didnt know what to make of the man with the bomb. But they knew he was dangerous and kept a safe distance. It was a stalemate with no easy way out. Wells sat on the pavement for ten minutes, then 20, all the while, tick, tick. The bomb squad was getting close, but traffic by now was hopelessly snarled. Theyd be there in a few minutes. Nobody knew if that would be time enough. Coming up. Hes pleading can you get this thing off me . A race against the clock. Had you ever seen anything like it . Like that . No. And what they would see as the case unfolded would be darker than any of them imagined. I just was overwhelmed by this dark feeling. Everybody was lying. If shes at the center of this, what does this mean . When dateline continues. Decor and more during the season of Savings Event right now at lowes. Instwith vicks sinex saline congnasal mist. For drug free relief that works fast. Vicks sinex. Instantly clear everyday congestion. Every minute. Understanding how to talk to your doctor about Treatment Options is key. Today, we are redefining how we do things. We find new ways of speaking, so youre never out of touch. Its seeing someones face that comforts us, no matter where. When those around us know us, they can show us just how much they care. The first steps of checking in, the smallest moments can end up being everything. Theres resources that can inform us, and that spark can make a difference. 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The device was locked around his neck like a handcuff. But wells didnt have a key, and he said the bombs timer was ticking down. Wells was on the ground, hands cuffed behind his back and surrounded. Police with guns drawn. Tv news crews getting it all. How close can you zoom in with that . Were live. Fbi agent jerry clark was just 20 feet from wells. The man people described as calm when he robbed the bank seemed increasingly anxious. Hes pleading can you get this thing off me . No one dared approach. The standoff lasted 30 excruciating minutes. And then something happened. You hear a countdown beep almost like a bomb moving . Very faintly a beep, beep, beep, a digital countdown timer. Lamont king heard the beeping too. He grabbed a pair of binoculars and zoomed in on wells. I hear another beep. Once i heard the second beep, he got agitated. The standoff had now lasted 31 minutes. The clock hit 3 18. The device locked around brian wells neck exploded. Ive never forget it. Mr. Wells fell back, and i watched his chest, and the air went out but never came back. And i thought this is a fatal situation. And debris sailing through the air . You could hear the percussion from the device. I felt a couple pieces hit right down around here. What sticks in my mind is the eyes going into the back of his head. Then he just went down. Brian wells died moments after the explosion. The bomb crushed his crest and lacerated his heart. It was a horrifying scene, all of it captured by news cameras. Later that night brians sister was relaxing at home completely unaware. I turned on the news, somebody robbed a bank. And i looked and i was like there is my brother brian. Whats he doing there sitting there . Sitting on the road . Sitting on the road. And then i said to the kids does that look like uncle brian . And they said yeah. It seemed impossible, couldnt be true. Jean turned to her husband. She said, jean, your brothers not a bank robber. I said i know my brothers not a bank robber but it looks like brian. And as she watched the standoff play out on tv, she saw exactly how he died. And you had been watching the last moments of brians life. Right. My brother was sitting there, you know, handcuffed. Police officers were pointing guns at him, you know, like hes a criminal. What did he need at that moment, jean . Brian needed assistance. Brian needed compassion. Brian needed to be heard. But none of that happened. Maybe what brian needed most was for bomb techs to defuse the bomb around his neck. They didnt get that chance. Coming from another part of town they arrived just two minutes after the explosion. The commander suited up into his bomb gear. What did you make of it . The collar still remained on his neck. So you could see that, and we couldnt tell whether there was any explosive devices inside, what remained of that collar. Had you ever seen anything like it . Like that . No. Really, nobody in the United States had seen anything like that. That included jerry clark, with 20 years of Law Enforcement experience under his belt. He was joined at the scene by his fbi supervisor. After both of us initially said, oh, my god, i cant believe what we saw. I said i gotta have this case and he said its yours, lets go. From the first moments, every move agent clark made would be under intense scrutiny. It was a media frenzy. I mean live satellite dishes, local, national, international news. It was a big event. One of the people watching the coverage was Trey Borzillieri. He was a couple of hours away in buffalo settling his mothers estate. It was a bittersweet two weeks in buffalo, new york, packing up her things. I was wrapped up, done, reached out to some friends. Lets all meet, have a drink to say goodbye. He was saying goodbye to his hometown and heading back home to his new life in new york city where he was trying to become a documentary filmmaker. All he needed was a good story. What do you think the ingredients are . It had to be something that was shocking that really pulled you in. While raising a farewell glass with friends, trey noticed the coverage of the bank robbery in erie. The newscast came over on the tv in the corner of the bar and i was hooked. It seemed like it had all the pieces right from the start. Had you found your white whale . Absolutely. And i thought, wow, how desperate did that man have to be . Back in erie, brian wells big sister barbara was also thinking about how desperate her brother looked in his last moments. That fit her belief that brian was a victim. Nothing else made sense for the brother she loved. Brian was a fun person, a quiet person, a humble person. Brian was one of eight children, an easygoing guy. He liked puzzles and Scavenger Hunts, watched action movies with his mom. It was a simple life and it suited him just fine. He never wanted to be in the spotlight. If he could even imagine what had happened to him the last several minutes of his life, hed say, no, no, thats not me. Younger sister jean says brians last hour was not spent as a criminal, but as a hostage of the real bank robbers, the people who accosted him, locked the collar around his neck, and activated the bomb. It was exactly as brian said. He delivered pizza and these guys strapped this thing on him . Yes. Jerry clark heard brian wells say that with his own ears. It sounded like a declaration of innocence by a man who seemed to know he was about to die. But clark wasnt ruling anything in or out. For him it was just one piece in an already strange and complicated puzzle. Coming up. Could someone have unlocked the bomb in time . A Scavenger Hunt to find the key. Each site was to have notes on where to go next. And another hunt begins for a suspect. They ran up on me just like gangbusters like i was Charles Manson or somebody. When dateline continues. 