Yes but Im torn about this at least she tries to do the right thing eventually. [12][6], Kenneth Barnes (1954 June 20, 2019) was a retired television repairman, crack dealer, and Diehl-Armstrong's "fishing buddy". Hoopsick, in the documentary, claimed that Wells was innocent and had no involvement in planning the bank robbery that led to his death. Hoopsick could not be reached by TIME, despite multiple efforts. [11] Investigators do not believe Rothstein ever attempted suicide. The address was the location of the transmitting tower of WSEE-TV at the end of a dirt road. In her mind, she had a lot of people paying attention to her but in the end, she was never really loved.. We were in a tough spot. Thanks to the tireless efforts of groups like ACT UP and TAG, the country has made substantial progress on the issue, but remember this battle when society inevitably finds another population to stigmatize and stand up before it's too late. I agree with TheWrap's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and provide my consent to receive marketing communications from them. The Bizarre Real-Life Story of the Pizza Guy Who Robbed a Bank with a Bomb Around His Neck. Even more upsetting, though, is the uphill and seemingly hopeless battle workers in poor countries are facing for working conditions Americans take for granted. "The Central Park Five" (2012): Documentarian Ken Burns examines the 1989 case of five black and Latino teenagers who were convicted of raping a white woman in Central Park, and spent between six and 13 years in prison before a serial rapist confessed. [54] In November 2012, the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed her conviction. Was he involved from the beginning and a co-conspirator in the foiled plot? Clark is also adamant that Wells agreed to take part in the robbery, before later trying to back out. "Divorce Corp." (2014): As if the criminal justice system hasn't failed enough Americans, this documentary makes family law seem downright criminal. He wasnt out to hurt nobody. Relatives said she had fallen out of touch with her family, and several phone numbers provided by two of her recent attorneys were either disconnected or belonged to other people. Upon entering the bank around 2:30p.m., Wells slid the note to a teller. Police said Butler's body was found on the living room floor at the residence after Thomas called 911 and reported she had killed an individual. Thomas, 44, agreed to the sentence in a deal with prosecutors when she pleaded guilty to third-degree murder in the death of her boyfriend, 44-year-old Keeno Butler, earlier this month. William Ansel "Bill" Rothstein (January 17, 1944 July 30, 2004) dated Diehl-Armstrong in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Who Is Brian Wells? Prosecutors claimed Wells was in on the heist but thought the bomb was a decoy. On August 31, 2003, Wells's coworker at the pizza store and its only other delivery driver, Robert Thomas Pinetti, was found dead in his home after suffering a drug overdose. The plot subsequently uncovered has been described as "one of the most complicated and bizarre crimes" in the history of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).[1]. In October 2010, Diehl-Armstrong took the stand to testify on her own behalf as part of her defense. New Details About The Man In 'Evil Genius' On Netflix. "I just want to apologize to the family. Stockton, known as Jay, was wanted on charges that he raped a 19-year-old developmentally disabled woman in Washington in 2002. Lucky you, because this documentary exposes a sad reality that grade-school students across the country are bombarded with so much homework and pressure to prepare for college before they even hit high school that they're already as stressed out as working adults. She testified at Diehl-Armstrong's trial. The FBI elite agent who investigated the murder of Brian Wells -- a case that inspired Netflix's ' Evil Genius ' -- isn't buying the shocking twist at the . "The thing that's accurate that she does say that I fully agree with as the investigator is that she introduced [Brian Wells] to these people. The instructions also included a scavenger hunt, listing a series of strictly-timed tasks of collecting keys that would delay detonation and eventually defuse the bomb. So, she admits that and that's still accurate. Ha Az sszes elfogadsa gombra kattint, azzal elfogadja, hogy a Yahoo s partnerei feldolgozzk az n szemlyes adatait, s klnbz technolgikat pldul cookie-kat hasznlnak szemlyre szabott hirdetsek s tartalom megjelentshez, a hirdetsekkel s tartalmakkal kapcsolatos mrsekhez, a clkznsgre vonatkoz elemzsekhez s a termkfejlesztshez. The only defendant who went to trial in the case. However, the teller explained that she couldn't gather that much money in so little time and only gave him $8,702. [5], Wells was instructed to "quietly" enter the PNC Bank at Summit Towne Center on Peach Street and give the teller an affixed note demanding $250,000, and to use his shotgun to threaten anyone who did not cooperate or attempted to flee. [22][47], On July 29, 2008, U.S. District Court Judge Sean J. McLaughlin made an initial finding that Diehl-Armstrong