that does it for us tonight. excuse me. be sure to tune in to the katie phang show tomorrow. transportation secretary pete buttigieg joins me to talk about philadelphia. a part of the larger initiative to improve areas that have been disproportionately by red lining. that's tomorrow at 12:00 eastern right here on msnbc. on that note, i want to wish you a good night. from all of our colleagues across the networks of nbc news, thanks for staying up late and being with us. we'll see you this weekend. . she has a magnetic quality. her graven hair. the intense brooding look to her. you are on the edge of your seat because it speaks danger

is just makeup. >> it's a story binge watched around the world. the netflix series evil genius. >> one of the most diabolical cases and criminal history. >> reporter: a bank robbery and bomb plot. >> horrifying. >> turned deadly mystery. >> the note say, we are following you. >> it seems like someone playing a game. >> interviews heard here first. >> it was murder. >> inside the riveting story dateline has covered from the start. >> we have three different deaths. how are they related? i'm thinking, she could really be the mastermind of the evil and death and greed. it's not a script spirit is not make-believe. >> how horrible can you be?

maybe burn in . hell. >> what a pretty summer afternoon had been along the great lake. august 28, 2003. a day people of erie, pennsylvania, will long remember. but for its pleasant leases but for the unexpected violence. "dateline" was there. i started with the pizza delivery and ended two hours later and more the bizarre crimes police have ever witnessed. >> maybe you remember bits of it. pizza delivery guy robbing a bank claim he had eight ticking time bomb around his neck. the images are hard to forget. and still painful to watch. >> horrific. bizarre. almost like the mother of all whodunit.

>> strange indy, but on that day we did not have an idea of what was ahead. a few weeks after the bank heist, this happened. >> there is a frozen body in the freezer in the garage. >> a 911 call he said there was a man dead in the freezer in his garage and a woman in his living room very much alive. >> who is she to you, sir? >> that call was made by a man in bib overalls who looked like an extra from the old shop he got. but he was no hayseed. >> he was the smartest guy in the room. he will tell you himself >> he will become one of the leads and a colorful cast of characters. let's call them unconventional. all the broken toys of erie, p.a., showed up in one story. >> in the center of it all was marjorie diehl-armstrong. where do you even begin? >> she had danger written all

over her. >> she has a magnetic quality about her. some people have described it as magnetically revolting. >> the amazing part for me is that these people all found each other. with the same like mindedness of evil and death. and greed. >> and started on a thursday. 1:30 in the afternoon. a worker came into mama mia's pizzeria. two pizzas for delivery. the driver brian wells scribbled down the address but it wasn't a home or even a business, the caller wanted them delivered to a cluster of tv station antennas and satellite dishes nestled in the woods. the deliveryman headed out in an hour after that, another call came in. this went to 911. fbi special agent jerry clark was in his office looking

forward to a long labor day weekend. >> i was downtown and got notified there was a bank robbery. >> it's what you do. >> i've been to hundreds in my career. so, this one sounded different, though. >> security camera showed just how different. the robber was brian wells, the delivery guy from mama mia's. 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 the shirt, but you could not see exactly what it was. >> what ever the device was, it was attached around his neck with something that looked like a giant in. he was holding a bag in one hand, he came in the other. at least it looked like a cane. >> his demeanor was calm. that was the bizarre thing for us. swinging the cane and walking with the money very casually. >> he grabs a lollipop which they have on the council. >> to feel comfortable enough

to reach into the basket and pull out a lollipop surprised me. >> you strolled up with the bag of money. but he might not have been so calm if he knew how fast law enforcement was responding. say troopers were closing in. >> i got called and it was a bank robbery in progress. >> pennsylvania state police crime unit supervisor lamont king rolled out. jerry was on his way and so was the erie pd bomb squad. that tv news fans were not far behind. the pizza guy turned and reiber turned out of the parking lot but did not get far. wells was intercepted at the show by troopers, only a few hundred yards from the bank itself. >> get out of the vehicle and we noticed the collar around his neck. >> the robber told them he was

wearing a bomb. they weren't about to doubt him. >> the troopers took precautions and handcuffed the individual and it kneeled him down and then took cover. >> jerry clark arrived moments later. i came up and i pulled exactly to the end of the lot and thought, oh, man, that's too close. i reversed and came around and got into this parking lot. >> and he's talking to the officers? >> he is. >> wells identified himself. said he was a pizza delivery man. sitting on the pavement crosslegged in in handcuffs, he seemed more desperate than desperado. he pleaded for a cigarette and help. >> can you at least take this thing off. it's killing my neck. >> then he told a story. his words. some man accosted him, locked the collar around his neck and activated the bomb.

>> he pulled the key out and started a timer. it's going to go off. >> the conversations back and forth and they went on for quite a while. >> police did not know what to make of the man with a bomb but then he is dangerous and kept a safe distance. it was a stalemate with no easy way out. wells sat on the pavement for 10 minutes, then 20, all the while tick, tick the bomb squad was getting close. the traffic was hopelessly snarl. they would be there in a few minutes. nobody knew that would be time enough. >> coming up, -- he is pleading, can you get this thing off me. >> a race against the clock. >> what they would see as the case unfolded would be darker than any of them imagined. >> i was just overwhelmed by

the start feeling. >> everybody was lying in -- >> and she is at the middle of it. >> when "dateline" continues. and tough to keep wondering if this is as good as it gets. but trelegy has shown me that there's still beauty and breath to be had. because with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy keeps my airways open and prevents future flare-ups. and with one dose a day, trelegy improves lung function so i can breathe more freely all day and night. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. ♪ what a wonderful world ♪ ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy for copd

