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 Cowley  Hollis |
Deadfall
Helen Hides; Nelson Takes a Stroll
Helen Gillis
As Nelson's car sputtered to a stop, Helen ran and hid in a large drainage ditch. Nelson and Chase grabbed weapons and ran to the side of their vehicle and opened fire as just as Cowley and Hollis sped by.
Hollis slammed on his brakes, and the car skidded and fishtailed before coming to a stop about 120 feet away. Cowley, armed with a machinegun, managed to fire a burst as the agents skidded past Nelson and Chase.
As bullets thudded into their car, Cowley jumped from the passenger, followed by Hollis, who grabbed a shotgun from the seat.
Across the road, Nelson stood near the rear of his vehicle, Chase at the front, and the four men exchanged gunfire. Less that a minute into the fight, a .45 slug from Cowley's weapon struck Nelson in his left side at the beltline. The bullet pierced his liver and pancreas and exited from his lower back. It was a fatal wound.
Nelson doubled over, grabbed his left side and moved toward the running board.
Nelson was armed with a machinegun, while Chase, leaning over the hood of his vehicle, had been firing a Monitor BAR set to rapid fire. Nelson exchanged weapons with Chase, who continued to fire on the agents as Nelson reloaded Chase's weapon. When the machinegun was empty, Nelson handed the reloaded Monitor back to Chase and, putting a new drum into the machinegun, attempted to fire through the Ford's side windows. The pair didn't speak, but Chase later testified at his trial that he could hear Nelson complaining that the gun was jamming on him (a common problem with machineguns) and saw him discard it. Nelson grabbed a Winchester Model 1907 .351 SL from the backseat and move toward the rear of the car. Chase, unaware that Nelson was wounded, assumed he was returning to his original position, and was surprised to see him step out into the open and start walking toward the agent's blue Hudson.
More than two dozen people witnessed the gun battle from various vantage points and despite numerous eyewitnesses who swore Nelson was firing a machinegun as he approached the agents, Chase testified at his trial (and ballistics confirmed) that Nelson was not firing such a weapon. (With respect to the witnesses, Nelson's weapon could have been mistaken for a machinegun from a distance because of the way it was being rapid-fired.)
A six-man construction crew that had been working near the bathhouse of the park's swimming pool, heard the initial shots and ran to a clump of trees about 300 feet from the roadside. They had a perfect vantage point to witness the brief and bloody battle.
One of the workers, Robert Hayford, 25, looked toward the back of the agent's car. He said a "somewhat stout" man (Cowley) stood at the rear of the car (closest to Hayford) while the other, a "taller and thinner gentleman," stood at the front.
Hayford said he then saw "a short, slender young man in a dark suit" who was "halfway between the two cars, and was in the middle of the road ... approaching the sedan ... and as he kept approaching, he kept firing ..."
Nelson was likely able to keep the agents from returning fire by sweeping his weapon back and forth, firing short bursts at both ends of the vehicle.
Cowley suddenly abandoned his position and ran toward the south side of the highway where he jumped, or fell, into a roadside drainage ditch. He quickly rose to his knees and attempted to fire his machinegun at Nelson. It failed to fire, however, and Nelson fired a burst of bullets at Cowley, who simply fell onto his left side without a sound.
As Nelson was firing at Cowley, Hollis leaned around the front of the car and fired his shotgun. Hayford said Nelson immediately hit the ground as if his legs had been shot off, but just as quickly jumped up and continued to walk toward Hollis, firing at him. He briefly fired a burst back toward Cowley, who still hadn't moved, and then fired a long burst into the front of the Hudson.
As Nelson sprayed the car, Hollis ran toward a telephone pole a short distance away. Just as he reached the pole, he turned and attempted to fire his shotgun at the still approaching Nelson. Hayford said Hollis' movements were slow and jerky, as if he was wounded. When the shotgun failed to fire, he dropped it and drew his .38 Super automatic but just as he was about to fire, Nelson fired another burst directly at him. Hollis slumped against the pole as Nelson continued to fire and walk toward him. A moment later, Hollis fell facedown landing just off the roadway. Nelson, according to Hayford, finally reached Hollis and stood over the body pointing the rifle, its barrel smoking, at him for several seconds. Apparently satisfied, Nelson turned and walked haltingly toward the agent's car. It was then, according to Hayford, that he saw Nelson was covered in blood and was dragging his left leg. The entire battle lasted about 10 minutes.
