# a strange murder mystery - solved?!? The Erie Collar Bomber story

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-strange-murder-mystery-solved-the-erie-collar-bomber-story/395769>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [March 13, 2007, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-strange-murder-mystery-solved-the-erie-collar-bomber-story/395769 "2007-03-13T17:27:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2007, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-strange-murder-mystery-solved-the-erie-collar-bomber-story/395769/1 "2007-03-13T17:27:50Z")

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Some of you probably remember the poor pizza delivery man who showed up to rob a bank with a bomb attached around his neck, telling police, when cornered, that he was forced to wear a bomb and would die unless he delivered the money.

[http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious\_murders/famous/erie\_collar\_bomber/](http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/famous/erie_collar_bomber/)

Well, the police have finally solved the crime!

[http://www.komotv.com/news/national/5901066.html](http://www.komotv.com/news/national/5901066.html)

They say they know exactly what events transpired that day. Unfortunately, they aren’t saying what they know.

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**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2007, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-strange-murder-mystery-solved-the-erie-collar-bomber-story/395769/2 "2007-03-13T17:41:52Z")

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Yeah, I saw that a couple of days ago, and have been checking daily to see if they’ve announced any indictments yet. It should be any day now.

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**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2007, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-strange-murder-mystery-solved-the-erie-collar-bomber-story/395769/3 "2007-03-13T17:50:08Z")

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MY bet would be on the Rothstein character mentioned here:  
[http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious\_murders/famous/erie\_collar\_bomber/9.html](http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/famous/erie_collar_bomber/9.html)

> [@](#):
>
> He was a loner who lived in a secluded area not far from the spot where Wells made his last pizza delivery. He even admitted, according to published reports, that he had used a pay phone near his house on the day that Wells died, just as the suspected killers had. What’s more, Rothstein was a tinkerer, a man who, according to published reports, liked to work on odd devices, and, at one point, even participated in a local robot club.

Of course Mr. Rothstein is dead now, so in that case no indictment would be necessary.

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**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2007, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-strange-murder-mystery-solved-the-erie-collar-bomber-story/395769/4 "2007-03-13T18:43:20Z")

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I thought the same thing, that he would likely be the guy, too, but the fact that they’re seeking indictments against somone alive made me wonder if it’s someone we haven’t looked at before. Wells did say he was accosted by a “group of men,” though, so it’s possible Rothstein had accomplices that they’re arresting.