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No Closure For Erie Collar Bomb Victim's Family

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Dec 3, 2008 9:18 pm US/Eastern

No Closure For Erie Collar Bomb Victim's Family

Reporting
Harold Hayes
ERIE (KDKA) ― A federal judge sentenced a conspirator in the Erie collar bomb case to 45 years in prison.

Judge Sean McLaughlin went beyond the suggested sentencing guidelines and sent 55-year-old Kenneth Barnes to jail for 45 years.

And yet, the family of the victim, Brian Wells, had mixed emotions.

"No closure. No closure at all," said Jean Heid, the victim's sister. "Just one person who was involved with killing Brian is behind bars for life."

Jean Heid held a picture of her brother up to the judge and to the audience at Barnes sentencing hearing in Erie.

She explained the impact of watching television images of her brother tell authorities he didn't have much time back in August of 2003 as a collar bomb was strapped to his neck during an elaborate bank robbery.

The bomb exploded. Prosecutors say Barnes didn't actually place the collar bomb on Wells, but was there when it was forced upon him, and also helped plan its construction. But they say Wells was in on planning the bank robbery too.

"It's very difficult for a family to accept that the person they knew has turned out to be someone else," said U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan. "The evidence collected clearly shows that Brian Wells was part of this conspiracy - that he was part of the planning of the robbery."

Prosecutors say the mastermind is Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, who has yet to go to trial. Barnes' lawyer thinks his sentence could be reduced if he cooperates in her case.

"If he cooperates in that and given his cooperation in the past there's a very good chance that at some point in the future his sentence could be lowered," said defense attorney Alison Scarpitti.

Just before sentencing, Kenneth Barnes told the family he was sorry and that it wasn't supposed to happen that way. 

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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