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Investigators also recovered handwritten notes with detailed, complicated instructions, apparently written for wells on how to carry out the robbery. The notes involved in this case were voluminous. There were nine total pages of notes. They were peppered with dire warnings like bomb has tripwires, forcing or tampering will detonate, and we are following you. If you delay, disobey, or alert anyone, you will die. The collar bomb locked around wells neck had four keyholes. The notes also included maps and instructions directing wells to a location where hed find a key, and more instructions on where to find another key, and then another, until finally hed be free of the bomb. An illustrated manuscript of treachery. I get the sense that there is a Scavenger Hunt going on. And if he follows the notes in a timely manner, he can go from point a to b to c to d and come up with the holy grail, which is the key to unlock this thing. Thats basically what it was. It was a Scavenger Hunt. And each site was to have notes on where to go next and a key to one of the four keyholes that held the device around his neck. Jerry clark had never seen anything like it. No one had. Investigators decided to retrace wells steps. It looked as though he was following the instructions to the letter. Jerry, im looking over. I see an urgent care business. But in 2003 that was the bank, huh . Yes. That was the pnc bank. Mr. Wells robs the bank and proceeds down keystone drive here, turns right into where we are standing. And this is the start of this crazy Scavenger Hunt . This is point a. So what mr. Wells is to do at this location is to go into this flower bed, turn over a rock or stone that was in the flower bed and retrieve a note. The note under the rock directed wells to his next destination, but he never made it. Law enforcement makes an entry here, does a felony car stop, and basically placed mr. Wells under arrest right here. So is this the standoff . This is it right here. Wells Scavenger Hunt and his life ended here. Less than an hour after the explosion, lamont king of the state police took the notes and followed the rest of the directions exactly as written. We went down to the first site on interchange road. He was supposed to find a coffee jar and a couple other things, which we found. Everything we found we bagged for evidence. King made all the stops, while another trooper timed the trip. It took well over an hour, and that was a crucial point, because the bombs timing device turned out to be a common 60minute kitchen timer. Would you have had enough time to make all of these rounds on the Scavenger Hunt and recover the key and save your life . You would have never had the time. So that indicated to us that that device was never meant to come off. Plus, there were no keys found at any of the sites. There never was a key . So there never was a key. That whole plan was not designed for him to live. It was a very cruel death. The thought was chilling. Brian wells appeared to be the victim of a diabolical plot, a wrong time wrong place patsy. A search of his home supported the theory. Did you find any how to make a bomb things from the internet . Nothing of the kind. But agents did discover a list of names and wells hand written by wells. They started making calls. A woman on the list had an africanamerican boyfriend. The fbi tracked him down. He had a history of knowing explosives. He was in the military and actually had spent some time working with explosives. And your victim is saying black guys did this to me . It looked really good. And his girlfriends name is, in mr. Wells handwriting in his apartment. The man was known by his initials, j. J. Officials found him at work and then went to his home. We did a search warrant at his residence. How did that go down . Well, he was upset. Dateline talked to j. J. Back in 2003, not long after that search warrant executed. He was still upset. I voluntarily let them search my home the first time. The second time they ran up on me just like gang busters. Like i was Charles Manson or something. The search of j. J. s home was exhaustive. But it turned up nothing. None of the evidence pointed that j. J. Had any involvement in this at all. So he wasnt going anywhere, he is dropping off your list . Hes coming off the list. An early lead had fizzled. J. J. Was cleared. But a new suspect, a woman with a macabre history was about to turn a difficult investigation, an fbi major case, into something that looked more like a horror movie than a whodunit. Coming up, another deadly discovery, body number two. Did not seem coincidental to us. And then body number three. There is a frozen body. Its in the freezer in the garage. When dateline continues. They look the same. Ive been spinning faster recently. I think theyre getting bigger. Feel them. [ television plays indistinctly ] yeah, they kind of feel bigger. Yeah, cool. 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Long time biden Foreign Policy adviser Anthony Blinken is the top choice for secretary of state. He previously served as Deputy National security adviser and deputy secretary of state. New york state is investigating Tax Deductions at the trump organization. Some might have benefited ivanka trump financially. Now back to dateline. Everything about this crime was different. A middleaged pizza delivery man with godly glasses made for an Unlikely Bank robber. Investigators had never seen anything remotely like the Scavenger Hunt that turned out to be a death march. And weirdest of all was that peculiar bomb with the locking collar. Erie p. D. Bomb squad commander needed to find clues in the shrapnel. The pieces are blown 15, 20 yards around the property. The farthest piece was about 300 feet away. So the farthest piece went all the way across the street. Most of them scattered within about 60 feet. Youd need to know where in that scene every single piece landed. Thats very important in putting that device back together. In trying to preserve the pieces for evidence, there was a terrible problem. The handcufflike metal collar was still locked around brian wells neck. Warnings in the Scavenger Hunt notes said wells was being watched and the bomb was filled with booby traps that could set it off. It was very threatening. Reporter he had seen a lot in his career as the Erie County Deputy coroner. But when he went to collect brian wells body at the crime scene, he was jittery. It was disconcerting and whoever did this was keeping an eye on the scene. And they would harm anybody who they observed doing something that they didnt agree with. I was scared. You dont want to be collateral damage. I do not. The coroner asked the bomb experts if it would be safe to move the body. Would maybe a secondary device explode . Ominous wires were still threaded throughout the collar. The bomb squad commander examined it and said it was safe, probably. Its hard to hide things from an xray machine, and we thoroughly xrayed that device. But i still im not inside of it, i cant see inside of it with my own eyes. And i was scared when we took mr. Wells to the Coroners Office because it was just myself and our driver. And we were unprotected, it was just the two of us. Dont hit any potholes. Exactly. The collar was still potentially dangerous, and it was also important evidence. So the question was how to remove it safely and still keep it intact. There was no easy answer. The commander wasnt making any guarantees. He was 90, 95 sure that we could drill through the back of it and take it off without it exploding. Thats a very poor result if youre on the 10 side of it. Yeah. And so i needed 100 . So what was the decision that was made . We decided to do, i guess for lack of better description, a surgical decapitation so we could get the collar off safely and intact. So you took the victims head off . Yes. It was one of the hardest decisions i have ever had to make both professionally and personally. After completing that grim procedure, the coroner met with brian wells family and told them about it. They felt brian was being victimized again even in death. How painful was that for you . It was very painful. I think it was most painful for my mom because she wanted to have an open casket. They were more concerned with the integrity of the collar than they were of his person. He was decapitated like john the baptist. He was able to go into his shop and craft an exact replica of the bomb. 340 parts in all. It is a frightening model. Can i lift this thing up . Sure. How much does it weigh . Oh, man. Its 15 pounds. This is heavy. I cant imagine this around your neck. So open up the inside, tom. Take