Inspector Samuel P. Cowley of the Chicago FBI office received word that Nelson had been seen in the Barrington, Ill., area, a short distance from Chicago.
Cowley and Special Agent Herman Edward Hollis went to the area and encountered Nelson and Chase just moments after they had been involved in a brief gun battle with two other agents. Cowley and Hollis began pursuing Nelson's vehicle. Suddenly, Nelson veered off Northwest Highway at the entrance to the North Side Park in Barrington, and stopped. Gunfire was exchanged and Hollis, shot in the head, died almost instantly. Cowley, mortally wounded, died early the next morning.
Nelson, also critcally wounded, was helped into Cowley's car by Chase, who then transferred guns and other items from Nelson's car to the agents'.
Hellen Gillis, who had run from her husband's car when the battle began and was hiding in a nearby field, made her way to the agents' vehicle and the trio sped away.
Nelson died at 8 that night. His body was stripped of all clothing and wrapped in a small blanket. It was left in a ditch near a Niles Center, Ill., cemetery where the FBI found it the next morning in response to an anonymous tip.
Nelson's widow was arrested the follwing day. Having violated her parole, she was sentenced to serve a year and a day in the Women's Federal Reformatory in Mila, Mich. Following her release she faded into history.
Chase was arrested in December and was tried for his part in the shooting of Cowley. He was found guilty and sentenced to life. He served his time on Alcatraz and at Leavenworth. He was paroled in 1966 and died of cancer in 1973.
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