[OVERVIEW]

I wasn't sure if this should really be under this section since people have been arrested for this crime, but I'll explain why it's unsolved in a bit.

The rundown is

Man: I have a bomb around my neck, it will explode anytime.
Police: Doesn't immediately call the bomb squad
Man: *explodes*
Police:

[EVENTS OF BANK ROBBERY]

Brian Wells, a 47 year old high school drop out, worked as a pizza delivery man for Mama Mia's Pizzeria in Erie, Pennsylvania. Brian lived alone with 3 cats. His landlord called him the perfect tenant. His boss said he only recalled Brian calling off of work one time, which was when a cat of his had died.

On the evening of August 23, 2003, Mama Mia's Pizzeria received an order Brian took it. It was close to the end of his shift. he delivered it to 8631 Peach Street, an address a few miles from the pizzeria. The address was WSEE-TV's transmitting tower at the end of a dirt road. What exactly happened between when he got there and the next event isn't entirely known.

Around 2:30 pm Brian pulled into the PNC Bank on Peach Street and give the teller an affixed note demanding $250,000, and to use his shotgun, that was shaped like a cane, to threaten anyone who was not co-operating or attempting to flee. Although he never actually attempted to use it even when he saw people leave.

Wells slid the note to a teller. The note stated that in fifteen minutes the bomb would explode and that the full amount must be handed over within that time. Unable to access the vault that quickly, the teller gave Wells a bag with $8,702 in it, with which he exited the bank. At 2:38, a witness called 9-1-1 from the bank and reported a male leaving the bank with "a bomb or something wrapped around his neck."

Around fifteen minutes after Wells left the bank, police spotted him standing outside his Geo Metro and promptly arrested him, handcuffing him and leaving him sitting on the ground in the parking lot. Wells claimed that three unnamed black people had placed a bomb around his neck, provided him with the shotgun, and told him that he had to commit the robbery and several other tasks, lest they kill him.

The responding police officers did not attempt to disarm the device, instead focusing on clearing the immediate area of pedestrians and ensuring that Wells could not detonate the device. They also waited 10 minute before attempting to contact a bomb squad. At 3:18 pm, just three minutes before the bomb squad arrived, the bomb detonated and blasted a fist-sized hole in Wells's chest, killing him within a matter of minutes. The arrival of the bomb squad was delayed due to congested traffic in the surrounding area, but was still considered an appropriately speedy response.

Although the event had been broadcast live on the air by WJET-TV, an Erie-based ABC affiliate, the moment of the detonation was not shown on live television due to a technical problems. WJET-TV did provide the footage to FBI investigators, ABC's head office, and their sister station in Buffalo, New York. It subsequently leaked through unknown means to a shock jock on DC101, a radio station in Washington, D.C., who posted it on his website in September 2003. Although he subsequently removed the video at WJET-TV's request, by then it had been posted to numerous other video-sharing websites.

Though the note claimed that Wells would gain extra time by each found key, police later traveled the route on the note and could not complete it in the time the note allotted to Wells. In other words, regardless of what had unfolded, Wells would not have had enough time to get the bomb defused.

[FIRST THREE SUSPECTS]

[BILL ROTHSTEIN]

Three weeks after the robbery and death of Brian Wells, a man named Bill Rothstein called the police to report a dead body in his freezer. Police soon found that the body belonged to a man named James Roden.

He told them that ex-girlfriend of his named Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong had killed Roden in a dispute over money and contacted Rothstein for help in disposing of the body. He'd initially agreed to help but now decided he couldn't go through with it, he said. He said he even thought about suicide due to the guilt.

The police searched his house and found a suicide note, but there was something very strange about it would eventually solve this case up to a point. The very first line of his suicide note was "This has nothing to do with the Wells' case."

During a search of his home they also found materials that the bomb that Wells wore was made out of and knew he had the knowledge and means to create the bomb.

His home was also a five minute walk away from the place Wells delivered the pizza and was half a mile away from a payphone out side a gas station that was determined to be where the pizza call was made from.

Before having to answer for what he had done he died in 2004 due to cancer.

The FBI concluded that he couldn't have been the mastermind of this plan.

[MAJORIE DIEHL-ARMSTRONG]

It was believed that she was the mastermind. It was not only revealed that she killed her boyfriend, but the reason was found to be because he learned she planned on hiring a hit man against her father and he was going to expose the bomb plan.

She also shot another ex boyfriend but got away with it due to saying it was self defense because he was abusive. Her first husband hanged himself. Another one died after falling and his head hitting on a table.

She was convicted and put in prison for life plus 45 years. She died in 2017 due to cancer.

She was also believed to have been the mastermind behind the whole plan.

[KENNETH BARNES]

Barnes had spoken outloud about the robbery so his brother turned him in. Barnes was already in jail for drug charges.

Barnes said he would give information in exchange for a lighter sentence.

Barnes confirmed that Majorie was the mastermind.

At first Majorie claimed she had nothing to do with this but did supply the kitchen timers for the bomb. When the FBI told her they had enough to indict her she made a claim that would turn this into an unsolved case for many.

[BRIAN WELLS]

Majorie claimed that Brian was in on the plan. The reason people believe this is because Majorie, Kenneth nor Bill are black males. It's known that these three made the bomb, put it on Brian and created this plan to rob a bank. And yet, when Brian got caught he said black males held him at gunpoint and he was put in the bomb collar. So why lie? Not only that, if you were held at gun point and forced to wear a bomb you're demeanor wouldn't be calm, and yet when Brian walked into the bank, that's exactly what he was. Witnesses said he wasn't even acting like anything was wrong.

His family however doesn't believe that he was apart of this plan because it wasn't like him. He would have no reason to even rob a bank. Plus if he really believed his life were in danger and the only way to get out of the bomb was to do exactly what he was told, he would have attempted to shoot at the people fleeing, even if he purposely missed.

But Barnes, as well as another witness, stated that Wells talked about the robbery months before it happened.

The FBI, as well as Barnes, who himself was in the dark about a lot of the plan, stated that they believe Brian was under the impression that the bomb was a fake one. When he realized it was real it was far too late.

Brian was found guilty of conspiracy in his own murder by the FBI, but there are some who don't believe Wells shouldn't be found guilty as there isn't enough evidence to prove he absolutely had something to do with this.

The fact that Brian's innocences has been brought into question with little evidence to prove anything, many consider this an unsolved case cause they aren't sure if Brian is innocent of guilty.