me through what the components are here. So on the inside youve got a lot of wires. So youve got a standard device, pipe bombs, mechanical timers. Pipe bombs are over here. And mechanical timers that are the device. And then you have the distractions that are laid in there. The device was filled with things that were meant to confuse. This cell phone is a toy connected to nothing. And some of the labels were phony, but it was lethal with compressed black powder shifted from shotgun shells. His model was built to the exact specifications of the original down to the make and model of the Household Items used. This digital timer was designed to sound a warning beep, beep in the seconds before the bomb exploded. So thats what youre hearing right there. It makes me want to get away from this thing. Absolutely. The bomb was the work of someone with machine shop skills and clearly a devious mind. The Scavenger Hunt notes were delivered to fbi behavioral profilers, think the Hannibal Lecter unit. Together you come up with a profile. Agent jerry clark was hoping a psychological profile would help crack a tough case. But just three days after brian wells died, there was a strange and alarming development. Get this. Robert pinetti, another delivery man at mama mias pizzeria was found dead inside his house. The coroner ruled it an overdose. Whether its accidental or not, at the time were not sure, but we know that it was a combination of drugs that were lethal. The fact that two pizza delivery drivers from the same shop are deceased within three days did not seem coincidental to us. Then incredibly another body was discovered. This one inside a house just a few hundred yards from where brian wells was supposed to make his last delivery. There is a frozen body. Its in the freezer in the garage. That was one of those moments where im sure the 911 caller said can you repeat that and do it slowly . Coming up, a body wrapped in the freezer and a woman wrapped in mystery. Shes had many men in her life fall victim to bizarre deaths. She is the epitome of a black widow. When dateline continues. 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I helped her do some stuff that i shouldnt do, but i never killed anybody. So i just want that known out straight. Ill give you guys my story later on. Trooper lamont king who had witnessed brian wells death in the parking lot was now dispatched to find that freezer in the rothstein home. Heard somebody in the back room. Marjorie was sitting on the bed, and she just started ranting and raving. As trooper king left other officers to guard her, he made his way to the homes garage. Rothstein was a hoarder and the place was a stye. Its a real long garage and its cluttered on both sides. Theres just nothing but clutter. I dont see a freezer. But what i did see was a plastic tarp coming from the ceiling all the way down to the floor. And when i got to the tarp i pulled it, and there was the freezer. And at that time i opened the freezer and saw the body in there wrapped. At which time i closed the freezer, had everybody leave the garage and declared it a crime scene. The trooper went back inside the house to find marjorie. I just placed my hand on her shoulder and i told her im placing you under arrest. So, step back a second. In the span of less than a month, there were three bizarre incidents that baffled the people and authorities of erie p. A. First was the pizza bombing death, then the sudden death of the second pizza delivery man. And now there was an unexplained frozen body. Marjorie diehlarmstrong told police she had nothing to do with the body in the freezer and didnt have much else to say. Bill rothstein, on the other hand, was ready to talk, and what he had to say would make headlines. This is one of the biggest but clearly the strangest story i ever covered in all the years ive been in erie. Paul wagner has covered local erie news since 1979. He was a very smart man. He spoke a couple Foreign Languages and he said he had a mensalevel iq. He was a substitute teacher in erie schools. He taught classes including Industrial Arts and sciences. He had advised the High School Robotics team. He had come from a prominent family. His parents were from rola cola. Now he was in a Police Interrogation room where he agreed to a videotaped interview. Rothstein seemed calm and collected. His attorney was also there. When bill was asked to sign his waiver of his miranda rights, there was a misspelling in there. It was like a chess game to him. He liked to let them know he was as smart as they were, and i think he enjoyed it. They never married but she and bill rothstein remained friends in a complicated relationship. A romance that was just a small part of Marjorie Diehlarmstrongs long and troubled history. Can you explain who marjorie is . Marjorie diehlarmstrong, she is a very famous or i should say, infamous resident of erie, pennsylvania. Trey borzillieri had come here after he had found out about the body. He was trying to find out everything he could about two very strange crimes is that two unique individuals. What he was discovering about marjorie was troubling, to say the least. Some publications you might find the black widow next to her name. She is the epitome of a black widow. Shes had many men in her life fall victim to bizarre deaths by her hand and also by odd circumstances. It was a much different story when marjorie was younger. A near straight a student in high school, she seemed destined for a bright future. Marjorie diehlarmstrong was a very, very bright young lady. Got a bachelors degree and a masters degree, looked like she was on the road to a very successful life. It turned out marjories latest boyfriend was the body stuffed in the freezer. Rothstein was telling police that marjorie shot that boyfriend after an argument in her house. And then he took the body and stored it in his garage freezer. And in this case the phrase dead men tell no tales wasnt necessarily true, especially when that dead man is found in a freezer that just happens to be next door to that tv tower where brian wells made his last pizza delivery. Coming up. This is where i cut up the rifle. A lesson in how to hide a murder weapon. Takes all the investigators out to the house and does a showandtell on camera. He was the instructor. And a clue from out of the blue. He brings up the pizza bomber case. I knew that somehow these were related. When dateline continues. Super emma just about sleeps in her cape. But when we realized she was battling sensitive skin, we switched to new tide plus downy free. Its gentle on her skin, and dermatologist recommended. New tide pods plus downy free. Safe for sensitive skin with eczema and psoriasis. Im craving something were missing. The ceramides in cerave. They help restore my natural barrier, so i can lock in moisture. Weve got to have each others backs. Cerave. Now the 1 dermatologist recommended skincare brand. Understanding how to talk to your doctor about Treatment Options is key. Today, we are redefining how we do things. We find new ways of speaking, so youre never out of touch. Its seeing someones face that comforts us, no matter where. When those around us know us, they can show us just how much they care. The first steps of checking in, the smallest moments can end up being everything. Theres resources that can inform us, and that spark can make a difference. When we use it to improve things, then that change can last within us. When we understand whats possible, we wont settle for less. The best thing we can be is striving to be at our best. Managing Heart Failure starts now with understanding. Call today or go online to understandhf. Com for a free hf handbook. A frozen body had been found in an erie, pennsylvania, garage. It led the local Coroners Office to hold a grim news conference. We are not able to proceed with an autopsy, which will be in at least another day or two after the person has had an opportunity to thaw out. He