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.
Illinois has had many murders and gangs pass through it through the years. The two murders in Skidmore happened in two different years. Charlie Birger was hanged, but he accepted the term of death. The Chain of Rocks Bridge still stands today, but the memory of the murder of the two girls still lingers over the bridge. The young woman who was murdered was shot five times before her life came to an end. Many gangs and murders happened in Illinois through its many year
On August 14th, 1863, a sister of Anderson, who was believed to act as a Confederate spy, died after a Federal prison collapsed (“”Bloody Bill” Anderson Killed”). This conflict enraged Anderson. Anderson and Quantrill assembled over four hundred men, and attacked Lawrence, Kansas, where the incident had taken place. On August 21st, 1863, Anderson and his band killed over one hundred and fifty residents and burned the town (“”Bloody Bill” Anderson Killed”).
that day. Many say Lee Harvey Oswald was the shooter but I think Oswald never even pulled the
was then sent to the Indiana Boys School in Plainfield where he ran away another
The Mayor’s wife was present and described Nelson as “good looking, hardly more than a boy” with “dark hair and was wearing a gray topcoat and brown felt hat, turned down brim” (Burrough, 2004, p102-103). On January 15, 1931 Gillis, now exclusively going by the name of George Nelson, was apprehended and charged for the robbery of the Itasca State Bank. Gillis was sentenced one year to life in the Illinois State prison. He was later transported to State Penitentiary, Joliet Illinois, on July 17, 1931 to serve his one year to life prison term (Burrough, 2004,
(New Orleans). All the evidence that was found is very unclear, but the next suspect in the murder is Joseph Mumfre.
In June of 1961, Clarence Earl Gideon, a fifty year old petty thief, drifter, and gambler who had spent much of his life in and out of jail was arrested in Panama City Florida. He was charged with breaking into a poolroom one night in an effort to steal beer, Coke, and coins from a cigarette machine (Goodman 62).
In August 1939 Capone was moved from Atlanta to Alcatraz in San Francisco. Capone’s health took a turn for the worst when he caught Tetiary Syphilis and became disoriented and confused. He was released after six and a half years on god behavior where he returned to Palm Island estate. His wife Mae took care of him until the end. Capone died on January 25, 1947 when he suffered from a cardiac arrest. He was 48 when he died.
On March 25, 1931 the Southern Railroad's Chattanooga to Memphis freight with two dozen or so people, and it consisted of mainly men looking for a job. While on the train a stone throwing fight erupted between the black and white men on the train. Soon after the blacks succeeded in throwing all but one of the white men off the train, Orville Gilley was pulled back on after the train accelerated to a dangerous speed. After the whites were forced off the train they went to the nearest police station and reported that the black men on the train had assaulted them. The white youth lied because they were the men who had started the fight in the first place. When the train pulled into the train station the police captured nine of the black men on a flat back truck and took them to jail in Scottsboro.
The mysterious person did not have a real name because no one was able to identify him. The murder gave his a name which was the Zodiac Killer. The Zodiac Killer was responsible for five murders in California during the late 1960s. The Zodiac Killers first two murders was on December of 1968 in Benicia, California. David Farraday, who was 17, and Betty Lou Jensen, who was 16, were the first two of a series of murders by the Zodiac Killer. The two of them were inside a parked, when the Zodiac Killer came up behind them and shot them. A similar case happened to the next victim of the mysterious killer. The following year, on July 4, 1969, another couple were shot dead in their car, in Blue Rock Springs Park in Vallejo, California. 22 year old Darlene Ferrin was shot dead, but Michael Mageau, who was 19 years old survived the shots. The strange thing after these murders is that the police received a phone call from an unidentified person that confessed to murdering those people. The next killings occurred two months later, on September 27, 1969. Two couples were also in a parked car in Lake Berryessa in Napa County. Cecelia Shepard and Brian Hartnell were shot at by the killer, but Brian Hartnell, who was 20 years old survived the mu...
Capone was imprisoned in Eastern Penitentiary, where he stayed until March 16, 1930. Not too long after he was liberated for good conduct, but placed on the America's “Most Wanted” list. In 1931 Capone was accused of tax avoidance. He was found guilty and was sentenced to 11 years of prison. In 1934 Capone was transferred from the prison he was in, in Atlanta, to one of the most dangerous prisons in America -Alcatraz- located in San Francisco, California. Capone’s sentence was soon reduced to 6 ½ years, due to good conduct. Capone was released but still couldn’t return to his life of being mobster. He was growing old and was suffering from Syphilis. He became bewildered and unstable. After he was released he retired to a mansion near Miami, Palm Island Palace. Capone died on January 25, 1947 of cardiac arrest at the young age of 48 years old (“Al
• June 26, 1977 – Judy Placido and Sal Lupu were shot while leaving a disco. Both survived although Judy was shot three times.
Adam John Walsh was born on November 14, 1974, he was 6 years old when he was kidnapped and killed. Adam was abducted from a Sears parking lot on July 27, 1981 in Hollywood, Florida. His severed head was found in a drainage canal off of the Florida turnpike two weeks later by 2 fishermen. Adam Walsh’s story was turned into a t.v. show called Adam. 38 million people have watched Adam since it first aired in 1983. Adam’s father, John Walsh, became an advocate for victims of violent crimes and is the host of the television show, America’s Most Wanted. Convicted serial killer, Ottis Toole, confessed to Adam’s murder, but was never convicted.
At the age of sixteen, Clyde dropped out of school to work at Proctor and Gamble. Clyde’s crime streak started with helping his brother steal a small flock of turkeys and transporting them to Dallas to sell for Christmas money. Dallas officers saw the back seat full of live fowl, and pulled them over arresting them both. His brother claimed full responsibility , and they lat Clyde go since he was so small and innocent looking. Clyde soon mat up with a man named Frank Clause. Clyde soon quit his job at Proctor and gamble and began burglarizing small businesses in Dallas, Lufkin, and Hillsboro, Texas. Although Clyde was introduced into the gang by his brother, he soon became accepted and became the leader. Their crime spree started with stealing a couple of cars and burglarizing a few houses.
Billy the Kid was born in New York City on November 23, 1859 to William and Kathleen McCarty Bonney and given the name William H. Bonney (There are other stories of his birth but this one is the most reliable). The first recorded killing committed by Billy the Kid was on August 17, 1877. This is also where he got his nickname “Kid';. The story has it that he got in a fight with a blacksmith in a saloon where the blacksmith slapped him and threw his to the floor. Knowing that he was no match for the much bigger and older blacksmith he drew his gun and shot the blacksmith who died the next day. He was arrested but the escaped and began running from the law, something he did all of his life.