The harrowing case of a pizza delivery driver who robbed a bank with a shotgun and a collar bomb stumped both the public and law agencies.

This puzzling scenario presented a unique challenge for law enforcement both during the incident and in the subsequent thorough investigation.

Brian Wells’ demise is considered one of the most bizarre fatalities in recent memory, alongside other gruesome deaths such as a doctor who was decapitated in a hospital lift while his colleague watched in horror.

The saga began on 28 August 2003, when the 46 year old pizza delivery man casually walked into a bank in Erie, Pennsylvania. He was armed with a shotgun cleverly disguised as a walking cane and had a collar bomb strapped to his neck.

A bank teller was handed a note demanding $250,000 (£196,000) in cash, with a threat that the bomb would detonate if the demands were not met, reports the Mirror US.

Wells nonchalantly exited the bank carrying a bag filled with over $8,000 (£6,300), but he didn’t get far before he was cornered by police. The ensuing events would make international headlines and spark controversy for years to come.

Sitting on the pavement, the pizza delivery man claimed he had been coerced into robbing the bank by three individuals. He informed the police that he encountered the trio while delivering a pizza.

He told officers they fastened an explosive device to his neck and demanded he return with a quarter of a million dollars.

With news cameras capturing every moment, Wells pleaded for his life as the contraption around his throat beeped with increasing urgency.

Wells screamed that he believed his time was running out. Moments later, the explosive detonated.

His death was transmitted live from numerous vantage points and following the blast, officers discovered several pages of detailed handwritten directions in Wells’ car.

The documents featured routes to the bank and guidance for the “bomb hostage”.

These even included instructions to locate the keys and codes needed to deactivate the explosive device secured around his throat.

The ensuing probe revealed it was not realistically feasible for Wells to follow the directions quickly enough to save his own life.

Authorities eventually concluded the apparatus which comprised four locks and a combination dial could not have been safely dismantled.

The public was stunned by the horrific sequence of events involving the individual who became known as the “pizza bomber” with the theft labelled the “collar bomb heist”.

Speculation began to mount about what truly occurred that day as law enforcement examined every angle, including whether Wells himself was culpable.

A federal agent revealed to PEOPLE in 2003: “It defies logic that a human would do that to himself. But in all my years on the job, it never ceased to amaze me what people do and what the possibilities are.”

When the truth was finally revealed, those implicated in the crime began to point fingers at each other while maintaining their own innocence.

As per the 2018 Netflix four-part true crime documentary series Evil Genius: The True Story of America’s Most Diabolical Bank Heist, police zeroed in on several individuals including Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, who was portrayed as one of the plot’s masterminds. It was proven in court that Diehl-Armstrong had concocted the plan to force Wells into the PNC Bank in Erie with a ticking bomb strapped around his neck.

She allegedly needed the money to arrange for her father’s murder. Authorities stated that she mistakenly thought he was wealthy and a month prior to the robbery, Diehl-Armstrong had asked her friend Kenneth Barnes if he knew how to construct a pipe bomb.

She also handed over two egg timers to William Rothstein, a handyman and ex-boyfriend who most likely assembled the device which ended Wells’ life. The collar bomb ripped a massive hole in the pizza delivery driver’s chest, resulting in his death.

Four years post the incident, in July 2007, federal prosecutors declared Barnes and Diehl-Armstrong were accountable for Wells’ demise. However, it wasn’t just the duo who were held responsible, other conspirators including Wells himself were also deemed culpable.

Wells was described as being “involved in a limited extent with the planning.”

The motive for this was reportedly due to his debts.

Wells’ family was present when this announcement was made and vocally protested the allegation.

In September 2008, Barnes pleaded guilty to the charges of conspiracy to commit armed robbery and using a destructive device in a crime of violence.

He was initially sentenced to 45 years in federal prison in December 2008 but this was reduced by half when he subsequently gave evidence against Diehl-Armstrong at her trial.

He remained behind bars until his death on June 20, 2019.

Before his death, Barnes alleged that Wells was aware of the scheme but had tried withdrawing after learning the collar bomb contained real explosives – and not a fake device, as he was initially told.

Diehl-Armstrong was found guilty in November 2010 of armed bank robbery, conspiracy and using a destructive device in a crime of violence.

On Feb. 28, 2011, she was sentenced where she received life plus 30 years.

She insisted Rothstein was the mastermind behind the operation and Wells was involved in the planning.

As per The Plain Dealer, however, Rothstein died of lymphoma on July 30, 2004, less than a year after Wells’ death.

According to Evil Genius, Diehl-Armstrong maintained she was not responsible for the plot until her last breath.

She died of breast cancer on April 4, 2017 and was buried in an unmarked grave.