was frozen solid at this at this time. Eries deputy coroner back then had the most unenviable job in northwestern pennsylvania again. We tried to remove him from the freezer and we couldnt because he was frozen to the side and bottom of the freezer. So you couldnt pull the body out of the well, we wanted to preserve evidence, too. So we moved the entire freezer from the home. Meanwhile, back in a Police Interview room, bill rothstein, the man in the overalls was telling the cops how he had become a ghoul on behalf of his friend, Marjorie Diehlarmstrong, who he said, in fact, had shot the man jackknifed into the freezer. Not only was he willing to sit down and talk to detectives. He was eager to be a crime scene tour guide, as well. He takes all the investigators out to the house and does a show and tell on camera on how hes moving the body out, huh . He sure does. Hes walking people through and he was the instructor. Rothstein, the former substitute teacher, was all but in charge of the gaggle of cops in his wake. He confidently did a walkthrough at both crime scenes. Marjories house, where shed allegedly shot her boyfriend. And his house, where he later stored the body in his freezer. This is where i cut up the rifle. In his kitchen, he explained how he had destroyed the gun used in the killing. Rothstein said hed gathered up the melted gun parts and scattered them all over erie. In hopes that investigators never would find them. And they never did. Back in his garage, rothstein shared grizzly details on how he and marjorie originally planned to chop up the frozen body. Bill rothstein and Marjorie Diehlarmstrong had come up with a plan to dispose of mr. Rodens body. And their goal was to use a chainsaw, cut up his body after it was frozen. And then put it in the ice chipper to get rid of the pieces all throughout the county. Where does this kind of thinking come from . Thats about as diabolical and maniacal as you can get i think. Rothsteins how to cover up a murder tutorial continued. Cleanup chores. Now, the steps. He replaced most of the steps partially because they had blood on them. And then rothstein told investigators about some razor blades left in a bag. He told them he had attempted to take his own life. They had discovered his suicide note. Rothstein changed his mind, obviously. But investigators found the note intriguing. Point number one was, this has nothing to do with the wells case. Meaning brian wells. The mean who died from the collar bomb. Why in the world did he have the socalled pizza bombing on his mind as hes supposed to be contemplating suicide . Why did you think to ask or put in there about it wasnt related to wells . So you wouldnt go off hog wild saying this has to do with the wells [ bleep ]. I wanted you guys to know so you dont have to waste your time trying to figure out is this part of the wells situation or not . Rothsteins attorney also wondered about the wisdom of alluding to the bombing case. Typical bill. He brings up, out of the blue, the pizza bomber case. It was almost like he was drawing attention to himself because he wanted to. If that werent enough to make investigators suspicious, there was Something Else that began to draw attention to rothstein like a neon sign. The location of the crime. The frozen body was found in rothsteins garage located here. Right up a gravel road a couple of hundred yards away was the tv tower site where investigators knew brian wells made his last pizza delivery. It wasnt a home or a business but a dirt parking lot. It was too strange of a coincidence. Because of that, fbi agent clarke became convinced the cases were related. And was determined to learn how rothstein may have been involved with the pizza bombing. So his next move was to talk with rothstein. I interviewed him. And i knew that somehow these were related. And i i just felt it from the minute i sat with him. What did he tell you . He looked at me and he said, well, ill talk to you but i need to tell you that im the smartest guy in this room. And i looked around. I said, well, my wife tells me that every night. Lets get started. But rothstein gave up nothing. So while he was still facing charges in the frozen body case, without other evidence, he was in the clear on the pizza bombing investigation. Months passed. Then the fbis Behavioral Analysis unit came back with a preliminary profile on the unknown bomb maker. Detailing his most likely traits. That hed be a manipulator. That hed be really good with his hands. That he probably had a workshop. That he probably did some teaching or instruction in the past. Everything that was in there fit perfectly to bill rothstein. Coming up. The investigation pivots to marjorie and the many men in her life. She decide to buy a gun. And she kills him. The many dead men. Shes as complex and interesting as anybody youll ever meet. When dateline continues. So, uh, yeah, just a silly mistake. I guess i look pretty. Ridiculous. [ chuckles ] no one looks ridiculous, bob. Progressive is always here for you with roundtheclock service. Just so you know, next time, you can submit a claim with our mobile app. Good. Thanks again for for rushing over. Are you kidding . This is what 24 7 protection looks like. Okay. You smell like fish. Sorry. I was talking to jamie. You smell like fish. Sorry. Businesses today are looking to tomorrsetting the course. Ating. But new ways of working demand a new type of network. One thats more than just fast. You need flexibility to work from anywhere and manage from everywhere. Advanced technology. With serious security. And reliable coverage, nationwide. Forwardthinking enterprises deserve forwardthinking solutions. And thats what we deliver. So bounce forward, with comcast business. Theres been a strange string of deaths in erie, pennsylvania. God, i cant believe what we saw. First, pizza deliveryman brian wells. A bomb locked around his neck. Its gonna go off hes pleading, can you get this thing off me . Whoever did this was watching. I was scared. Then, another deliveryman dropped dead. And later theres a frozen body. A body in a freezer. Wow, another one of these this cant get any crazier moments. Was there a link to it all . The darkest secrets are still to come. She manipulated everybody around her. Without a doubt, i knew shed kill again. I was like, oh, my god, is this possible . The big guy in the bib over alls was a prime suspect in the pizza bombing case. They had no physical evidence tieing him to the crime. He was out on bond. Accused of the charge of abusing a corpse. The one found in his home freezer. He was relishing in the spotlight. Respondsing to a reporters question in french. Rough translation. Too bad. But when would be documentary film make wen to his house to talk about the bombing. He wouldnt talk to him in any language. The garage opened. This is where the frozen bods was held. And Classical Music is blasting. It was jarring. I say im making a documentary on the wells case. I know its effected your life. I want to hear your side of the story. He turned to me and he said, no. Reporter what were the hairs on the back of your neck telling you . They were telling me to get out of there. Reporter this guys creepy . Absolutely. Reporter and fbi agent clarks instincts were telling him that rothstein constructed the collar bomb. But clark still didnt have evidence to connect him to the pizza case. Then in july, 2004, less than a year after the bombing, clark got some unwelcome news. His prime suspect was dying on him. I see bill in the hospital bed, and i said, ooh, he looks much more sick than theyre telling me, so i may have one crack at this. Reporter rothstein had terminal cancer. The fbi man crossed his fingers for a deathbed confession. I said, bill, dont take this with you. Youve gotta tell me. Are these cases related . And he lifted his arm out of the bed and he spelled out no. And four days later, he hes deceased. Reporter bill rothstein was 60. And whatever