Collar bomb killer paroled in related state case

ERIE, Pa. (AP) — A northwestern Pennsylvania woman serving a federal life sentence in a bizarre bank robbery plot that killed a pizza deliveryman who was forced to wear a bomb collar has been paroled on a state murder charge.

The Erie Times-News reports 65-year-old Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong was granted parole from her seven- to 20-year sentence for the third-degree murder of James Roden, her former live-in boyfriend.

Diehl-Armstrong must still serve her life sentence for the death of Brian Wells, the deliveryman killed when the bomb exploded after the bank robbery that Diehl-Armstrong helped plan in August 2003.

The parole ruling means Diehl-Armstrong will be moved from the state women’s prison in Muncy to a federal prison once a spot opens up. Federal prosecutors say she killed Roden because he knew about the collar bomb plot, but she’s maintained he was abusive.