# what became of the collarbomb pizza delivery case? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 29, 2006, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-of-the-collarbomb-pizza-delivery-case/405085 "2006-04-29T04:01:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ender\_Will](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Ender\_Will](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ender_Will)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2006, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-of-the-collarbomb-pizza-delivery-case/405085/1 "2006-04-29T04:01:43Z")
Ordering a pizza tonight, I was reminded of [this case](http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,96109,00.html) from a few years ago. The short version: A pizza delivery guy goes out to make a delivery, shows up shortly thereafter at a bank with a bomb wired around his neck, he gets the money and leaves, police apprehend him and the bomb goes off, killing the man. The most recent article I could find after a cursory Googling is from [CNN](http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0402/11/ltm.10.html) about 6 months after the fact, when the FBI still hadn’t made any headway. Does anyone know if the case was ever solved? ---
**Author:** ![AnabolicDoberman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@AnabolicDoberman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnabolicDoberman)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2006, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-of-the-collarbomb-pizza-delivery-case/405085/2 "2006-04-29T04:12:40Z")
> [@Ender\_Will](#): > > Ordering a pizza tonight, I was reminded of [this case](http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,96109,00.html) from a few years ago. The short version: A pizza delivery guy goes out to make a delivery, shows up shortly thereafter at a bank with a bomb wired around his neck, he gets the money and leaves, police apprehend him and the bomb goes off, killing the man. The most recent article I could find after a cursory Googling is from [CNN](http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0402/11/ltm.10.html) about 6 months after the fact, when the FBI still hadn’t made any headway. > > Does anyone know if the case was ever solved? bump ---
**Author:** ![Large\_Marge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/50afbb/32.png) [@Large\_Marge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Large_Marge)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2006, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-of-the-collarbomb-pizza-delivery-case/405085/3 "2006-04-29T04:15:13Z")
I remember this case well. Nope, [it has not yet been solved.](http://infocult.typepad.com/infocult/2005/09/updates_on_the_.html) [Here’s an update.](http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05240/561408.stm) ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2006, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-of-the-collarbomb-pizza-delivery-case/405085/4 "2006-04-29T14:08:53Z")
> [@Large Marge](#): > > I remember this case well. > > Nope, [it has not yet been solved.](http://infocult.typepad.com/infocult/2005/09/updates_on_the_.html) > > [Here’s an update.](http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05240/561408.stm) Per your link his brother has a web site devoted to the case. [www.brianwells.net](http://www.brianwells.net) ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2006, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-of-the-collarbomb-pizza-delivery-case/405085/5 "2006-04-29T14:40:49Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Per your link his brother has a web site devoted to the case. > > [www.brianwells.net](http://www.brianwells.net) Dunno if it’s true, but the brother’s website makes this claim: > [@](#): > > Brian was alive and breathing, fighting for his life after the bomb exploded. Brian was denied Emergency Medical Treatment. If it’s true, that just horrifies me. I know the officers had to fear for their saftey, but goddam, what an awful way to die. > [@](#): > > 19 Hours after the bomb locked around Brian’s neck exploded, the bomb experts said they still could not render the collar harmless. > > So with this knowledge Federal Law Enforcement Agents, the FBI, ATF and Pennnsylvania State Police decided the best way to proceed would be to take Brian’s body to the coroners office in the Erie County Courthouse and remove his head, rather than unbolting the collar or cutting the collar in two pieces. > > \ > > The Family was not permitted to say their last farewell to Brian Wells. They were allowed to bury a group of body parts wrapped in cloth. Assuming all of this is true, this last part throws me for a loop. It sounds as though he was, uh, \* intact \*after the bomb exploded, at least enough to be alive, and they were forced to remove his head to take off the bomb. Why would the family be given only “parts” to inter? ---
**Author:** ![Ender\_Will](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Ender\_Will](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ender_Will)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-of-the-collarbomb-pizza-delivery-case/405085/6 "2006-04-30T06:32:24Z")
What are the odds of this: Fox news had a little piece on this thing tonight. Didn’t really say anything, other than they thought that Wells’ stepfather was involved because the FBI found a picture of similar-looking equipment at his foundry. Anybody else see this thing, as I was kinda distracted. ---
**Author:** ![Gotterfunken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@Gotterfunken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotterfunken)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-of-the-collarbomb-pizza-delivery-case/405085/7 "2006-04-30T17:58:34Z")
I remember this case, and how bizarre it was. I recall that the police at the time described Wells’ instructions as being so elaborate and time-consuming that there was no way he could have completed everything before the bomb went off. Reading over the instructions (as reproduced on the brother’s website), I can see what they meant. The hostage-takers had him robbing the bank as his _first_ task? Followed by going to the McDonald’s sign to look under a rock, driving out to the woods, etc… I can’t see how they could have expected him to get very far beyond robbing a bank, so I wonder if they even went through the trouble of planting all of those “keys.” Still, the bomb was real enough. I can’t imagine how terrifying the ordeal must have been for Wells. ---