involvement, if any, he had with the pizza bombing case, he took to his grave without saying a word. With rothstein dead, clarks attention turned to Marjorie Diehlarmstrong who, it turned out, knew her way around sudden deaths. Who is this person . You can use as many words and as many minutes as youd like to describe her. Wow. Reporter cause it takes that long, right . [ laughter ] shes as complex and interesting as anybody youll ever meet in your life. Reporter there are people who have a past. And then there is Marjorie Diehlarmstrong. Marjorie had a tremendous magnetism. Were just drawn to each other. Reporter in the 1960s, Susan Robison and marjorie were students together at eries academy high school. She just walked up to me and said, hello. And i had the funniest feeling that i had met somebody that was gonna be with me for as a friend for a long time. Reporter susan also knew big bill rothstein, who she says was in and out of marjories life for decades. I think the first person she dated seriously was bill rothstein. And he worshipped her. Well, thats heady stuff. I said, what was the attraction . And she said, there was intellectual compatibility. I really liked that about him cause he was so smart. Reporter but susan says marjorie started acting strangely, eventually turning to astrology to help guide her life. She drew up her astrological charts herself. Shed look at the charts, and they did not serve her well, for the most part. Theres a pattern, which i saw only years later because the people she was associating with got sketchier and sketchier. Reporter things got worse. Marjorie became erratic, a stream of consciousness talker. Profane. Mental illness began to take over. She suffered from bipolar disorder, other mental illnesses, and her life pretty much spiraled down. Reporter down and finally out of control. Back in 1984, marjorie was 35 when she killed a man for the first time. Bob thomas was a man that she met. Shes in an abusive relationship with him. She decides to buy a gun and she kills him. She shoots him 6 times with a. 38 special. Reporter she was charged with murder. Her attorney, leonard ambrose, realized just how difficult a defense case he had. After the shooting, she went out with a bag filled with 18,000 in cash and was soliciting individuals to help her with a chainsaw, cut up the body and bury it. Reporter oh, youre kidding. Which started the whole thing going. Reporter part of ambroses defense consisted of having marjorie committed three times while she awaited trial. To illustrate just how truly ill she was, ambrose pointed to what authorities found in her house after her 1984 arrest. Marjorie was a hoarder in the extreme. She had 400 pounds of cheese in the attic. She had hundreds of dozens of eggs in the freezers. I mean, who would put 400 pounds of cheese in your attic in july . She just was really, really disturbed, and she was never gonna get better. Reporter but the courts ultimately declared her competent to stand trial. Ambrose produced witnesses who testified that the boyfriend had physically abused marjorie in public. The lawyer made his case so compelling that the jury found her not guilty. I thank god, and i thank the jury and everybody that has always believed in helping me get through this. Reporter marjorie eventually met another man, richard armstrong, and married him. His life came to an unfortunate end too. He fell and hit his head on a coffee table. She took him into the emergency room. He was seen. They claimed that they thought he had the flu or Something Like that and he was okay to go home. She went to get the car to take him home, and he collapsed on the floor and died. Reporter police investigated the death and cleared marjorie. Marjorie then sued the hospital for malpractice. He died and she won a large settlement. Reporter so when Marjorie Diehlarmstrongs name flashes on the 11 00 news, people with pretty good memories in erie recognize it, right . Marjories back. So when her name came up as related to the death of james roden, there was not a surprised person in town. Reporter roden, her third dead partner, was the one shot and frozen. But once again marjorie was institutionalized because of her mental illness. And agent clark was prohibited from talking with her. But that was about to change. Coming up marjorie points the finger at someone new. Ive never killed a person in my life, and i never would. Hell, i hate to kill bugs. And a dangerous close encounter. I pulled my gun out and i was very close to squeezing out a round. Instantly clear every day congestion with vicks sinex saline nasal mist. For drug free relief that works fast. Vicks sinex. Instantly clear everyday congestion. Im craving something were missing. The ceramides in cerave. They help restore my natural barrier, so i can lock in moisture. Weve got to have each others backs. Cerave. Now the 1 dermatologist recommended skincare brand. She pleaded guilty in the shooting death of jim roaden. Shes going down for the death the boyfriend in the freezing. Right. Pleaded guilty. And sentenced to seven to 20 years for the death. With the frozen body case finally resolved he thought the times was right to make contact with her. He wrote her. I had nowhere else to turn but her for information. Thats what i did. Shes your pen pal. She does. It was last resort for information. Clark was more direct. He went to visit her in prison. Im here to talk about the wells case. She said im not telling you anything about that case. Unless you move me closer to eerie. Lets make a deal. Manipulation. She didnt like the prison she was in. And wanted to be moved. Clark agreed to try to get her transferred. Do me a favor. Ill talk to you. Going out the door she said you better check out a guy named ken lawrence. Did you put weight on that . Absolutely. Ken barns a new name. Clark had no idea how he might fit in the investigation, but he did know of barns. As soon as we heard the name, investigators, state police, erie police knew he was a crack dealer in town. Marjorie and ken had been friends for years. Friends at a local fishing peer. We would have to track ken down and say get in the car, lets chat. Thats all it was. A chat barns gave him nothing. Did a deep dive and there it was. A video. An investigation had been conducted almost two years before. At the time they were investigating the frozen body case. Marjorie, how long have you known her. Almost nine years. He had a grand slam revelation and it concerned marjorie. Told them she was obsessed with inheritance. Her wealthy mother already dead she was upset. Her dad was squandering money. There was a lot more money that was supposed to be willed to her when he died. And she said that he is recovering alcoholic and hes been given sums of hundreds of thousands of dollars to the church and giving it away to all his friends. Hundreds of thousands of dollar. Yes. And she said hes giving away her inheritance. She was so obsessed with it. Marjorie asked barnes to kill her father so she could get his money. He told the cops he has no intention, but played along. Ive never killed a person in my life, and i never would. I hate to kill bugs. I cry when people shoot deers. What was his fee . Thatll cost you. 250,000. Interesting. That was the same amount of money demanded on the bank robbery note. Now, finally armed with that two year old information, clark decided it was time to put a bigger squeeze on ken barnes. So clark and another agent picked him up to put him in the car. He got in the front seat and special agent was driving and i was right directly behind ken. While were driving down to our office to have a chat, ken reaches in his pocket and pulls out a knife. Clark had to make a split second decision. Does he shoot barnes to save his partner. I never forget. I pulled my gun out and put it to the back of the seat and very close to squeezing off a round right through the seat. Instead he got barnes to hand over the knife. Everyone taking a deep breath. Barnes got out of the car, still insisting he knew nothing about the pizza bombing case, but there was someone else who was eager to talk to investigators. Coming up, a pizza bombing bombshell. Straight from marjories mouth. Marge is like its not like we didnt measure his neck for the collar. When dateline continues f. If you have medicare, listen up. The medicare enrollment deadline is only days away. With so many changes, do you know if your plan is still the right fit . Having the wrong plan may cost you thousands of dollars out of pocket. And thats why i love healthmarkets, your insurance marketplace. With healthmarkets fitscore, they compare thousands of plans from National Insurance companies to find the right medicare plan that fits you. Call or visit healthmarkets to find your fitscore today. In minutes, you can find out if your current plan is the right fit, and once youve let the fitscore do the work, sit back and enjoy not having to shop for insurance again. Healthmarkets fitscore forever technology will continuously scan the market for the best coverage at the best price. So you can shop once and save again and again and again. 