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announcer (on tv): wicu 12 oninterrupts this program.d a suspected bank robber who was cornered by police. >> ryan wells started the day as a pizza delivery driver. then he robbed a bank. now he was a ticking time bomb. >> well, maybe if i can get out >> the device was locked around his neck and wells did not have the key and said the bomb's timer was sticking down. -- was ticking down. he was on the ground and surrounded. police with guns drawn. news crews getting it all. fbi agent jerry clark was 20

feet from wells. the men people described as calm when he robbed the bank seemed increasingly anxious. >> he is pleading, can you get this thing off me. >> no one dared approach. the standoff lasted 30 excruciating minutes. then something happened. >> you hear a countdown beep >> very faintly. beep, beep, beep. a digital countdown timer. >> lamont king heard it also and grabbed a pair of binoculars and zoomed in on wells. >> i have him zoom in and i hear another beep. once i heard the second beep, he got agitated. >> the standoff had lasted 31 minutes. the clock was 3:18. the device locked around his neck exploded. >> i will never forget it. mr. wells fell back and i watched his chest and the air

went out but never came back. i thought, this is a fatal situation. >> and debris sailing through the air? >> you can feel the precaution from the device. >> i felt a couple pieces hit around here. what sticks in my mind where the eyes going into the back of his head and he went down. >> he died moments after the explosion. the bomb crushed his chest and lacerated his heart. it was a horrifying scene. all of it captured by news cameras. later that night, brian sister was relaxing at home completely unaware. >> i turned on the news and somebody robbed the bank and i look and i was like, there is my brother brian. what is he doing there? >> city in the road. >> sitting in the road and i said, doesn't look like uncle brian and basic, em. >> it seemed impossible. she turned to her husband. >> he said, your brother is not

a bank robber. i said, i know but it looks like ryan. >> as she watched the standoff, she saw exactly how he died. >> you are watching the last moments of his life? >> right. he was sitting there handcuffed and police officers were pointing guns at him. like he's a criminal. >> what did he need at that moment? >> he needed help. he needed compassion. he needed to be heard. but none of that happened. >> maybe what he needed most was for bomb text to defuse the device around his neck. the area bomb squad didn't get that chance. coming from another part of town, they arrived two minutes after the explosion. the commander suited up into his bomb gear. what did you make of it? >> the collar was still on his neck. you could see that but we couldn't tell if there were any more explicit devices inside what remained of that collar. >> had you ever seen anything

like it? >> like that? no. nobody in the united states have ever seen anything like that. >> that included jerry clark with 20 years of experience under his belt. he was joined at the scene by his supervisor. >> after both of us said, oh my god, i can't believe what we saw, i said, i have to have this case. he said, it's yours. let's go. >> from the first moment, every move he 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 was -- on the day he died, he was a couple hours in buffalo settling his mother pope was the state. >> it was a bittersweet two weeks and buffalo. i reached out to some friends and said let's have a drink to say goodbye.

>> he was in by to his hometown and heading back 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 for the thing you want to do? >> it had to be something that was shocking and pulled you in. >> while raising a glass with friends, he noticed the coverage of the bank robbery in erie. >> the newscast came over the tv in the corner of the bar and i was hooked. it seemed like it had all the pieces from the start. >> have you found your well? >> absolutely and i thought, how desperate did that man have to be? >> in erie, brian wells' sister was thinking how desperate her brother looked in his last moments. that fit her belief that he was a victim. nothing else made sense. >> he was a fun person, a quiet person, a humble person. >> he was one of eight children and he likes puzzles and

scavenger hunts. it was a simple life and it suited him just fine. >> he never wanted to be in the spotlight. he he could ever have imagined what happened to them, he was thought, no, that's not me. >> the younger sister said his last hour was not 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. >> jerry clark heard him say that with his own ears. it sounded like a declaration of an inspired man who seemed to know he was about to die. but clark wasn't ruling anything in or out. for him, it was just one piece in an already strange and complicated puzzle. >> coming up. could someone had unlocked the bomb in time? a scavenger hunt to find the

key. >> each site was having notes on where to go next. >> another hunt begins. for the suspect. >> they ran up on me just like gang busters. like i was charles manson or somebody. >> when "dateline" continues. t of episodic migraine in adults. don't take if allergic to nurtec odt. allergic reactions can occur, even days after using. most common side effects were nausea, indigestion, and stomach pain. it's time we all shine. talk to a healthcare provider about nurtec odt from pfizer. air wick. how far would you go to set the ambience of your space? try the air wick way with air wick essential mist. infused with natural essential oils to fill your moment with immersive fragrance for up to 45 days. now that's a breath of fresh air wick.

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it was a grotesque scene and maybe still potentially lethal. don't wait. it was a grotesque scene. and maybe still potentially lethal. when the bomb squad gave the all clear, jerry clark headed for his car. a chevy geo. >> absolutely. >> the car held one peculiar thing. the cane he twirled inside the bank was there but it wasn't a simple cane, it was a shotgun that was fabricated to look like a cane. it was loaded. you find the money.

in the back, well demanded $250,000 from the teller. the bank found in the car was less than that. it turned out brian wells lost his life over $1702. 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 referred to wells as a hostage and were peppered with dire warnings. like bomb has trip wires. forcing or tampering will detonate. we are following you. if you delay, disobey or alert anyone, you will die. the bomb around his neck have four key holes. the notes included maps and instructions directing well to a location where he would find the key and get more

instructions on where to find another key and then another until finally he would be free of the bomb. an illustrated manuscript of treachery. >> i get the sense that there is a scavenger hunt going on. if he follows the note in a timely manner, he can go from point a to b, to c and come up with the holy grail which is the key to unlock this thing. >> it was a scavenger hunt. each location had note where to go next and a key to one of the four key holes that held the device around his neck. >> jerry clark had never seen anything like it. no one had. investigator decided to retrace wells's steps. it looked as if he was following the instructions to the letter. i'm looking over here and i see an urgent care business. in 2003, that was the bank. >> that was pnc bank. mr. wells rob the bank and has here into where we are standing. >> this is the start of this

crazy scavenger point. >> what he was supposed to do at this location was go into this flower bed, turn over a rock or stone and retrieve a note. >> the note under the rock directed him to his next destination that he never made it. >> law enforcement makes an entry here and does a felony car stop. basically places mister wells under arrest. >> is this the famous picture we see? >> this is it. right here. >> wells' scavenger hunt in his life ended here. an hour after the explosion, lamont king followed the rest of the directions exactly as written. >> we went to the first site and we were supposed to find things and we found them but everything we found we bagged for evidence. >> king made all the stops will another trooper time the trip. it took well over an hour and that was a crucial point because the timing device

turned out to be a common 60 minute kitchen timer. would you have had enough time to make all of these rounds in the scavenger hunt and recover the key to save your life? >> you would have never had the time. that indicated to us that the device was never meant to come off. plus, there were no keys found in any of the sites. >> there never was a key. >> the plan was not designed for him to live. it was a very cruel death. very cruel death. >> the thought was chilling. brian wells appeared to be the victim of a diabolical plot. a wrong time, wrong place theory. >> did you find anything on the internet? >> nothing of the kind. >> but ages discovered a list of names and phone numbers written by wells. they started making calls. a woman on the list had an african american boyfriend and the fbi tracked him down. >> he had a history of knowing explosives and was in the

