Baby Face Nelson - a Ruthless Prohibition Era Bank Robber

Baby Face Nelson is one of the most notorious gangsters in history and is still listed as a top case on the FBI website. Baby Face was born Lester M. Gillis on December 6, 1998 in Chicago, Illinois.

Lester was a scrawny boy who only grew to be 5'4" tall. Reportedly he was victimized by bigger and stronger boys until he learned to be meaner and tougher than them all. Gillis had a reputation for being ill tempered and fearsomely mean with a wide ruthless streak.

Lester roamed the Chicago streets with a juvenile gang when he was in his early teens. By the time he was 14 he was already an accomplished car thief. He had also been dubbed "Baby Face" by gang members, due to his juvenile appearance. While he was still a young man his criminal career included stealing tires, running stills, armed robbery and bootlegging.

Nelson was part of Al Capone's gang during a period.

Al Capone, a Notorious Prohibition Era Gangster

Nelson Gets Married

Baby Face Nelson would have been 14 in 1922, when he was convicted of auto theft and sent to a boys' home. He was released two years later but got into trouble again in no time and was returned to the home five months later.

Nelson met his future wife, a salesgirl named Helen Wawzynak, in 1928. The couple married and she retained the name Helen Gillis, after his real name, throughout their marriage. Baby Face called her his "Million Dollar Baby."

Nelson in Prison

In 1931 Nelson was sent to prison for bank robbery in Chicago. His sentence was one year to life, but he escaped from prison guards during a transfer. After being imprisoned for a year he was removed from the Illinois State Penitentiary in Joliet, Illinois to stand trial for a different charge of bank robbery in Wheaton, Illinois. When he was being returned to the Penitentiary in Joliet in 1932, he was able to escape from guards.

Baby Face escaped to Reno, Nevada and then traveled to Sausalito, California. It was in Sausalito that he met another criminal named John Paul Chase. The two gangsters formed an alliance that lasted through the rest of Nelson's life.

John Paul Chase, who lived most of his life in California, was born in 1901. He held a number of jobs, including working on a ranch and working in railway shops. Chase became associated with a liquor smuggling operation in 1930.

John Dillinger

It was probably around 1933 that Nelson made his original connection with the notorious Dillinger gang, according to the FBI website. In April, 1923, Nelson, his wife and John Paul Chase joined the Dillinger gang in Chicago. It was said that cool-headed Dillinger regretted his decision to partner with the hot-headed gangster almost immediately.

Nelson and his wife vacationed with the Dillinger gang at the Little Bohemia Lodge, in Manitowish Waters in far northern Wisconsin. On April 22, 1934, he Federal Bureau of Investigation learned of the gang's location and traveled to the lodge. The gangsters were alerted by barking dogs and they escaped out of the back of the lodge.

When the gangsters escaped, a few of the women were left behind, including Nelson's wife, Helen Gillis.

Nelson fled to a nearby home and took two hostages. Special agents arrived on the scene and Nelson shot all three men, killing Special Agent W. Carter Baum.

Helen was released on parole three weeks after being arrested at Little Bohemia. On June 23, 1934, Nelson, Helen and Chase were living in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Just a week later there was a bank robbery in South Bend, Indiana, in which a police officer was shot and killed. After the robbery the gangsters returned to Chicago. Two police officers were shot when Nelson opened fire on Wolf Road, which is west of the city, in what is now the O'Hare Airport area.

A few weeks later, on July 22, 1934, John Dillinger was shot and killed outside the Biograph Theatre in Chicago. After Dillinger was dead Baby Face Nelson was proud to claim the title of Public Enemy Number One.

FBI and John Dillinger - Public Enemies

Public Enemies: Johnny Depp Stars as John Dillinger in Gangster Film

Following Dillinger's death, Baby Face, his wife and Chase left Chicago and headed west to California. Nelson and Chase made a number of trips between Chicago and California in the ensuing months. One time they were arrested for speeding and paid the fine of $5. Police did not search their car, which contained machine guns, rifles and ammunition. .

Final Shootout in Barrington, Illinois

Later that year, on November 27, 1934, Nelson was seen driving a stolen car near Barrington, Illinois, about 35 miles northwest of Chicago. Nelson and Chase started a shootout, which lasted only four or five minutes. Special agent Herman Edward Hollis was killed during this gun battle. Inspector Samuel P. Cowley died from wounds the following morning.

Baby Face was also critically injured. The gangster's took Inspector Cowley's car, which they loaded their guns into. Helen Gillis had been lying in a field near the battle and jumped into the government vehicle as it was fleeing.

Baby Face Nelson died that evening. His body was left in a cemetery in Niles Center, Illinois. An anonymous telephone call alerted FBI agents to the location of his body.

Helen Gillis

Helen Gillis was arrested on November 29, 1934 and sentenced to serve one year plus one day in the Women's Federal Reformatory in Mila, Michigan. Gillis did have children with Baby Face, whom her sister had cared for while she traveled with her husband on his crime sprees. After being released from prison, Helen disappeared into obscurity. She died in 1987 and was buried next to her husband.

John Paul Chase

Chase escaped to California by applying to a want ad for men to drive automobiles to Seattle, Washington. He made it to Seattle, but was found and apprehended at the end of December. On December 31, 1934, Chase was returned to Chicago. He was the first person to be tried under the law that made murdering a Special Agent of the FBI in performance of his duties, a Federal violation. Chase was imprisoned in Leavenworth until 1966. After his release he was employed as a custodian for over six years. John Paul Chase died in Palo Alto, California, of cancer, in 1973.

Ten Myths About the FBI

Machine Gun Kelly and the G-Men

Elliott Ness Led Untouchables in Chicago

Resources

FBI Website

TRU TV Baby Face Nelson: Childlike Mug, Psychopathic Soul