**Author:** ![cainxinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@cainxinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cainxinth)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-of-the-collarbomb-pizza-delivery-case/405085/8 "2006-04-30T21:53:42Z")
Has anyone posited the theory that Wells set the whole thing up? An elaborate suicide perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-of-the-collarbomb-pizza-delivery-case/405085/9 "2006-04-30T22:19:28Z")
> [@cainxinth](#): > > Has anyone posited the theory that Wells set the whole thing up? An elaborate suicide perhaps? I’ve followed this from the begining. NO hint of a suicide. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-of-the-collarbomb-pizza-delivery-case/405085/10 "2006-04-30T22:39:14Z")
An obvious thing to investigate is the collar he was wearing. It looks like a manufactured device (as opposed to the locking mechanism, which looks homemade), so has anyone identified the manufacturer and tried to trace the purchaser? Has anyone even identified what the intended purpose of the collar is? ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-of-the-collarbomb-pizza-delivery-case/405085/11 "2006-04-30T23:27:15Z")
Wow, I never heard about this actual case, but it sounds identical to the recent first episode of _Heist_ on NBC. Or was it _Thief_ on FX? I can’t remember which, but they must have gotten the idea from that case. I thought they’d just made it up. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-of-the-collarbomb-pizza-delivery-case/405085/12 "2006-04-30T23:29:55Z")
> [@Dewey Finn](#): > > An obvious thing to investigate is the collar he was wearing. It looks like a manufactured device (as opposed to the locking mechanism, which looks homemade), so has anyone identified the manufacturer and tried to trace the purchaser? Has anyone even identified what the intended purpose of the collar is? At the time law enforcement had the same opinion, and openly asked if any members of the public could identify the bracket. Also, > [@Ender\_Will](#): > > What are the odds of this: Fox news had a little piece on this thing tonight. Didn’t really say anything, other than they thought that Wells’ stepfather was involved because the FBI found a picture of similar-looking equipment at his foundry. Anybody else see this thing, as I was kinda distracted. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-of-the-collarbomb-pizza-delivery-case/405085/13 "2006-05-01T15:17:30Z")
[One of the more elaborate articles on the story I’ve seen](http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=27382) ---
**Author:** ![Sequent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Sequent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sequent)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-of-the-collarbomb-pizza-delivery-case/405085/14 "2006-05-01T23:02:14Z")
> [@cainxinth](#): > > Has anyone posited the theory that Wells set the whole thing up? An elaborate suicide perhaps? From [this story](http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/famous/erie_collar_bomber/2.html) > [@](#): > > Was it possible that it was all some elaborate ruse – the robbery, the note, the detailed instructions that seemed for all the world like they were copied from some demented role-playing game? In fact, the instructions read much like a game called “Key Hunt” that Wells was known to be enthralled by. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-of-the-collarbomb-pizza-delivery-case/405085/15 "2006-05-02T01:53:58Z")
I came in here to mention the fact that CSI: Miami had a necklace bomb plot in its first season (episode 3, aired 9/30/2002). But this aired before the Erie bombing. Surely it was the inspiration for whoever the mastermind was… ---
**Author:** ![Roberta\_Plant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c89c15/32.png) [@Roberta\_Plant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roberta_Plant)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2007, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-of-the-collarbomb-pizza-delivery-case/405085/16 "2007-02-18T17:18:05Z")
Bumping this because I just heard indictments will be brought soon. Does anyone know anything more than that? Hope this isn’t against the rules, if so, please remove the post. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2007, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-of-the-collarbomb-pizza-delivery-case/405085/17 "2007-02-18T17:32:56Z")
I was talking to my Mom yesterday, and she also mentioned that it was pretty much solved and the story is about to come out. I don’t recall her saying where she heard it, but we’re from Erie and she still keeps in touch with people there, so likely she heard it from them. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2007, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-of-the-collarbomb-pizza-delivery-case/405085/18 "2007-02-18T17:36:35Z")
[http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2882135](http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2882135) > [@](#): > > But the case has been solved and indictments are expected, likely by next month, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan was to make an official announcement at a Friday afternoon news conference. > > The law enforcement official told the AP that Buchanan would not disclose what the investigators concluded, but would say that the government is confident they know how and why Wells died. ---
**Author:** ![A.R.Cane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@A.R.Cane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.R.Cane)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2007, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-of-the-collarbomb-pizza-delivery-case/405085/19 "2007-02-18T17:40:43Z")
I just heard a short news blip, in the last day or two, saying that arrests were imminent. Nothing since though and there’s nothing current on Google. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2007, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-of-the-collarbomb-pizza-delivery-case/405085/20 "2007-02-18T17:46:11Z")
Here’s the [AP story](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17190943) on the latest developments . [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-of-the-collarbomb-pizza-delivery-case/405085.md?page=2)