military. he spent some time working with explosives. >> and your victim is saying, his word, black guys did this to me. >> he looked really good and his girlfriend's name was and mr. wells' handwriting in his apartment. he was known by his initials. jj. he was found at work and then they went to his home. >> we did a search warrant and he was upset. >> "dateline" talk to jj in 2003 not long after that search warrant was executed. he was still upset. >> i voluntarily let them search my house. the second time, they ran up on me like gang busters. like i was charles manson or somebody. >> the search of his home was exhaustive. but it turned up nothing. >> none of the evidence pointed that jj had any involvement at all. he's coming off the list. >> an early lead fizzled. jj was cleared. but a new suspect, a woman with

a macabre history was about to turn a difficult investigation and fbi major case into something that looks more like a horror movie that a whodunit. coming up. another deadly discovery. a body. number two. then, body number three. >> there is a frozen body in the freezer in the garage. >> when "dateline" continues. my doctor about treating my td, and learned about ingrezza. ♪ ingrezza ♪ ingrezza is clinically proven for reducing td. most people saw results in just two weeks. people taking ingrezza can stay on most mental health meds. only number-one prescribed ingrezza has simple dosing for td: always one pill, once daily. ingrezza can cause depression, suicidal thoughts, or actions in patients with huntington's disease. pay close attention to and call your doctor if you become depressed, have sudden changes in mood,

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police are clearing out pro- palestinian activist that college campuses as they prepare for graduation ceremonies. arrests were made at several universities and some schools downsizing ceremonies or canceling commencement speakers. for the first time in more than two decades, a solar storm is hitting planet earth. it could disrupt satellite communications and navigation systems but on the bright side,

to make the northern lights visible as far south as alabama and california. >> now back to "dateline." everything about this crime was different. a middle-age pizza delivery man with glasses made for an unlikely bank robber. investigators had never seen anything remotely like a scavenger hunt that turned out to be a death march. weirdest of all was the bomb with the locking collar. erie bomb squad commander needed to find clues in the scrap metal from the exploded to understand the skills and mentality of the bomb maker. >> the furthest piece was about 300 feet away. it went all the way across the street into the parking lot of another business. most scattered within 60 feet. we need to know where in that scene every single piece landed.

that is very important in putting the device back together. >> and trying to preserve the pieces for evidence, there was a terrible problem. the metal collar was still around brian wells' neck. morning said that he was being watched and labels on the device said the bomb was filled with -traps that could set it off. >> from what was in the note, it was very threatening. >> he had seen a lot in his career as a deputy coroner but when he went to collect brian wells' body, he was jittery. >> after i read this letter i was disconcerted. whoever did this was watching and keeping an eye on the scene. they would harm anybody who they observed doing something that they did not agree with. i was scared. >> you don't want to be collateral damage. >> i do not. >> he asked the experts if it would be safe to move the body

and maybe a secondary would be trapped device but it's blood? the bomb squad commander examined it carefully and x- rated. he said it was safe, probably. >> it's hard to hide things from an x-ray machine. we thoroughly x-rayed that device but i still -- i can't see inside of it with my own eyes. >> i was scared when we took mr. wells to the coroner's office. it was just myself and the driver and we were unprotected. it was just the two of us. >> the caller was still potentially dangerous and also important evidence. so the question was, how to remove it safely and keep it intact? there was no easy answer. the commander wasn't making any guarantees. >> he was 99% sure that we could drill through the back of it and take it off without it

exploding. and -- >> that's a poor result if you are on the 10% side of it. >> i needed 100%. >> what decision was made? >> we decided to, for black of a better description, do a surgical decapitation so we could get it off safely and intact. >> so you took the victim's head of? >> yes. it was one of the hardest decisions i've ever made. >> after the procedure, he met with brian wells' family and told them about it. they felt brian was being victimized again. >> how painful was that for you? >> very painful. i think it was most painful for my mom because, like, she wanted to have an open casket. they were more concerned with the integrity of the caller then they were this person. >> pain on peeing -- on pain, on pain. >> he was able to go into the

shop and craft an exact replica of the bomb. 340 parts in all. it is a frightening model. >> can i lifted up? >> sure. >> how much does it weigh? >> it is 15 pounds. >> i can't imagine it around your neck. >> on the inside, you've got a lot of wires and a standard device. pipe bombs, mechanical timers. and then you have the distractions in there. >> the device was filled with things that were meant to confuse. the cell phone is a toy connected to nothing. some of the warning labels were phony but it was lethal. with black powder sifted from shotgun shells. his motto was built to the effects vacations of the original down to the make and model of the household items used. this digital timer was designed

to sound a warning seconds before the bomb exploded. it gives me chills and once me to make -- >> the bomb was a work of someone with machine shop skills and had a devious mind. the original bomb parts were sent to the fbi lab in quantico, virginia. the scavenger hunt notes were delivered to fbi behavioral profilers. think the hannibal lector unit. agent jerry clark was hoping a psychological profile would help crack a tough case. but three days after brian wells died, there was a strange and alarming development. get this. robert penn eddie, another deliveryman at mom amy. was found dead inside his house. the corn art ruled it an overdose. >> whether it is accidental or not, at the time, we were not

sure, but we know there was a combination of drugs that were lethal. the fact that two pizza delivery drivers on 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 in the freezer in the garage. >> it was one of those moments where i'm sure the 911 call are set, can you repeat that and do it slowly? >> coming up, a body wrapped in the freezer and a woman wrapped in mystery. >> she has had many men in her life fall victim to bizarre deaths. she is the epitome of the black widow. >> when "dateline" continues. because a lot can happen in 48 hours. cetaphil. we do skin. you do you.