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She didnt like talking to cops but she had no problem sharing with inmates. I met marjorie in the Erie County Prison. She was brought in september 21st of 2003. Reporter kelly makela was in the prison for assault and gun charges. But before that, she trained at a police academy. She knew cops. How they thought. What questions they asked. Marjorie thought kelly had expertise that could help her in her upcoming trial. Marge became my best friend. My mom came to visit her. When i first met her she was sitting by herself. Everybody was stayin away from her. I offered her a cup o coffee. Little did i know how important that cup o coffee would be. Cement your friendship, huh . Yes, it did. Reporter sitting side by side, kelly kept scrupulous notes for what she said was thousands of hours of conversations with marjorie often telling the chatterbox to slow down. Marjorie thought she was talking to someone who would help her beat the rap for killing her boyfriend. But kelly would also try to use their conversations to steer her new friend to talk about a different case the pizza bombing. We talked of, you know, her past relationships, the murder of roden, of course, and then slowly into the the pizza bomber. How does that subject get introduced, kelly, the brian wells pizza case . Through rothstein. Okay reporter bill rothstein. Marjories one time fiance who turned her in for killing roden and hid the body in his freezer. What did she tell you about rothstein . That he built the bomb. He it was his toy. Reporter and there it was the first time anyone said what investigators suspected bill rothstein was in on the pizza bombing. And now marjorie began to describe a wider plot that seemed to involve every lost soul who had come into her orbit. And who were the players in this thing . Theres rothstein, who else . Theres ken barnes, Floyd Stockton james roden pinetti, and of course brian wells. These are just names to you, you dont know who the i have no clue. Who these players are. None. Reporter but kelly did know one of the names brian wells, the pizza delivery man whod been blown up. And kelly said marjorie told her that wells was no innocent victim but rather part of the conspiracy. That is, if you can believe a snitch. As for the others, ken barnes, of course, was the crack dealer who was marjories fishing buddy. Floyd stockton was rothsteins old friend, and was living in rothsteins house at the time of the bombing. Marjorie said jim roden, her boyfriend, was in on the plot, too but she killed him when he got cold feet and ended up, ironically, in a freezer. He was going to turn her in. And he didnt want to be the getaway driver, he didnt want any part of it, he wanted out. And thats marjorie telling you that . Yes. So, roden is dead because yes. He didnt want to be in on this thing. Without a doubt. Without a doubt. Reporter and then there was the other pizza delivery guy, robert pinetti. Pinetti, you may recall, was found dead of a Drug Overdose before the cops could question him about the bank robbery. What about pinettis death . Is that a natural overdose . No, she said that they gave him an overdose. Yeah they killed him so he wouldnt talk. Boy, the bodies pile up like firewood in this thing, kelly. Yeah, you know, somebody joked with me once that i was safe because she only killed men. Reporter and the motive for the plot . Marjorie told kelly she needed 250,000 from the bank to pay ken barnes, who would then kill her father so she could get her inheritance. Rothstein got involved, said marjorie, because he knew he was dying and wanted to go out with a bang. So, rothstein and marjorie put it together . Yes. This is amazing, because marjorie has never talked about these things to anybody. I know. And youre taking the notes . Yeah. There was one moment when i was takin the notes, and marge is, like its not like we didnt measure his neck for the for the bomb for the collar. And we did so in rothsteins kitchen. You knew exactly what she meant. Yes. Yes. Which Law Enforcement would love to have that quote, maybe the most important words, from their point of view, that you ever wrote down. Yeah. Because that connected marjorie to the case they could never make. Yeah, and putting the putting the brian wells case on her. Yes. When i realized everything she was tellin me was the honesttogods truth, i had to turn it over. I knew shed get out and kill again without a doubt. Reporter with her attorney, kelly handed the notes over to the prosecutor in the roden case. But inexplicably the explosive notes werent turned over to investigators in the pizza bombing case for two years. I put everything together and wrapped it up in a nice little bow. And the fbi, why it wasnt turned over to the fbi is beyond me. Reporter when fbi agent jerry clark finally got the notes, he thought they confirmed much of what hed long suspected. But they were the notes of a prison snitch of limited value unless they were corroborated. Clark knew just who to go to for that. A new witness with something to reveal. That solidifies any question. It doesnt get more important than that. Oo oo did you know that 70 of the soils on your clothes are invisible . Try new tide pods hygienic clean heavy duty. See the difference, after being washed with tide hygienic clean. For a deep clean, try tide hygienic clean if its got to be clean, its got to be tide. Every minute. Understanding how to talk to your doctor about Treatment Options is key. Today, we are redefining how we do things. We find new ways of speaking, so youre never out of touch. Its seeing someones face that comforts us, no matter where. When those around us know us, they can show us just how much they care. The first steps of checking in, the smallest moments can end up being everything. Theres resources that can inform us, and that spark can make a difference. When we use it to improve things, then that change can last within us. When we understand whats possible, we wont settle for less. The best thing we can be is striving to be at our best. Managing Heart Failure starts now with understanding. Call today or go online to understandheartfailure. Com for a free Heart Failure handbook. Heart monitors that let your doctor watch over you, just like you watch over your best friend. Another lifechanging technology from abbott, so you dont wait for life. You live it. Reporter august 2005. Two years after the pizza bombing, fbi agent jerry clark had jailhouse notes implicating marjorie. But it wasnt enough. He needed a corroborating witness. Then a break. Ken barnes was arrested on drug charges. Now had nowhere to hide, so clark turned up the pressure. And when he told barnes he had information that he was in on the plot, barnes caved. And he began to tell a story that would break