was mentally incompetent to stand trial due to a number of mental disorders, indicating this ruling would be reviewed after she had received a period of treatment in a mental hospital. How much did the teller at the bank give Brian Wells? Erie police charged that Thomas killed Butler during an attack at the couple's apartment at 1019 East Ave. Thomas told investigators that she cut Butler in the hand with a folding knife and struck him in the head with a table leg during a struggle. jessica hoopsick child with brian wells. TMZ.com. "This was an attack that was incredibly violent and it was incredibly depraved," Lightner said. Melissa Chan of Time wrote; "Hoopsick says a conspirator approached her to find a 'gopher' who could be scared into robbing a bank". Thomas weighs approximately 300 pounds and Butler weighed approximately 120 pounds, investigators wrote in the affidavit of probable cause. Stockton, 70, is believed to be living in Washington state. Assuming this is real, does anyone else find it eerie (no pun intended) that she's sitting on the ground like Brian was when he was arrested? The man who claims to have been her common-law husband, Mark Marvin, who lives near Poughkeepsie, New York, has unsuccessfully argued in federal court that Diehl-Armstrong might not be dead, and if she is dead, that the government should release her remains to him for a Quaker burial. Please try again. Authorities brought her to Westmoreland County on Friday. Butler's sister, Sandra Butler, asked Cunningham to impose a longer prison sentence. And says Bill Rothstein was the true mastermind. [55] In January 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court denied her petition for certiorari, declining to hear her case. Also isnt it almost even sadder for Brian his kid losing his mother? If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. [53] On February 28, 2011, she was sentenced to life in prison, to be served consecutively with the prison term imposed in 2005 for killing Roden. Jessica Hoopsick, one of Wells' favorite prostitutes, admitted to her involvement in the plot. With a note that demanded $250,000, he had a cane that he swung around like Charlie Chaplin, that was actually a gun, and a collar locked around his neck like a handcuff. After dropping out of high school in 1973 when he was 16 (later getting his GED), Wells got a job at Mama Mia Pizzeria in Erie, PA. When he entered PNC Bank and demanded $250,000, he was calm, even grabbing a lollipop before leaving with less than $9,000 in cash. 5/27/2018 1:00 AM PT. After watching this terrifying expos on how the big business of divorce ruins the lives of parents and children caught in the crossfire, you'll think twice about ever popping the question. She claimed she recommended Wells to Barnes for the heist in exchange for drug money, but. The Federal Bureau of Prisons said Diehl-Armstrong died of natural causes at a Texas prison on April 4, 2017. But theres always that doubt.. For her to have the self awareness to say, I used to be the prettiest girl in town but she took herself to see someone at 23 because she felt there was something wrong with her mind and no one taking her that seriously, thats when I felt sorry for her Her level of self awareness was dazzling., For Schroeder andBorzillieri, the story is far from over. While some of them were guilty of their crime, it's heartbreaking to see one who swears he's innocent show a parole board evidence to support his claim, only to have them promptly disregard it. Tovbbi informcirt s a belltsi lehetsgek kezelshez kattintson a Belltsok kezelse gombra. [41], Roden had been living with Diehl-Armstrong for 10 years. Jessica Hoopsick The 38-year-old Erie resident was working as a prostitute when she met Brian Wells, the victim in the pizza bomber case. Not sure, someone in the comments claimed they knew her and were there for the arrest. Investigators said Rothstein made the time-bomb collar using two egg timers provided by Diehl-Armstrong. The 4-episode true crime documentary tells the tale of a bank heist plot that resulted in the death of one man, and the start of an endless series of questions, some of which are still unanswered almost 15 years later. 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. The FBI did not return requests for comment, and the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania declined to discuss the documentarys findings. RELATED:8 Best True Crime Podcasts For People Who Just Love Being Scared, A post shared by @bluesbobb on May 17, 2018 at 9:56am PDT. He was proceeding with the second task when police saw him standing outside his automobile and promptly arrested him, handcuffed him and left him sitting on the ground in the parking lot. Desperate for money to fuel her addiction, she told Barnes that Wells was a pushover. Barnes later pleaded guilty and testified against Diehl-Armstrong. 2023byTango Publishing Corporation All Rights Reserved. [a] In return for a reduced sentence, Barnes later told investigators Diehl-Armstrong was the mastermind of the crime and that she wanted the money to pay Barnes to kill her father, who she believed was wasting her inheritance. Magazines, Capture a Year of Painand Resiliencein Ukraine, Or create a free account to access more articles. With everything I read and everything I heard, I believe that he was completely innocent. [6][10] Her husband and several other partners also died under suspicious circumstances. 