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september 21, 2003. september 21st, 2003. jerry clark was leading the

fbi's investigation of the pizza bombing case when the local police got a bizarre call. >> wow. another one of these, this can't get any crazier moments. >> the 911 call came from a guy in bib overalls who was driving the streets of erie. calling from his bank, he decided it was time to share a secret with the police. >> at 8645 bay street in the garage, there is a frozen body. there is a woman there that you might want to pick up in question. >> how do you know that, sir? >> i am the guy who lives there. >> what is her name? >> marjorie diehl-armstrong . >> what is your name, sir? >> bill rothstein. >> he was telling the 911 call

letter -- >> who wish each year, sir? >> i helped her do some stuff that i shouldn't, but i never killed anybody. i just want that known. i will give you my story. >> trooper lamont king was now dispatched to find that freezer in the rothstein home. >> we went inside the house and hurt somebody in the back room and marjorie was sitting on the bed and she started ranting and raving. >> as trooper king left other officers to guard her, he made his way to the garage. rothstein was a hoarder and the place was a pigsty. >> it is a long garage and it is cluttered on both sides. there's nothing the clutter. i don't see a freezer. what i did see was a plastic tarp coming from the ceiling

all the way to the floor. when i got to the tarp, i pulled it and there was the freezer. at that time, i opened the freezer and saw the body in their wrapped like a side of beef. i closed the freezer and everybody left the garage and we declared it a crime scene. >> the trooper went back inside the house to find marjorie. >> i placed my hand on her shoulder and i told her, i am placing you under arrest. >> so, step back the 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 a pizza bombing. then the sudden death of the second pizza delivery man. now, there was an unexplained frozen body. marjorie diehl-armstrong told police she had nothing to do with the body in the freezer and did not have much else to say. but rothstein on the other hand was ready to talk. what he had to say would make

headlines. >> this is one of the biggest but clearly the strangest story i've ever covered. >> paul wagner of the nbc affiliate has covered local erie news since 1979. >> he was a very smart man. he spoke a couple foreign languages and said he had a mensa level iq. he taught drafting and was a substitute teacher. >> rothstein taught arts and sciences and advise the robotics team and had come from a prominent family and his parents were not as the bottlers of a local soda pop. now he was in a police interrogation room where he agreed to a videotape interview. he seemed calm and collected. his attorney was also there. >> when bill was asked to sign his waiver, and his miranda rights, there was a misspelling.

it was like a chess game to him. he'd like to to let them know that he was a smart as they were and i think he enjoyed it. >> how long have you known marjorie armstrong? >> roughly 30, 35 years. >> briefly, what was your relationship with her? >> we went together, i think, and then got engaged. >> they never married but she and bill rothstein remained friends and a complicated relationship. a romance that was just a small part of marjorie diehl- armstrong's long and troubled history. do you want to take a crack at explaining who marjorie is? >> marjorie diehl-armstrong is a very famous or i should say infamous resident of erie, pennsylvania. >> trey borzillieri, the would- be documentarian, came to erie after the frozen body was found

trying to find out everything he could about the two unique individuals. bill rothstein and marjorie diehl-armstrong. what he was discovering about marjorie was troubling to say the least. >> some publications, you might find black widow next to her name. >> she is the epitome of a black widow. she has 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 diehl-armstrong was a very bright young lady and had a bachelor's degree and masters degree and it looked like she was on the road to a very successful life. >> it turned out that her latest boyfriend was the body in the freezer. rothstein was telling police that marjorie shot that

boyfriend after an argument in her house. then he took the body and stored it in his garage freezer. >> i said, how the hell did you kill him? she said she shot him from the foot of the bed. and she shot him like this side. this direction. >> in this case, the phrase dead men tell no tales wasn't necessarily true. especially when the dead man is done in the freezer that happened to be next door to that tv tower where brian wells made his last pizza delivery. >> coming up. >> this is were i cut up the rifle. >> a lesson in how to hide a murder weapon. it takes all the investigators to the house and does a show and tell on camera. >> he was the instructor be >> and a clue from out of the blue. >> keep brings up the pizza bomber case. >> i knew that somehow these

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a frozen body had been found in an erie, pennsylvania garage. because breathing should be beautiful, a frozen body had been found in a erie pennsylvania garage. it -- >> we are not able to proceed with an autopsy. it will be another day or two after the person has had an opportunity to thaw out. it was frozen solid. >> erie's deputy coroner had the most unenviable job in northwestern pennsylvania again. >> we try to remove him from the freezer and we couldn't because he was frozen to the side and bottom. we wanted to preserve evidence. so we moved the entire freezer from the home.

>> meanwhile at an interview room, bill rothstein, the man in the overalls, telling the cops how he became a cool on behalf of his friend marjorie diehl-armstrong who he said had shot the death the man in the freezer. >> she had a body in her house that she wanted removed. i helped her with it. we -- i put it in my garage. and at that -- and that saturday, she wanted it completely destroyed. >> not only was he willing to sit down and talk to detectives, -- >> these were the sneakers i used when i put the body in the freezer. >> he was eager to be a crime scene forgot as well. >> he takes all the investigators out to the house and does a show and tell. >> he sure does. he is walking people through in he was the instructor. >> rothstein, the former

substitute teacher, was all but in charge of the cops in his wake and did a walk-through of both crime scenes. marjorie's house where she allegedly shot her boyfriend and his house where he later stored the body in his freezer. >> this is where i cut up the rifle. the metal portion of the rifle. >> in his kitchen, he explained how he destroyed the gun used in the killing. >> i brought an acetylene torch in here and i used it to cut up and reduce it to slide. >> he said he gathered up the melting gun parts and scattered them all over erie. and hope that investigators never would find them. and they never did. back in his garage, rothstein sure grisly details on how he and marjorie originally planned to chop up the frozen body. >> the grinder, i see a box there. >> then the story was that i was going to use it to cut the body appeared >> they came up with the plan

to dispose of mr. roden body and their goal was use a chainsaw , cut up his body after it was frozen and put it in the ice chipper to get rid of the pieces. and then spread them throughout the county. >> where does this kind of thinking come from? >> that is about as diabolical and maniacal as you can get. >> his tutorial continue. cleanup chores. >> i replaced most of the steps partly because they had blood on them. >> then he told investigators about some razor blades left in a bag. he told them he had attempted to take his own life. >> that was it. stupid attempted suicide. you guys got my note? nobody got the know? >> they had discovered a suicide note. rothstein changes mind, obviously, that investigators found the note. point number one was, this has nothing to do with the wells case meeting

brian wells. the men who died on the collar bomb. why in the world did he have the so-called pizza bombing on his mind if he is supposed to be contemplating suicide? >> why did you think to ask or put in there that it wasn't related to wells? >> so you wouldn't go hogwild say this have to do with it. i wanted you guys to note so you wouldn't have to waste your time trying to figure out if this is part of the well situation or not. >> his attorney also wondered about alluding to the bombing case. >> he brings it up out of the blue and was almost like, he was drawing attention to himself because he wanted to. >> if that weren't enough to make investigator 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 rothstein's garage located here.