the case wide open. He just decided, you know what . Im gonna tell the truth. Reporter barnes admitted he was part of the crazy conspiracy that led to the killing of brian wells, the pizza delivery man. A fact he laid out in all its sordid detail. He relived the whole thing from the minute he was picked up that day by Marjorie Diehlarmstrong, to every location that they went through, and what his role was, what everybody elses role was, and how the whole thing was to go down. Reporter barnes said Floyd Stockton was also part of the conspiracy. Stockton, remember, was rothsteins old friend who once lived in his house. When stockton found out hed been ratted out, he decided to talk, too, but only in exchange for immunity, a deal barnes never asked for. So, independently, they were saying the same things. And then the inmate witnesses that were being talked to by Marjorie Diehlarmstrong, their information independently corroborated. So, everything started to come together. Reporter after years of frustration and struggle to solve the pizza bombing, clark was putting all the bizarre pieces of this deadly scheme together. And he finally knew where the call that set it all in motion came from and who made it. Heres the shell station on the righthand side. August 28, 2003, 1 30, a phone call goes to the pizza shop ordering two pizzas, and it comes from that payphone thats in the parking lot thats no longer there. And that sets everything in motion, huh and that sets everything in motion. Reporter a new witness, a ups driver, came forward to say he saw two people making the call. Ordering the pizzas. And sees bill rothstein and Marjorie Diehlarmstrong at the pay phone. And to me, it doesnt get any more important than that. I mean, that that solidifies any question on who made the call. Reporter sometime before 2 00 p. M. , brian wells left mama mias pizza and 15 minutes later drove down this long deserted road to a clearing near this tv tower. Clark now knew that waiting for wells were all the conspirators marjorie, rothstein, barnes, stockton and the second pizza delivery man robert pinetti. So here comes wells with the pizzas. Wheres rothstein . Rothsteins vans parked here, back door is open, towel on the back of the van with the device sitting right on it. Reporter wells saw the device and started to run. Hes startin to move this direction. And as hes tryin to get away, thats when bill rothstein fires the shot in the air, the single shot. Yeah. And you know that there was a shot fired from his weapon. From the weapon that we recovered. And he got to about right here, and thats when mr. Barnes tackles and punches mr. Wells and says, youre gonna cooperate. When is the device armed . Is it right here . Its right here. Pulled the key out, started the timer. Tick, tick, tick, huh . Fifty seven minutes to live from there. Reporter according to barnes and stocktons accounts, the conspirators followed wells as it all went down. At the bank, marjorie and barnes were in a car across the street. And they had binoculars, and they could look right down this alley, all the way to the bank to see what was happening. Reporter and rothstein . He was hovering in his van ready to collect the money. But the transfer never happened once wells got caught. So theyre off their script, right from the get go. Right from the get go this thing went totally sideways. Reporter the Scavenger Hunt turned out to be a deadly hoax. There was no key waiting for wells at the last stop even if he got there. On the ground handcuffed, wells stuck with the script telling cops three africanamerican men put the bomb around his neck. If he said, im in the jam of my lifetime. You guys have gotta help me, it might have played out differently . It would have been done that day. He could have said, its bill rothstein and its Marjorie Diehl armstrong, its ken barnes. None of that came out . None of that came out that day. Marjorie diehl and Kenneth Barnes and other unindicted coconspirators choreographed every aspect of this bank robbery. Reporter in july 2007, the us attorney announced indictments against Marjorie Diehlarmstrong and ken barnes for Armed Bank Robbery and using a destructive device. Also named, two unindicted coconspirators, both dead, bill rothstein and, to the communitys shock, brian wells, the pizza delivery man. The wells family was outraged. Liar they shouted from the back of the room. Barbara white, brian wells sister. So its through his own misadventure he brings about his death because hes in on it. Thats what theyre saying, huh . Thats not true. Absolutely not true. And its wrong for them to shame on shame on them. I do know my brothers an innocent person. Reporter jean heid, brian wells other sister. I heard them implicate my brother for no reason at all. My brother had no motive, my brother had no mindset to be to do that. My brother was not involved. Reporter but wells was involved with prostitutes and investigators discovered that one of them, a woman named jessica hoopsick, was key. Wells was more than hoopsicks john, he drove her to get groceries and took her mom to the doctor. Hoopsick also knew ken barnes, and one day, she heard barnes say he needed a guy to rob the bank. So hoopsick introduced him to wells. And barnes later told clark wells was with him at the planning meeting a day before the robbery. He died. Hes a victim. I i feel like he is a victim. He really didnt believe it was real. Thats why hes cavalier in the bank. Thats why hes walking. Thats why he gets the lollipop. He doesnt think its real. And i feel horrible for the family. But if you look really at the evidence and the fact that those prostitutes are in his notebook, in his handwriting, and that he knew them, and that they introduced him to these other people, its really undeniable according to the evidence. Theres plenty of evidence that says brian is an unwilling participant. And youd cite what, jean, when you say that . I would cite if youre a willing participant and supposedly you were there the day before, then theres no reason, when you take a pizza order, to write down directions of where youre going because you know where youre going because youve been there the day before. And he did that. And brian did that. So thats number one. And number two, he was lured into a wooded area by criminals, and they forced this live bomb on him, and shoved notes on him. Said, here you go. And if you dont do exactly what we say boom. Reporter ken barnes pleaded guilty to using a destructive device during a crime of violence and to conspiracy to commit bank robbery. He was sentenced to 45 years. He agreed to be the star witness against Marjorie Diehlarmstrong, who pleaded not guilty. It would be one of erie, pas most sensational trials. But with a long history of killing men, marjories conviction would hardly be a slam dunk. Is a filthy liar. Reporter master manipulator, maybe but mastermind . everybody was lying and framing me, okay . Reporter marjorie tells her story. Would a jury believe her, again . Oh, my god, if shes acquitted, im like, is this possible . youd never wash your dishes in this. Your dishwasher looks clean but, when grease and limescale build up, its not as hygienic as you think. Use finish dishwasher cleaner its dualaction formula tackles grease and limescale. Finish. Clean dishwasher. Clean dishes. You make my heart sing wild thing i. Think i. You know what i think . I think you owe us 48. 50. 