Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Event/Special
Investigation Continues Over Pizzaman's Death In Eerie, PA
Aired September 05, 2003 - 19:36 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.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, earlier we told you about the ongoing investigation in Eerie, Pennsylvania where a pizza delivery man said he was forced to rob a bank with a bomb strapped around his chest, attached to his neck. The man died before he could fully explain.
Pat Brown joins us now. She's a criminal profiler. Joins us for the look at how investigators might approach this case. Pat thank you for being with us.
Does this case JUST stump you? Is this just a bizarre thing to you?
PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: Well, Anderson, it's something we haven't seen too much of. Mr. Wells at this point we don't know that he's anything but a victim of a horrible event, but there are some odd things that make you wonder whether he might himself have been participating in it.
COOPER: What jumps out at you?
BROWN: Well, what jumps out, first of all, is that he would go to this particular location to deliver pizzas, which was an isolated area with no housing. Why would he get out there if there was nothing around.
COOPER: Allegedly the story is, for those of who don't know, he was a pizza delivery guy. They received a call asking for pizza. He goes out to this location and it's kind of a nonlocation, it's like a deserted area and shows up in the bank with a bomb.
BROWN: Right and you wonder. He gets out. Somebody puts this on him and they say go to the bank and rob it. And if I were him and didn't know whether they were going to take this thing off me and didn't know when it was going to exactly -- how much time I was going to have before it exploded, I certainly would want to go straight to the police and see if they can could remove it rather than go into a bank, rob it, endanger people's lives and then go to one of these odd three locations that somebody might be removing it from me. It just seems a little strange he would be calm to do that.
COOPER: They do seem to have evidence that I mean we don't have the public -- the public doesn't have the information yet, but there is apparently a note, a rather lengthy note, both to the bank teller and also about instructions on the bomb.
It would seem to me, and I'm no expert, but if that note is in this man's handwriting, Mr. Wells' handwriting, that would seem to indicate some level of involvement on his part?
BROWN: Well, you would think so, but I don't know they have identified it as his writing. What is unusual is to have a nine page note. I mean, usually people that do this king of thing write short sweet notes to get the job done.
Nine pages is usually written by somebody with a problem that can't stop writing they keep trying to explain and explain and can't stop their thoughts. Makes one think of an unbalanced person writing the notes. But again, we don't yet know who wrote them.
COOPER: Well, I mean, I get notes like that from people all the time and notes sometimes like schizophrenic people. Is that -- does it -- do you get that sense about this man? I mean, one doesn't want to paint a portrait of a man the evidence isn't out yet.
BROWN: Yes, well, we don't know too much about him. We know he is a 43-year-old man who lived with some cats and he lived alone and he delivered pizza which is, you know, it's not the most advanced job in the world. So, he isn't doing really well in life. But people say he's happy and satisfied.
But then, people say that a lot of times about people they don't know very well. It is possible in living alone for a long period of time, that mental problems did develop and he came up with some crazy idea that this would be something interesting to do in life.
But yet, we have to look at that. The police are going to be studying his personality, looking through his effects and seeing if there's anything there that will link him to being involved or whether he was a victim of this, something very unusual.
COOPER: We appreciate you joining us, Pat. As always, it was good to talk to you. And the investigation goes on.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
PA>
Aired September 5, 2003 - 19:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, earlier we told you about the ongoing investigation in Eerie, Pennsylvania where a pizza delivery man said he was forced to rob a bank with a bomb strapped around his chest, attached to his neck. The man died before he could fully explain.
Pat Brown joins us now. She's a criminal profiler. Joins us for the look at how investigators might approach this case. Pat thank you for being with us.
Does this case JUST stump you? Is this just a bizarre thing to you?
PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: Well, Anderson, it's something we haven't seen too much of. Mr. Wells at this point we don't know that he's anything but a victim of a horrible event, but there are some odd things that make you wonder whether he might himself have been participating in it.
COOPER: What jumps out at you?
BROWN: Well, what jumps out, first of all, is that he would go to this particular location to deliver pizzas, which was an isolated area with no housing. Why would he get out there if there was nothing around.
COOPER: Allegedly the story is, for those of who don't know, he was a pizza delivery guy. They received a call asking for pizza. He goes out to this location and it's kind of a nonlocation, it's like a deserted area and shows up in the bank with a bomb.
BROWN: Right and you wonder. He gets out. Somebody puts this on him and they say go to the bank and rob it. And if I were him and didn't know whether they were going to take this thing off me and didn't know when it was going to exactly -- how much time I was going to have before it exploded, I certainly would want to go straight to the police and see if they can could remove it rather than go into a bank, rob it, endanger people's lives and then go to one of these odd three locations that somebody might be removing it from me. It just seems a little strange he would be calm to do that.
COOPER: They do seem to have evidence that I mean we don't have the public -- the public doesn't have the information yet, but there is apparently a note, a rather lengthy note, both to the bank teller and also about instructions on the bomb.
It would seem to me, and I'm no expert, but if that note is in this man's handwriting, Mr. Wells' handwriting, that would seem to indicate some level of involvement on his part?
BROWN: Well, you would think so, but I don't know they have identified it as his writing. What is unusual is to have a nine page note. I mean, usually people that do this king of thing write short sweet notes to get the job done.
Nine pages is usually written by somebody with a problem that can't stop writing they keep trying to explain and explain and can't stop their thoughts. Makes one think of an unbalanced person writing the notes. But again, we don't yet know who wrote them.
COOPER: Well, I mean, I get notes like that from people all the time and notes sometimes like schizophrenic people. Is that -- does it -- do you get that sense about this man? I mean, one doesn't want to paint a portrait of a man the evidence isn't out yet.
BROWN: Yes, well, we don't know too much about him. We know he is a 43-year-old man who lived with some cats and he lived alone and he delivered pizza which is, you know, it's not the most advanced job in the world. So, he isn't doing really well in life. But people say he's happy and satisfied.
But then, people say that a lot of times about people they don't know very well. It is possible in living alone for a long period of time, that mental problems did develop and he came up with some crazy idea that this would be something interesting to do in life.
But yet, we have to look at that. The police are going to be studying his personality, looking through his effects and seeing if there's anything there that will link him to being involved or whether he was a victim of this, something very unusual.
COOPER: We appreciate you joining us, Pat. As always, it was good to talk to you. And the investigation goes on.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
PA>