8 How did Brian Wells the pizza bomber die? And he was the first person to find out she had passed away. [1] Wells was seen leaving Rothstein's house the day before the incident, and investigators believe he participated in a rehearsal. [33] The note stated the bomb would explode in fifteen minutes and that the full amount must be handed over within that time. He had worked for 10 years at Mamma Mia's Pizza-Ria in Erie and was a Pennsylvania native, not a criminal mastermind. It went through all the twists and turns of the investigation that you see in the documentary. He added: "I have to follow where the trail of evidence leads and the truth and what other people have said, including people who were independently interviewed that had some involvement in the case, their information is contrary to that, and that he did have some knowledge and that he did have a pre-planning meeting and that to his credit he tried to back out and they forced him to do [the heist] and told him [the bomb] was fake. The 46-year-old from Erie, Pennsylvania, was a pizza delivery man who got involved in a bank robbery that included a scavenger hunt and a homemade bomb strapped around his neck. Both employees and owners of the pizzeria say he was a trusted worker. [48] Diehl-Armstrong was then transferred for treatment to a federal mental-health facility in Texas. She died of breast cancer at 68 in April 2017 while she was serving her sentence at a federal womens prison close to Fort Worth, Texas. I think that Jessica Hoopsick feels a lot of guilt over what happened to Brian and that's why she wants to push the narrative in a direction that makes him look better. [2] [23] The crime [ edit] Collar bomb [ edit] "I have a lot of remorse for a lot of the stuff I did and a lot of shame and guilt," she. Her next court date is Oct. 68years (19492017) Fifteen years later and key questions in the case labeled the pizza bomber and collar bomb heist remain the subject of debate, despite a prosecutor-endorsed theory of the crime. Lightner said Hoopsick gave a statement to police and would have been subpoenaed to testify if Thomas took her case to trial. two boyfriends Butler's death was ruled a homicide "caused by respiratory insufficiency secondary to blunt force trauma to the neck and thoracic compression, exacerbated by blunt force trauma to the head," according to the affidavit. [28], In interviews by law enforcement, Stockton claimed to be the one to put the bomb around Wells' neck. [46], In July 2007, U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan announced Diehl-Armstrong and Barnes had been charged with the crime, with Diehl-Armstrong as the mastermind. During a series of interviews, Diehl-Armstrong admitted to providing the kitchen timers used for the bomb, stated Rothstein masterminded the plot and that Wells had been directly involved in the plan. On September 3, 2008, Barnes pleaded guilty to conspiring to rob a bank and to aiding and abetting. We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article. Plus, if Wells was voluntarily enlisted, the risk was increased as he may have shared the plot info with friends like Rob Pinetti. ", "Both parties were extremely intoxicated," Del Duca said. At 3:18, three minutes before the bomb squad arrived, the bomb detonated and blasted a fist-sized hole in Wells's chest, killing him in seconds. He was 60. [14], In January 2005, Diehl-Armstrong pleaded guilty but mentally ill to third degree murder and abuse of a corpse for killing Roden and was sentenced to between seven and twenty years in prison. In terms of Brian Wells is his behavior being described correctly? You can contact Paul at 724-850-2860, ppeirce@tribweb.com or via Twitter @ppeirce_trib. He has co-written two books about the pizza bomber case and frequently speaks about it. 739 F.Supp.2d 786, "Diehl-Armstrong comes up short in 2nd appeal", Netflix's Evil Genius Ends With a Stunning Confession. [43], In late 2005, Barnes, who was in jail on unrelated drug charges, was turned in by his brother-in-law after revealing details of the crime to him. She kept well-known company: Jessica Hoopsick, infamous for her role in the pizza bomber case, was one of the people Thomas reached out to after her boyfriend's death, the prosecution said.. Many are dead and just as many are alive, but since Aug. 28, 2003, a number of individuals have been involved in the pizza bomber case. regardless- how is she not charged with anything in relation to the wells case, based on her interview testimony? He was implicated in a 1977 murder after he gave a handgun to a friend who used it to murder a romantic rival; he later attempted to destroy the weapon but was granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony. He is retired from the ATF and is an instructor at Gannon, where he works with Clark in the criminal justice program. 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