Investigators Probe Bizarre Bomb Death of Pizza Deliveryman

Fox ^ | 8.31.2003 | AP

[RedBloodedAmerican]

ERIE, Pa.

[boris]

"IMO they should have made the effort to get it off him."

If events unfolded as he claimed, the bomb might have had an 'anti-tamper' device such that any attempt to remove would cause it to detonate...The cops surely would have considered this possibility.

--Boris

[sissyjane]

I think the bomb was put on by the robber himself-in case he was caught. He probably prefered death to prison.

[eno_]

The Russian mafiya also like bombs. To me, it sounded like something I would read about happening in Russia.

[sissyjane]

Most bomb squads use remote control devices to explode bomb away from public and themselves. Would you like to explain to the dead officers wife why you sent her husband out to unstrap bomb from around the neck of the person blown up?

[eno_]

That is the simplest solution. But the whole story is wierd enough that it could be more complicated.

[BenLurkin]

Might be a member of the opposite sex.

[Cultural Jihad]

FYI, some people will try anything to slam the rule of law or law enforcement at the slightest provocation. It's a mental or emotional aberration of some kind.

[TomGuy]

This happened Thursday.

FoxNews is treating it like breaking news.

Where was the story for the past 2 days?

[cardinal4]

Remnants of the bomb that killed Wells Thursday afternoon on upper Peach Street were flown out of Erie Saturday to the FBI lab in Quantico, W. Va.

Last time I checked, Quantico was in Virginia, right of I-95, 50 miles south of DC..

[Nik Naym]

" Then just what are we looking at in this picture?"

A dead man.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

And where's the follow-up? Did the people who ordered the pizza ever get it delivered? Next time, do Domino's - 20 minutes or it's free.

[mtbopfuyn]

The bomb squad didn't handcuff him. The bomb squad didn't arrive unitl After the bomb had gone off.

Who's that in post #11 securing his legs?

[MissAmericanPie]

I would have tried no matter what and my family would just have to understand.

[mtbopfuyn]

A dead man.

If this were after the bomb exploded and killed him, where's the blood all over his white shirt and white pants? Where's the blood, guts, and body parts all over the street and car? Where's the damage to the car? Ah, this was a clean bomb as opposed to all those dirty bombs.

[csvset]

Not to much of a TIMELINE when they leave out WHEN THE BOMB EXPLODED!

Post #17 on this thread stated

In a news release issued by the state police, officials said only that Wells made "a number" of statements about the nature of the bomb and when it would explode, but that it remained unknown exactly how or why the bomb detonated at 3:18 p.m.

[csvset]

"He's dead Jim"

The folks at GoErie.com figured they'd spare readers a shot of this guy blown up.

[HighWheeler]

If that's a dead man, then I have four questions for you --

Why do the man's clothes look normal and he has his legs casually crossed?

If he was already laying there like this when the bomb went off, shouldn't his shirt be destroyed and covered with massive blood and guts?

Why is there no blood or splatter surrounding the victim on the car or pavement?

Why are the guys wearing bomb suits if the bomb has already detonated and killed him?

[wildbill]

Would make a hell of a plot for a movie.

[wildbill]

I'm trying to remember the name of the movie where the plot revolves around a new kind of prison where the prisoners are paired off and have tamper-proof bombs strapped around their necks and if they flee beyond a certain distance from their partner, the remote connection is broken and the bomb goes off.

If this was done by a criminal mastermind (to be played in the movie by Dennis Hopper), he'd have used a remote detonator so when the guy didn't show up with the money...boom! No witness.

[BlazingArizona]

Was the guy really an innocent victim? I can imagine this scenario: pizza delivery guy in his 40s decides to commit the perfect bank robbery. He makes it look like some customer forced him to do it. No need for an alibi - he's a victim, too. All the while, he leaves the money sitting in the woods somewhere for later retrieval. I expect the guy's story to fall in pieces after an investigation.

If this had been the case, why would he have connected a running timer to the bomb? Your scenario would require a real bomb and timer, but it could have easily been set up in an "Oops - forgot to connect the red wire" manner.