6 Notorious Female Gangsters - Page 4 of 9

Helen Gillis

At 16, Helen Wawrzyniak made a fateful move marrying Lester Gillis, the man who came to be known as Baby Face Nelson. By 20, she had two babies—and a spot on the “shoot to kill” list of Public Enemies, thanks to him. She’s regarded more as an accomplice than a gangster in her own right, but Gillis was present at the “Battle of Barrington” in Illinois on November 27, 1934. There, Nelson spotted a cop car, and with Gillis and fellow thug John Paul Chase in tow, chased it down, guns blazing. This led to a shootout that killed Nelson along with two police officers.