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And i said, you know, marjorie, thats the st governments motive in this case, is that you wanted to kill your father. And shes like, well, i just want it to be real. Isyo and i would never want to kill my father. Reporter on the stand d marjorie cried, yelled and unleashed a tornado of words and insults insisting she was not lt involved in the scheme. N she admitted she was near the tower but too far away to know what was going on. She claimed that she was there and that she had seen Floyd Stockton, that she had seen bill rothstein and ken barnes. Oc and she had seen them go go back to the tower site and that brian wells was there. marjorie desperately felt that the federal government was accusing her of a crime that she was not involved in. And she wouldve never have knowingly been involved in a be crime that was so cruel to brian wells. Reporter but when the prosecutor went one on one with marjorie her defense crumbled. The crossexamination did not go good for her. The prosecutor is a skilled prosecutor, and he was able to show discrepancies in her cr testimony, and i think he won some big points with the jury. Reporter and when marjorie stepped down from the stand, the defense rested. How long was the jury out . A day and a half. Reporter long enough to raise doubt. Long enough to remember that marjorie had killed and been acquitted before. I was like, oh, my god, if shes acquitted, i think the sun and the moon are gonna reverse positions. It im like, is this possible . Reporter in the case thats had twist after twist after twist theres one more. She set him up. She fed him to the wolves its like right out of a horror movie. When dateline continues. The n may cost you thousands ofe n dollars out of pocket. And thats why i love healthmarkets, your insurance marketplace. With healthmarkets fitscore, they compare thousands of plans from National Insurance companies to find the right medicare plan that fits you. 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After the verdict came in, she turned to doug sughrue and said, you failed me miserably. And looked at the jury and said, ill be back. Were goin to appeal this. And then she was led out of the courtroom. And everyone assumed she would receive a life sentence, which she did just a few months later. Reporter for agent clark, the end of a long quest to solve this wicked scheme had finally arrived. Whos your mastermind in the pizza case . Number one, Marjorie Diehlarmstrong wanted her dad dead. And in order to do that, she needed money to hire ken barnes to kill him. Thats why she wanted to rob the bank. But the scheme in how they robbed the bank and the Scavenger Hunt and the notes and all the involvement in the case related to the bank robbery itself was bill rothstein. Reporter both their thumbs are on the scale. But his is pushing down a little heavier. I i really believe so. And bill rothstein really wanted to leave this earth with a perfect crime. Reporter but for many, the question of whether brian wells was a willing participant or an innocent victim in his demise wouldnt go away. The evidence clearly shows that he had some knowledge of the people, had met them the day before, had participated in at least some fashion, and knew about the event. Again, he was tricked. He was duped. And he was killed by a group of people who turned on him. But unfortunately, he did know. Reporter but to this day, the wells family insists brian was only a pizza delivery man pulled into a diabolical plot by a group of misfits. He was never in trouble with the law. The people that are involved in his murder, they have they have a history. Rothstein does, Marjorie Diehl, ken barnes. These people are criminals. Reporter if brian is innocent, you have a murder case. It is murder. I dont say the word killed. He didnt pass away. He was murdered. Reporter meanwhile filmmaker Trey Borzillieri kept working. He had a documentary to make. And he scored two big interviews. One was with marjorie. She spoke via skype to trey and an attorney. Still denying, as only marjorie could, that she had anything to do with the bank robbery. She said the prosecutions motive was laughable. Here i am, ive killed two boyfriends in selfdefense. But ive killed two boyfriends, right . Would i have to hire ken barnes to kill my father if i hated my father that much and wanted him dead . Or would i do it for free for myself . Come on. Be reasonable. Reporter its on my resume. Yeah. Reporter i kill men. Yeah. Reporter trey decided to call his movie, evil genius with marjorie in mind. But it was the question of brian wells role that started to consume him. Eventually, he came to the same conclusion that the wells family had since day one. I dont believe he was involved. I believe he was an innocent victim who was targeted for reasons and that was on display in the crime. Reporter wells, innocent or not . Treys other big get was with jessica hoopsick. The prostitute who testified that she introduced brian wells to Co Conspirator ken barnes. One night, she was able to to do this interview for us in the back of a van. Reporter and she becomes the punctuation point of your film. Yeah. Reporter this is the reveal. Jessica speaks and, you know what, shes gonna say that brian wells was just a pawn. When she spoke to trey, hoopsick changed her story. Wells, she claimed, couldnt be part of the plot. Because the pizza delivery man was with her the day before the robbery and not at some planning meeting with the other conspirators. Could it be . Did wells really have an alibi . I want people to know that he was innocent. And that he was a good guy. Reporter hoopsick was racked with guilt. But was she telling the truth . She admitted she wasnt with wells the entire day before the robbery. And three of the conspirators put wells at that preplanning meeting. After hearing her tell her story, i believe her. I mean, i understand that, obviously from her background. And you know, what she does that that she is the epitome of an unreliable witness. Reporter tells you the suns gonna come up in the east, get a second opinion, right . And and so but she had everything to lose. Reporter hoopsick was never charged in the pizza bombing case. But by her own admission, she set wells up with the conspirators. She fed him to the wolves. Dennis, its like right out of a horror movie. This death trap was locked around his neck. Such a horrific way to die. Reporter and wells would die again and again once treys documentary evil genius began to stream on netflix. The twisted ending creating sensational headlines around the world. But some say this entire evil fiasco could have been avoided long ago, if only the system hadnt failed during majories first murder trial. She should have been committed to a mental institution. And thats where she should have remained for the rest of her life. And because that didnt happen, you know, we can see this this deadly wake that she left. Reporter Marjorie Diehlarmstrong died in a texas prison in 2017 from cancer. She was 68 years old. She was an evil person. And she did very, very bad things to many men in her life. Reporter do you put the two pizza guys deaths on her . I certainly do. Reporter the boyfriend in the freezer. The boyfriend in the freezer. The first boyfriend she shot and the second boyfriend, which was her husband, that she took to the hospital. So, maybe five dead men around her. Reporter does that make her a serial killer . It does. Reporter a serial killer, who held sway over a mystifying cast of supporting characters. Who are these people that have such hatred in their heart that could do this to somebody . Nobody deserves to die this way. Reporter and maybe thats the hardest part about the whole sordid affair, trying to understand marjorie, rothstein, barnes and the rest. Fractured intellectuals, broken souls who lost their humanity on a descent into evil. This sunday, the threat to democracy. I won, by the way. Well find that out. Almost 74 million votes. President trump and his allies making baseless and dangerous claims about nonexistent voter fraud. It is inaccurate to say there is widespread voter fraud in the state of georgia. The president now hoping to get republican state legislators to overturn results and change electors. Its an assault on democracy. Its dangerous. Its hard to fathom how this man thinks. Ill talk to incoming official congressman Cedric Richmond of louisiana and republican senator kevin cramer of north dakota