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Hollis slammed on his brakes, and the car skidded and fishtailed before coming to a stop about 120 feet away. Cowley, armed with a machinegun, managed to fire a burst as the agents skidded past Nelson and Chase.
As bullets thudded into their car, Cowley jumped from the passenger, followed by Hollis, who grabbed a shotgun from the seat.
Across the road, Nelson stood near the rear of his vehicle, Chase at the front, and the four men exchanged gunfire. Less that a minute into the fight, a .45 slug from Cowley's weapon struck Nelson in his left side at the beltline. The bullet pierced his liver and pancreas and exited from his lower back. It was a fatal wound.
Nelson doubled over, grabbed his left side and moved toward the running board.
Nelson was armed with a machinegun, while Chase, leaning over the hood of his vehicle, had been firing a Monitor BAR set to rapid fire. Nelson exchanged weapons with Chase, who continued to fire on the agents as Nelson reloaded Chase's weapon. When the machinegun was empty, Nelson handed the reloaded Monitor back to Chase and, putting a new drum into the machinegun, attempted to fire through the Ford's side windows. The pair didn't speak, but Chase later testified at his trial that he could hear Nelson complaining that the gun was jamming on him (a common problem with machineguns) and saw him discard it. Nelson grabbed a Winchester Model 1907 .351 SL from the backseat and move toward the rear of the car. Chase, unaware that Nelson was wounded, assumed he was returning to his original position, and was surprised to see him step out into the open and start walking toward the agent's blue Hudson.
More than two dozen people witnessed the gun battle from various vantage points and despite numerous eyewitnesses who swore Nelson was firing a machinegun as he approached the agents, Chase testified at his trial (and ballistics confirmed) that Nelson was not firing such a weapon. (With respect to the witnesses, Nelson's weapon could have been mistaken for a machinegun from a distance because of the way it was being rapid-fired.)
A six-man construction crew that had been working near the bathhouse of the park's swimming pool, heard the initial shots and ran to a clump of trees about 300 feet from the roadside. They had a perfect vantage point to witness the brief and bloody battle.
One of the workers, Robert Hayford, 25, looked toward the back of the agent's car. He said a "somewhat stout" man (Cowley) stood at the rear of the car (closest to Hayford) while the other, a "taller and thinner gentleman," stood at the front.
Hayford said he then saw "a short, slender young man in a dark suit" who was "halfway between the two cars, and was in the middle of the road ... approaching the sedan ... and as he kept approaching, he kept firing ..."
Nelson was likely able to keep the agents from returning fire by sweeping his weapon back and forth, firing short bursts at both ends of the vehicle.
Cowley suddenly abandoned his position and ran toward the south side of the highway where he jumped, or fell, into a roadside drainage ditch. He quickly rose to his knees and attempted to fire his machinegun at Nelson. It failed to fire, however, and Nelson fired a burst of bullets at Cowley, who simply fell onto his left side without a sound.
As Nelson was firing at Cowley, Hollis leaned around the front of the car and fired his shotgun. Hayford said Nelson immediately hit the ground as if his legs had been shot off, but just as quickly jumped up and continued to walk toward Hollis, firing at him. He briefly fired a burst back toward Cowley, who still hadn't moved, and then fired a long burst into the front of the Hudson.
As Nelson sprayed the car, Hollis ran toward a telephone pole a short distance away. Just as he reached the pole, he turned and attempted to fire his shotgun at the still approaching Nelson. Hayford said Hollis' movements were slow and jerky, as if he was wounded. When the shotgun failed to fire, he dropped it and drew his .38 Super automatic but just as he was about to fire, Nelson fired another burst directly at him. Hollis slumped against the pole as Nelson continued to fire and walk toward him. A moment later, Hollis fell facedown landing just off the roadway. Nelson, according to Hayford, finally reached Hollis and stood over the body pointing the rifle, its barrel smoking, at him for several seconds. Apparently satisfied, Nelson turned and walked haltingly toward the agent's car. It was then, according to Hayford, that he saw Nelson was covered in blood and was dragging his left leg. The entire battle lasted about 10 minutes.
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 Hollis' FBI identification |
