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Eerie Mystery: FBI Investigates Bizarre Death

Aired September 01, 2003 - 14:07   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now a strange story out of Erie, Pennsylvania, where a failed bank robbery is developing into a very bizarre mystery. The elements include a bomb strapped to a pizza deliveryman's chest, the unexplained death of his co-worker across town, and details that have police wondering if their dead suspect was innocent.
Our Mike Brooks fills us in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a bizarre crime that has baffled police since Thursday, when a man said he was forced to rob a western Pennsylvania bank by someone who strapped explosives to his body. Brian Douglas Wells had just delivered a pizza to a remote area, according to his boss, and an hour later he showed up to the bank strapped with a bomb and carrying a note.

KEN MCCABE, FBI SPECIAL AGENT: It gave instructions to the bank employees on what they were supposed to do and the bank employees complied with that. That note also contained instructions for what Mr. Wells was supposed to do and he was in the process of following those instructions when the Pennsylvania State Police stopped him and placed him under arrest.

BROOKS: As police waited for bomb technicians to arrive, the bomb went off, killing Wells.

Now authorities are investigating the second death, a co-worker at the same pizza delivery place found dead yesterday in his parents' home. Police had sent in a bomb team because of the connection, but nothing suspicious was found and police now think the deaths are a coincidence.

Could they have saved the man with the bomb? In this case, not if it was armed with a timing mechanism.

MCCABE: As soon as they confirmed that he, in fact, had a bomb on him, they backed off, did a perimeter of at least 300 yards around him. They protected innocent lives.

Police and agents are not trained to go and defuse a bomb. It's not like TV shows where we go up and try to guess, do we cut the red wire or the green wire? It's too dangerous. And this bomb that was wrapped around the -- Mr. Wells' neck is the most dangerous type of bomb that a bomb tech has to respond to because it entails actually approaching and doing a hand entry into the device to render it safe.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKS: The Pennsylvania State Police and the district attorney's office will hold a press conference on Tuesday at 11:00 to hopefully shed more light on this bizarre case -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Meanwhile you said some evidence taken out of the home of the man who blew himself up.

BROOKS: We are hearing from a law enforcement source that there was evidence removed from Wells' home. What it is, they will not say exactly, what kind of evidence it is. But as an investigator, a former investigator, I can tell you that number one, they're probably going to be looking for a handwriting sample to submit to compare against the note that he gave the bank teller. And the second thing, is any components of a bomb that they may have found postblast after the bomb went off. They will go back to see if they can find anything at all in house that would compare to that to see if there's any link at all and to see what involvement he actually had in this bizarre twist of a story.

PHILLIPS: All right. Mike Brooks, thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired September 1, 2003 - 14:07   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now a strange story out of Erie, Pennsylvania, where a failed bank robbery is developing into a very bizarre mystery. The elements include a bomb strapped to a pizza deliveryman's chest, the unexplained death of his co-worker across town, and details that have police wondering if their dead suspect was innocent.
Our Mike Brooks fills us in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a bizarre crime that has baffled police since Thursday, when a man said he was forced to rob a western Pennsylvania bank by someone who strapped explosives to his body. Brian Douglas Wells had just delivered a pizza to a remote area, according to his boss, and an hour later he showed up to the bank strapped with a bomb and carrying a note.

KEN MCCABE, FBI SPECIAL AGENT: It gave instructions to the bank employees on what they were supposed to do and the bank employees complied with that. That note also contained instructions for what Mr. Wells was supposed to do and he was in the process of following those instructions when the Pennsylvania State Police stopped him and placed him under arrest.

BROOKS: As police waited for bomb technicians to arrive, the bomb went off, killing Wells.

Now authorities are investigating the second death, a co-worker at the same pizza delivery place found dead yesterday in his parents' home. Police had sent in a bomb team because of the connection, but nothing suspicious was found and police now think the deaths are a coincidence.

Could they have saved the man with the bomb? In this case, not if it was armed with a timing mechanism.

MCCABE: As soon as they confirmed that he, in fact, had a bomb on him, they backed off, did a perimeter of at least 300 yards around him. They protected innocent lives.

Police and agents are not trained to go and defuse a bomb. It's not like TV shows where we go up and try to guess, do we cut the red wire or the green wire? It's too dangerous. And this bomb that was wrapped around the -- Mr. Wells' neck is the most dangerous type of bomb that a bomb tech has to respond to because it entails actually approaching and doing a hand entry into the device to render it safe.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKS: The Pennsylvania State Police and the district attorney's office will hold a press conference on Tuesday at 11:00 to hopefully shed more light on this bizarre case -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Meanwhile you said some evidence taken out of the home of the man who blew himself up.

BROOKS: We are hearing from a law enforcement source that there was evidence removed from Wells' home. What it is, they will not say exactly, what kind of evidence it is. But as an investigator, a former investigator, I can tell you that number one, they're probably going to be looking for a handwriting sample to submit to compare against the note that he gave the bank teller. And the second thing, is any components of a bomb that they may have found postblast after the bomb went off. They will go back to see if they can find anything at all in house that would compare to that to see if there's any link at all and to see what involvement he actually had in this bizarre twist of a story.

PHILLIPS: All right. Mike Brooks, thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com