ride up a gravel road, a couple hundred yards away was a tv tower site where investigators knew brian wells made his last pizza delivery. it wasn't a home or business but a dirt parking lot. it was too strange of a coincidence. because of that, fbi agent clark was convinced the cases were related. and was determined to learn how rothstein they 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 just felt up from the minute. >> what did he tell you? >> he looked at me and said, well, i will talk to you but i need to tell you that i am the smartest guy in the room. and i looked around and said, well, my wife tells me that every night. let's 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 and then the fbi's behavioral analysis unit came back with a preliminary profile on the unknown bomb maker. detailing his most likely traits. >> he would be a manipulator, he would be really good with his hands. he would probably have a workshop that he probably did some teaching or instruction in the past. >> >> everything that was in there fit perfectly to build rothstein. >> coming up, the investigation pivots to marjorie. in the many men in her life. >> she decides to buy a gun and she kills him. >> the many admin. >> she is as complex and interesting as anyone you'll ever meet. >> when "dateline" continues. a new toothpaste from parodontax, the gum experts.

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dennis murphy (voiceover): there's been a strange string of deaths in erie, pennsylvania. there have been a strange string of deaths in

pennsylvania. first, pizza delivery man, brian wells, a bomb locked around his neck. >> he's bleeding, can you get this thing off me? >> whoever did this was watching. i was scared. >> another delivery man dropped dead, and later, a body in the freezer. >> this can't get any crazier moments. >> was there a link to it all? the darkest secrets are yet to come. >> i knew without a doubt she would kill again. >> i thought oh my god, is this possible? ♪ unknown bomb maker who constructed the device placed on brian wells, the d agfbi had put togethe profile of the unknown bomb maker who constructed the device placed on brian wells, and agents believe the profile matched bill rothstein to a t ,

he was a shop worker, with tools at his disposal. he was now a prime suspect in the pizza bombing case. yet, investigators had no physical evidence tying him to the crime. bill rothstein was out on bond, accused only of the small charge of abusing a corpse, the one found in his home freezer. he seemed to be relishing his moment in the spotlight. responding to a reporter's question in french, rough translation, too bad. but, when would be film documentary maker trey borzillieri tried to speak with him, rothstein wouldn't speak to him in any language. >> classical music is blasting, so instantly it's jarring.

i say listen, i am making a documentary on the brian wells case, and i don't it's affected your life, and would like to hear your side of the story. he turned to me and said no. i felt, get out of there. this guy is creepy, absolutely. >> reporter: instincts were telling the detective, but he didn't have the evidence. his prime suspect was now dying on him. >> i see him in the hospital bed, and i said he looks much more sick than they are telling me, so i may have one crack at this. >> rothstein had terminal cancer. the fbi man crossed his fingers for a deathbed confession. >> a bill, don't take this with you, you have got to tell me,

or these cases related. he lifted his arm and spelled out now, and four days later, he is deceased. >> will 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 clark's attention turned to marjorie diehl-armstrong, who it turned out, knew her way around sudden deaths. who is this person who uses as many words in as many minutes as it takes. >> she is as complex and interesting as anyone you will meet in your life. >> there are people who have a past, and then there is marjorie diehl-armstrong. >> marjorie had a tremendous magnetism. we were just drawn to each other. >> in the 1960s susan robinson and marjorie were students together at erie academy high school. >> she just walked up to me, and said hello, and i had the

funniest feeling that i met somebody who was going to be with me as a friend for a long time. >> susan also knew big bill rothstein, who was in and out of marjorie's life for decades. >> i think the first person sheet dated was rothstein . there was intellectual compatibility, that i liked that about him. >> she turned to astrology to guide her life. >> she drew up charts herself, she would look at them and, they did not serve her well for the most part. there is a pattern, which i saw only years later, because the people she was associating with got more sketchy. >> marjorie became erratic, stream of consciousness talker, profane, mental illness began to take over.

>> she suffered from bipolar, other mental illnesses, and her life spiraled out. >> 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 she was in an abusive relationship with. she buys a gun, and she kills him she shoots him six times with a 38 special. >> she was charged with murder. her attorney realized how difficult defense case he had. >> after the shooting she went out with a bag of $18,000 in cash and was soliciting individuals to help her with a chainsaw, to cut up the body in beria, which started the whole thing going. >> part of ambrose's 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. >> 400 pounds of cheese in the attic. she had hundreds of dozens of eggs in the freezers. who would put 400 pounds of cheese in your attic in july? she just was really disturbed and was never going to get better. >> the cold, the courts decided she should stand trial. the lawyer made his case so compelling that the jury found her not guilty. >> i thank god and the jury in everett buddy that has always believed and helped me get through this. >> marjorie 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 to the emergency room, he was seen.

they claimed they thought he had the flu or something like that, and he was okay to go home, she went to take him home. he collapsed on the floor and died. >> police investigated the death and cleared marjorie. audrey then sued the hospital for malpractice. >> he died, and she won a large settlement. >> when marjorie diehl- armstrong's name flashes on the news, people with pretty good memories realize-- >> marjorie is back. when her name came up as related to the death of james roden there was not one surprised person in town. >> roden was the one shot and frozen. her third partner. once again marjorie was institutionalized, because of her mental illness. agent clark was prohibited from talking with her. but, that was about to change. coming up, marjorie points the finger at someone new. >> and never killed a person in my life, never would.

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it's a beautiful... ...day to fly. wooooo! [music playing] january, 2005, and the new year would bring big news. marjorie diehl-armstrong was, again, found competent to stand

trial, but instead of fighting the murder charges in court, she pleaded guilty in the shooting death of jim roden . >> she is going down the road of the boyfriend in the freezer. >> she's pleading guilty, sentenced 7-20 years. >> it was big news for trey borzillieri. with the story resolved he thought the timing was right to try to make contact with marjorie, so he wrote her. >> with rothstein dead i felt she was the only one i could turn to for information. >> she becomes your penpal, your correspondence? >> she does. it was last resort for information. >> clark was more direct. he went to visit marjorie in prison. >> i'm here to talk to you about the brian wells case. she said i'm not telling you anything about that case unless you move me closer to erie. so let's make a deal.

