On July 11, Gillette took Brown in a rowboat on Big Moose Lake, where he clubbed her with his tennis racquet and left her to drown. An overturned boat was found floating in the lake, together with Gillette's hat, leading authorities initially to believe both had drowned. Meanwhile, Gillette, carrying a suitcase, hiked through the woods to Fulton Chain Lakes, where he checked into the Arrowhead hotel under his real name. Later, witnesses said that Gillette seemed calm, collected, and perfectly at ease; nothing seemed to be amiss. Brown's body was found at the bottom of the lake the next day. An autopsy revealed she had suffered major head trauma, turning an accidental drowning case into a murder investigation. Gillette had done a poor job of planning the cover-up, and was quickly arrested in nearby Inlet, New York. Grace Brown was buried in Valley View Cemetery in her hometown, South Otselic, New York.