Jury begins deliberating Pa. collar bomb recovery

ERIE, Pa. (AP) — A federal jury in Erie, Pa., has begun deliberating the fate of a woman charged with plotting to force a pizza delivery driver to rob a bank wearing a metal bomb collar that exploded shortly after the August 2003 heist.

The jury heard closing arguments Thursday. They returned this morning to deliberate armed bank robbery and other charges against 61-year-old Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong.

Her attorney says her mental disorders make it unlikely she could focus on the plot. They acknowledge she knew two other plotters — but not the dead pizza driver — and claim those men are framing her.

One of those men has since died of cancer. The other, 57-year-old Kenneth Barnes, pleaded guilty and is serving 45 years in prison. He has testified that Diehl-Armstrong was heavily involved.