Father of suspect says she's a 'bit goofed up'
ERIE — Harold Diehl doesn't know where it all went wrong, when his daughter — a straight-A student and the valedictorian of her high school class — began getting into trouble.
But today, at 88, he isn't surprised to hear that his daughter, Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, is accused of concocting an elaborate and bizarre bank robbery that included hiring someone to kill him and locking a bomb onto the neck of a pizza deliveryman.
"She'd have a tendency to do anything that's possible because I think her mind is a little bit goofed up. I don't think she's completely sane," said Diehl as he sat Thursday on a porch swing in front of his house in Erie.
Diehl-Armstrong, who is in prison for killing her boyfriend, was accused this week of being the ringleader of a 2003 plot to rob the bank so that she could pay a hitman to kill her father. She and her fishing buddy Kenneth Barnes, 53, are each charged with bank robbery, conspiracy and a firearms violation.
Barnes, jailed on an unrelated drug charge, pleaded not guilty during a brief arraignment Thursday.
New information emerged Thursday about at least one possible connection between the plotters and pizza deliveryman Brian Wells, who was killed about an hour after the holdup when the bomb around his neck detonated.
U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan has said Wells had a limited role planning and staging the robbery, but "we have reason to believe that at some point right before the bomb was fastened to his neck that he was coerced." His family has insisted he did not know the suspects.
An attorney representing a prostitute who knew both Wells and Barnes said that he expects his client to be called as a witness in the case to establish that the two men knew each other. The woman, Jessica Hoopsick, said Wells regularly paid $15 to $20 to have sex with her at Barnes' house, attorney Daniel Brabender said.Diehl-Armstrong's initial appearance on the federal charges, previously scheduled for July 6, was delayed until Tuesday.Her father said his daughter, now 58, was an only child who was born and grew up in the house in which he still lives. The home is on a quiet street of well-kept houses, its porch decorated with flowerpots and American flags set there by neighbors.Diehl is a retired salesman who had traveled throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York selling aluminum siding, awnings and windows. He was married to his late wife, Agnes, for more than 50 years.Diehl described his daughter as intelligent, but gullible, and said he's not surprised to hear that she is accused of wanting him dead."I wouldn't doubt that. I heard that years ago and I believe it," he said. "Don't forget, her mind is, in my estimation, not the mind of a stable person."He added: "She would probably help kill someone or something, in my estimation, if she thought it was the right thing to do."Diehl, who at times loses his train of thought, can't recall exactly when his daughter began getting into trouble, but he is convinced her behavior took years off his wife's life. Agnes Diehl, a grade-school teacher who helped neighborhood kids with their homework, died about 10 years ago, he said."My wife was very concerned about her," said Diehl, who turns 89 next month.Diehl said that he hasn't seen his daughter in years and he doesn't want to. He isn't planning to attend any of her court proceedings and said he doesn't want to be involved with any of her troubles."I don't intend to visit Marjorie and I don't even intend to write to her," Diehl said.