it is manipulation marjorie. >> marjorie didn't like the prison she was in, four hours away from erie, and wanted to be moved. clark agreed to try and get her transferred. >> you do me a favor, i will talk to you. going out the door, she said, you had better check out a guy named ken barnes. >> did you flush that out? >> ken barnes, a new name, clark had no idea how he might fit into his investigation, but he did know of barnes. >> when we heard the name that is state police, they knew he was a crack dealer in town. >> marjorie and ken barnes had been friends for many years, fishing buddies at a local pier. clark started tailing barnes. >> we went after him, and several times we would half to truck ken down and say hey, get in the car, let's chat. >> that's all it was, chet. barnes gave him nothing. so clark did a deep dive on the

bed's contact with the authorities, and there it was, a video. >> kenneth eugene barnes. >> a police interrogation of barnes had been conducted almost 2 years above before the frozen body case. >> i've known her almost 9 years, yeah. >> it was a grand slam revelation concerning marjorie. he told investigators she was obsessed with her inheritance. her wealthy mother had already died, and she was upset her dad was squandering money she felt should go to her. >> it is supposed to be wheeled to her when he dies, and she said he is recovering alcoholic, and has been given $100,000 donate to the church and giving away to all his friends and stuff. >> hundreds of thousands? >> yeah, and she said that he is giving away her inheritance. >> so obsessed archery asked

barnes to kill her father so she could get his money. he told the cops he had no intention of bumping off her dad but played along, acting as though he would do the killing. >> i have never curled killed a person in my life. i hate to kill bugs. i cry when people shoot deer, you know? >> and his fee? >> i said that would cost you. she goes how much? i said a quarter of 1 million. >> $250,000. interesting. that was the same amount of money demanded 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 and put him in the car. >> special agent jason from atf was driving, and i was right directly behind ken, and while we are driving to the office to

have a chat ken reaches into his pocket and pulls out a knife. >> clark made a split-second decision, shoot guns to shave save his partner? >> i pulled my gun out and put it to the back of the seat, and was very close to squeezing off around right through the seat. >> instead he got barnes to hand over the knife with 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. >> this is amazing, because marjorie has never talked about these things to anybody. >> a pizza bombing bombshell straight from marjorie's mouth. >> margie is like it's not like we didn't measure his neck for the collar. >> when dateline continues. tel

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[music playing] ♪yeahhhh♪ go back in time a little before pleading guilty in the frozen body case, marjorie diehl-armstrong set in the erie county prison trying to figure out how to get away with that murder. she didn't like talking to cops but had no problem sharing with inmates. >> i met marjorie in the county prison. she was brought in september 21st, 2003.

>> kelly was in the prison for assault and gun charges. but before that she trained at a police academy. she knew cops and how they fought, what questions they asked. marjorie thought kelly had expertise that could help her and her upcoming trial. >> marjorie became my best friend, my mom also came to visit marjorie, that's how close we were. she was sitting there when we met. i felt very sorry for her. like the new kid in school. everybody was staying away from her. i offered her a cup of coffee. little did i know how important that would be. >> cemented your friendship. sitting side-by-side, kelly kept scrupulous notes for what she said was i was 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.

kelly steered her friend to talk about the pizza bombing. >> we talked of her past relationships, the murder of trent eight, and slowly into the pizza bomb. >> how does that brian wells case get introduced? >> through rothstein. >> marjorie's onetime fiance, who turned her in for killing roden and hid the body in his freezer. >> what did she tell you? >> he built the bomb, and it was his toy. >> there it was, the first time anyone said investigators suspected. bill rothstein was in on the pizza bomb, and now marjorie began to describe a wider plot that seemed to involve every lost soul who had come into her orbit. you are the players? rothstein? >> ken barnes , stockton, james roden, penn eddie, and of course brian walls. i have no

idea who they are. >> but kelly did know the name, brian wells, the pizza delivery man who had been blown up, and marjorie told her 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 was the crack dealer who was marjorie's fishing buddy. floyd stockton was rothstein's old friend and was living in rothstein's house at the time of the bombing. jim roden, her boyfriend, was in on the plot, 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 did not want to be involved, you wanted out. >> that's marjorie telling you that? so roden is dead because he didn't want to be in this thing? >> without a doubt. >> then there was the other

pizza pizza delivery guy, who was found dead of a drug overdose before cops could question him about the bank robbery. >> overdose, they killed him, so he wouldn't talk. yeah, you know, somebody joked with me once that i was safe, because she only killed men. >> 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, because he knew he was dying and wanted to go out with a bang. >> so rothstein and marjorie put together? this is amazing because marjorie has never talked about these things to anybody. and you are taking the notes. >> yeah, there was one moment when i was taking notes and

marjorie is like it's not like we didn't measure his neck for the collar, and we did so in rothstein's kitchen. >> you knew exactly what she meant. they would have loved to have that quote, maybe the most important words you wrote down, that connected marjorie to the case they could never make. putting the brian wells case on her. >> when i realized everything she was telling me the honest truth i had to turn it over. i knew she would get out and kill again without a doubt. >> kelly handed the notes over to the prosecutor in the roden case, but an explicitly the explosive notes weren't turned over to investigators in the pizza bombing case for two years. >> put everything together, and wrapped it up in a nice little bow, and the fbi, white was not turned over to the fbi is beyond me. >> when jerry clark finally got the notes he thought they

confirmed much of what he had long suspected, but they were the notes of a prison snitch, imitated value, unless they were corroborated. clark knew just who to go to for that. coming up. a new witness with something to reveal. >> that solidifies any question . it does not get more important than that. >> when dateline continues. an? before you decide with the freestyle libre 3 system know your glucose and where it's heading no fingersticks needed. now the world's smallest and thinnest sensor sends your glucose levels directly to your smartphone. manage your diabetes with more confidence and lower your a1c. the #1 cgm prescribed in the u.s. try it for free at freestylelibre.us wanna know a secret? more than just my armpits stink. that's why i use secret whole body deodorant... everywhere. 4 out of 5 gynecologists

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news update. donald trump, barron trump, chose to step out of the political spotlight. he was selected to be a delegate, but former first lady melania trump announced he had prior commitments and would not be participating. there's heavy fighting between israel's troops and palestinian militants on the outskirts of rafah where more than half of gaza's population is sheltering. the fighting has left crossings and accessible and more than

100,000 palestinians fling north according to un officials. back to dateline. fbi agent jerry clark had jailhouse notes implicating august, 2005, two years after the pizza bombing fbi agent jerry clark had jailhouse notes implicating marjorie, but it was not enough. he needed a corroborating witness. then our break. ken barnes was arrested on drug charges. now he had nowhere to hide, so clark turned up the pressure, and when he told her he had information that he was in on the plot barnes caved and began to tell a story that would break the case wide open. >> he just decided you know what? i'm going to tell the truth. >> barnes admitted he was part of the crazy conspiracy that led to the killing of brian wells, the pizza delivery man.

