Baby Face Nelson

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Baby Face Nelson

“Baby Face” Nelson’s shredded body was discovered today, lying naked in a ditch near Niles, Illinois, after a deadly encounter with 2 FBI agents yesterday, November 27,1934. The FBI agents, Sam Cowley and Herman Hollis, were also tragically killed in the crossfire.

“Baby Face” Nelson, real name was Lester M. Gillis. He went by many other aliases such as George Nelson, Alex Gillis, and “Big George.” He grew up with the Chicago street gangs, which is where his gang members named him “Baby Face Nelson,” despite the fact that he hated it.

By the age of 14 he was stealing cars. In his teens he took part in stealing tires, running stills, bootlegging, and armed robbery. In 1922, he was committed to a boys home for auto theft. Two years later he was released on parole, but returned in 5 months for a similar charge. He meet Helen Wawzynak in 1928, and later married her. In January of 1931 he robbed a bank in Chicago, Illinois, and was sent to prison for one year to life.

He escaped and came to Sausalito, California. There he met John Paul Chase. Nelson worked with Chase as an armed guard for the truck used to transport illegal liquor. Together, they moved to Reno, Nevada, where Nelson had killed a person for being a witness to the United States mail fraud case.

In 1933 Nelson, and his new friends, Tommy Carrol and Eddie Green robbed banks in Iowa, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. Most of the blame for these went to Dillanger and his gang. A year later Dillanger joined gangs with Nelson.

On March 4,1934, Nelson got in a car accident which was his fault. The other driver got out of his car and started to yell at Nelson, who pulled out his gun and shot the driver three times in the head, and then sped off. Two days later the Dillenger- Gillis gang robbed a bank in Sioux City, South Dakota. The very next day, he robbed another bank in Mason City, Iowa, killing one employee and leaving with $52,000.

On April 22,dozens of FBI agents surrounded the Little Bohemia lodge in Northern Wisconsin, where Nelson and his gang were staying. Each of the gang members escaped except for “Baby Face” Nelson, who stayed to shoot it out with the agents. The FBI, in trying to shoot Nelson, accidentally killed 1 innocent bystander and injured 2 others.

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