True Story · Martin Hylander

Det onde geni 1:4

·34 min·3 clips

Trapped in a parking lot, Brian Wells pleads for help as the bomb around his neck detonates, tearing a hole in his chest.

The episode opens with Brian Wells, a 46-year-old pizza vendor in Erie, Pennsylvania, receiving a delivery order to a remote TV tower on August 28, 2003. Erie is depicted as a city in economic decline, part of the Rust Belt, with lost industries and high poverty, setting a backdrop of desperation. Wells is described as a quiet, intelligent man with psychological challenges, who dropped out of school and lived a routine life, working at Mamma Mia's Pizzeria for a decade. After delivering pizzas, Wells enters a P&C bank with a homemade rifle and a bomb collar visible under his clothes, demanding $250,000 via a handwritten note. He obtains $8,702 and leaves, but is soon stopped by police in a parking lot. There, he explains that three masked men attacked him at the delivery site, locked the bomb collar on his neck, and gave him pages of instructions for a treasure hunt-like series of tasks to disarm it. The bomb is described as a primitive yet genius construction with a timer, combination lock, and warning labels. As the bomb squad is stuck in traffic, Wells becomes increasingly panicked, pleading for help and a cigarette. The bomb emits a beep and explodes at 3:18 PM, tearing a hole in his chest and killing him within minutes. The police find no evidence of the attackers at the scene, only the detailed instructions in Wells's car. The episode ends by questioning whether Wells was a victim or participant, teasing the investigation in the next part. The narrative blends true crime storytelling with atmospheric descriptions of Erie and Wells's personal history, emphasizing the absurdity and horror of the events. It highlights themes of manipulation, economic decay, and the limits of human desperation, framed as the first act in a larger story about the 'evil genius' behind the crime.

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from True Story