>> he relived the whole thing from the minute he was picked up that date by marjorie diehl- armstrong to every location they went through , and what his role was, what everyone's role was, and hold to it, that was the way it was going to go down. >> stockton was rothstein's old friend who once lived in his house. when stockton found out he had been ratted out he decided to talk, too, only in exchange for immunity, ideal barnes never asked for. >> independently they were saying the same things, and the inmate witnesses that were being talked to by marjorie diehl-armstrong, their information independently cooperated, so everything started to come together. >> after years of frustration and struggle to solve the pizza bombing clark was putting all

the bizarre pieces of his deadly scheme together. and he finally knew the call that set it all in motion, and who made it. >> the shell station on the right-hand side, august, 2003, a caucus to the pizza shop ordering two pizzas, and it comes from that payphone in the parking lot that's no longer there. and that sets everything in motion. >> a new witness, a ups driver, came forward to say he saw two people making the call. ordering the pizzas, he sells sees marjorie diehl-armstrong at the payphone, and it doesn't get more important than that, that solidifies any question on who made the call. >> brian left the pizza location and drove down this deserted road to a clearing near this tv tower. clark now knew that waiting for wells all the conspirators, and

the second pizza delivery man. >> here comes wells with the pizzas. >> back door is open, he is parked, towel on the back of the van with the device sitting right on it. >> wells saw the device and started to run. >> he is moving this direction, and as he is trying to get away that's when bill rothstein fires a shot, the single shot . >> and you know there was a shot fired from the weapon you covered? >> and, he got to about here. that's when mr. barnes tackles and punches mr. wells and says you are going to cooperate. >> when is it armed? >> it's right here. pull out the key, started the timer. 57 minutes to live from there. >> is going to barnes and stockton's accounts the conspirators followed wells as it all went down. at the bank, marjorie and barnes were in a car across the

street. >> they had binoculars. they could look down this alley to the bank to see what was happening. >> rothstein was hovering, ready to collect the money, but the transfer never happened once wells got caught. >> so they are off the script from the get go. >> this thing went totally sideways from the get-go. >> the scavenger hunt turned deadly. there was no heat waiting for wells even if he got there. on the ground, handcuffed, wells stuck with the script telling cops three african american men put the bomb around his neck. >> if he said i'm in a jam of the lifetime commute guys have got to help me, would that have played differently? >> it would have been done. it is marjorie diehl-armstrong, ken barnes. none of that came out that day. >> marjorie diehl-armstrong, and other and indicted conspirators choreographed every aspect of this bank robbery. >> in july, 2007, the u.s.

attorney announced charges against barnes and armstrong for armed robbery and using a destructive device, also naming two unindicted co-conspirators, bill rothstein, and to the community's shock, brian wells, the pizza delivery man. the family was outraged. later, they shouted, from the back of the room. wills' sister. so through his own misadventure he brings but his death? >> that's not true, absolutely not true. shame on them. >> i do know my brother is an innocent person. i heard them implicate my brother for no reason at all. my brother had no motive, no mindset to do that. my brother was involved. >> but wells was involved with prostitutes, and it was discovered a woman named jessica was key. he drove her to get groceries

and took mom to the doctor. he also knew ken barnes and heard the word of the bank robbery plan and set them up to meet. >> if you like he's a victim. he really didn't believe it was real, that's why he is cavalier in the back, that's why he's walking. he does not think it's real, and i feel horrible for the family. but, if you look really at the evidence, and the fact those prostitutes are in his note in his handwriting, that he knew them, that they introduced him to these other people, it's really undeniable according to the evidence. >> there is plenty of evidence that says brian is an unwilling participant. i would say if you

are a willing participant, and supposedly you were there the day before then there is no reason when you take a pizza order to write down directions of where you're going, because you know where you are going, because you've been there the day before, and brian did that. that's number one. number two. he was lured into a wooded area, by criminals, and they forced this live bomb on him, shoved notes on him, and if you don't know exactly what we say-- >> ken farms barnes pleaded to conspiracy to commit bank robbery and was sentenced to 45 years, testifying against armstrong, who would plead not guilty. with a long history of killing men's conviction would

hardly be a slam dunk. coming up. >> there could be other co- conspirators. >> mastermind? marjorie tells her story. would a jury believe her again? >> i think the sun and the moon will reverse positions. is this possible? >> when dateline continues. alice loves the scent of gain so much, she wished there was a way to make it last longer. say hello to your fairy godmother alice and long-lasting gain scent beads. part of the irresistible scent collection from gain!

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[music playing] if keytruda could be right marjorie diehl-armstrong, erie's resident black widow

trend 12, master manipulator, was going on trial for the infamous pizza bombing. as her trial approached marjorie began to call filmmaker trey borzillieri from prison. trey borzillieri pressed her for details. >> i needed information to get to the deeper truths in this case, and she clearly seemed like the last resort for me. >> caller: hello, trey, i have some interesting news for you. >> marjorie spewed out her version of the truth and relentlessly attacked ken barnes , the star witness in her upcoming trial. >> ken barnes is a pathological liar. i might lie a little to protect myself, because everybody was lying and framing me, okay? but, i am not a pathological

liar. >> marjorie insisted she had nothing to do with the pizza bombing. bombastic as ever she told the filmmaker it was she who solved the case by appointing authorities to rothstein and barnes. >> caller: there's nothing in it for somebody like me who is not an-- a drug addict-- i want to embarrass these people, show agreed will do, but it wasn't me that was the one. >> as frightening and fascinating a character as she appeared to be, trey was not buying it. >> i was overwhelmed by this dark presence, this dark feeling of, oh my god, what am i doing? in my honestly, if she is at the center of this, there could be other co-conspirators out and about that she could send my way if i was sniffing in a direction she didn't like. >> she had danger written all

over for sure. >> now it would be up to a jury to sort it all out. and in 2010 marjorie went on trial. in his opening statement the prosecutor put marjorie at the center of the conspiracy to rob the bank and place a live bomb around brian wells' neck. >> where were you the day brian was killed? what were you-- >> wasn't doing anything connected with the crime. >> he twisted scheme, the prosecutor called it, highly intelligent individuals, completely outsmarted themselves. paul wagner covered the trial. >> if brian wells had followed the instructions he would have died, there's no question. the note was a sham. it was too complex, too much to do to get keys to unlock the collar bombing.

