The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-09-06
2:45 O'CLOCK.
Thief CAPTURED.
Detective Reardon Arrests a
Notorious Female.
Belongs In This City and Is Wanted
all Over New England.
= Posed as q Model Servant and Syste-
matically Robbed Employers.

Detective Reardon arrested Bertha Ken
nedy on South Main street early last even
ing and found in he. room a sufficient
Rmount OF ladies' wearing apparel to start
a good sized store. The woman is well
known to the police in nearly every city
in New England, and she, with q man
named Jack Kennedy, who she says is
her husband, work together.
She will engage in family as servant
and make herself agreeable as q model
one, and will pass the articles stolen
by her out of the window to her hus-
band, and then arrange things In the
house In sucn manner AZ TO lead the
folk to believe that someone had broken
in.
The pair came to the city from Phila-
delphia early last August, and Jack had
not been here but few days before he
got into trouble and was fined s15 and
cost for assault by Judge Sweetland OF
the Sixth District Court. AS he did not
where he still remains, and Will until Oc-
tober 3.
She entered the service OF the family OF
Robert Ashburn at 627 Potters avenue
few days AGO. Here she worked faithful
Iy, but when she disappeared q plush
cloak, three rings, some other articles
and S13 were missing. AS the Ashburn
family had moved on Saturday from one
house to another, II was presumed that
the missing goods had been lost from the
moving vans, and so the matter was
dropped for a day or so, but 1t dawned
upon the family that the goods had been
packed into different parts of the wagons,
and II was quite impossible for .hem all
to have fallen out.
Mr. Ashburn reported the case to the po-
lice and detective Reardon was assigned
to IL, and he found all Of the goods IN
pawn shop. He then traced the woman
to her home on South Main street, and
here he found raft OF goods.
Mr.. and Mrs. Ashburn were called up
on to identify their property and did sue
ceed In finding some, but the bulk was
not theirs. In looking over the bundle
they saw the photograph OF two familiar
faces, and upon closer examination they
proved to be those OF Mr.. and Mrs. III.
4. Balcem of East Providence.
Mr.. Bslcom was notified, and this morn
ing he called at the city hall and icenti-
fled the goods as his property.
Mr.. Balcom said that the Kennedy wo-
man had been arrested at Crescent Park
about five weeks ago, and at that time
said that she had no home. She was ar
rested about 2 O'Clock in the morning, and
as Mr. Balcom's wife was very sick at the
time he concluded TO take the woman in
to his family. few days after she was
installed, Mrs. Balcom was taken to the
Rhode Island Hospital, where she died.
The Kennedy woman then assisted Mr..
Balcom in packing away the wearing APP
parel and jewelry of his dead wife, and
in few days left the house, Mr.. Balcom
having no further use for a servant
Mr.. Balcom found her employment in
the Ashburn family.
Before leaving Mr.. Balcom's house she
went through the trunks which she had
assisted In packing and took every article
of value, and Mr.. Balcom did not know
that they had been taken until notified
by Mr.. Reardon
The woman was taken before Judge
Sweetland of the sixth district court this
morning and pleaded guilty, and was
bound over to the Court of Common Pleas
in the sum of $780, The woman ia about
80 years old, and was born ON Benevo-
lent street in this city, and the man that
claims to be her husband halls from Bos-
ton.
She was arrested by detective Parker on
Mathewson street in 1889, and was taken
to Boston by detective Abbott OF that
city, and convicted OF stealing. and sent
TO the woman's prison at Sherburne,
from which institute she escaped.
She is wanted in Lowell, Lawrence and
Taunton, for Just such work as she has
done here, and the probabilities are that
detective Reardon has rid Providence Of
one of the most cunning female thieves
that ever visited 1t.
The police are OF the opinion that the
woman has another male accomplice, as
il is-a well-known fact by the Ashburn and
Balcom families that she had no oppor-
tunity to leave either of the houses and
get away with the quantity of goods that
she did.
She stole SO articles from Mr.. Balcom.
III. Il. McLane of Montgomery avenue
reported to the police that his bicycle was
stolen from his yard last night.