>> the case against marjorie came down to witnesses, a crack dealer and four snitches. one by one they took the stand including kelly, with her detailed notes testifying marjorie's own words implicated her in the plot, testimony that sent marjorie into a tirade. >> she acted like a cat on a hot tin roof, yelling liar and everything else, but i kept my cool. >> it just rolled off you. >> i would look and she was having a fit, i mean, those notes were very important. >> he was a co-conspirator, ken barnes. he said diehl-armstrong approached him, wanted him to do it. >> the mastermind barnes suggested was marjorie, the key link to other co-conspirators. >> he put it together, and

marjorie diehl-armstrong despised him during the trial. >> her impulsive heater was on full display, a perfect mesmerizing subject for trey's documentary . >> she has dark raven hair, and blue eyes, and the intense brooding look to her. >> the judge and jury were out, there was no question who was in charge. >> she looked back and said hey, trey, you are on the prosecution side, get over here. she called me out so i stood up and moved over. >> when the prosecution rested there was little doubt marjorie would testify whether her attorney wanted to or not she was going to tell her story. >> one of the biggest challenges was to deal with her mental illness.

marjorie with personality disorders, she was always going to testify. you cannot keep her quiet. >> who did marjorie mean? >> it was in essence standing remotely. they met somebody that has such attitude, this speaks danger, wow. is this a real life which? >> she called rothstein an idiot. >> she was going to tell trey how much she disliked her father. >> i said that is the government's motive, that you wanted to kill your father, and she said i wanted it to be real, and i would never want to kill my father. >> marjorie cried, yelled and unleashed words and insults insisting she was not involved

in the scheme. she admitted she was near the tv tower but too far away to know what was going on. >> she claimed that she had seen rothstein and barnes, and that brian wells was there. >> she never would have knowingly been involved in a crime that was so cruel to brian wells. >> but when the prosecutor went one-on-one with marjorie her defense crumbled. >> the cross-examination did not go good for her, the prosecutor, he was able to show discrepancies in her testimony, i think he won big points with the jury. >> when marjorie stepped down from the stand how long? long enough to raise doubt and remember marjorie had killed and had been acquitted before.

>> i was like my god, if she is acquitted the sun and moon will reverse positions. i am like is this possible? coming up, in a case that has had twist after twist there is one more. >> she said she fed him to the wolves. like a horror movie. lf... before all this happens. (announcer) you can quit. call 1-800-quit-now for help getting free medication. [coughing] copd hasn't been pretty. it's tough to breathe and tough to keep wondering if this is as good as it gets. but trelegy has shown me that there's still beauty and breath to be had. because with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy keeps my airways open and prevents future flare-ups.

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[music playing] plant power you can feel. seven years after the infamous pizza bombing, seven years after the

infamous pizza bombing the stage was set to bring the deadly scheme to a close. on november 1st, 2010, the jury concluded marjorie diehl- armstrong was all sound and fury with no defense. the verdict, guilty on all counts. and marjorie being archery, she let her attorney have it. >> after the verdict she turned to doug and said you failed me miserably, and said i will be back, we will appeal this, then she was let out of the courtroom, and everyone would assume she would receive a life sentence later, which she did. >> for agent clark request had finally arrived. he was your mastermind? >> marjorie diehl-armstrong wanted her dead dead and in order to do that she needed

money to hire ken barnes to kill him, that's why she wanted to rob the bank, but the scheme and 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 built rothstein. rothstein really wanted to leave this earth with the perfect crime. >> for many the question of whether brian wells was a willing participant, or an innocent victim in his demise, wouldn't go away. >> evidence clearly shows 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. he was tripped, he was duped, and he was killed by a group of people who turned on him, but unfortunately he did know. >> they insist brian was a simple pizza man pulled into a

group of misfits. >> the people involved in his murder, they have history. rothstein does, marjorie diehl- armstrong, ken barnes, these people are criminals. >> if brian is innocent it is murder. >> he didn't pass away, he was murdered. >> meanwhile, filmmaker trey borzillieri scored two big interviews, one with marjorie. she spoke via skype to trey and an attorney, still denying she had anything to do with the bank robbery. she said the prosecution's motive was laughable. >> killed two boyfriends in self-defense, right? what i have to hire ken barnes? i could do it for free myself, come on. >> it is on my resume, i killed

men. >> trey called his movie, evil genius, with marjorie in mind. but it was the question of brian wells ' role. he came to the conclusion the family had. >> i believe he was an innocent victim who was targeted for reasons, and that was on display in the crime. >> wells, innocent or not, trey that jessica introduced wells to barnes. >> one night she was able to do this interview for us in the back of a van. and she becomes the punctuation point here. this is the reveal. jessica speaks, and she's going to say brian wells was just a pawn in a scheme. >> she changed her story,

saying the pizza delivery man was with her the day before the robbery, and not at some planning meeting with other conspirators. could it be did wells really have an alibi? >> he was a good guy. >> jessica was wracked with guilt, but was she telling the truth? she admitted she was with wells before the robbery the entire day, and three conspirators put wills at the preplanning meeting. >> after hearing her tell her story i believe her. i mean i understand that obviously from her background, and what she does that she is the epitome of an unreliable witness. >> tells you the sun is going to come up in the east. get a second opinion. >> hoops was never charged in the case but had set up

conspirators. >> it's like right out of a horror movie, this death trap was locked around his neck, such a horrific way to die. >> wells would die again and again once trey's documentary, evil genius, streamed 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 had not failed during marjorie's first murder trial. >> she should have been committed to immense told a mental institution. then we wouldn't see this deadly wake that she left. >> in 2017, diehl-armstrong died of cancer at 68. >> she was an evil person and did very bad things . s . deaths on her?

>> i certainly did. >> the boyfriend in the freezer? >> the first boyfriend she shot and her husband that she took an to the hospital. maybe five dead men around her? >> does that make her a serial killer? >> it does. >> a serial killer who held er sway over a mystifying cast of supporting characters. >> where these people who have such hatred in their hearts that could do this to somebody? nobody deserves to die this way. >> maybe that is the hardest part of the whole sordid affair. marjorie, rusty, barnes and the rest. fractured intellectuals, row consoles who lost their humanity in a descent into evil. hello, i am andrea canning, and this is dateline.