The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-12-01
STOLE STEVENS WIFE.
While the Policeman Was on
Duty Christian Kaiser Ran
Away With His Spouse
and Furniture.

While Patrolman William. stevens, who
Is attached to the Gregory street station
and whose post includes the City Hall
and vicinity, was on duty Monday night
his wife was stolen and his house was
stripped of all its furniture by his rival
for the woman's affections. The circum-
stances in connection with the affair have
just leaked out. They form the latest
chapter in the worst matrimonial mix up
on record in New Jersey. The story goes
back five years to the time when PATROL
man Stevens married Mary, the common
law wife of John Watts, a former EN-
ploye of the Street and Water Board. The
woman claimed to have been divorced
from Watts before she married Stevens.
The couple quarreled and separated. Six
months ago Stevens began suit in the
Chancery Court to I've the marriage an
nulled on the ground that at the time he
married the woman she was the common
law wife of Watts.
Mrs. Stevens defence was that while
she had lived with Watts as his wife no
ceremony had ever been performed and
she was therefore not legally married to
him. v-ice-Chancellor Pitney granted
Stevens a decree. The decree annulled the
marriage to Mrs. Watts and left Stevens
a free man. He had not been rid of his
wife one week when he ran off with Kate
Couch, who for years had been known as
the wife Of Christian Kaiser, an ex-police-
man. The couple were married by a min
lister ON Staten Island. When the woman
informed Kaiser what she had done, he
told her he was satisfied. She took all
his furniture and leaving his home went
to housekeeping with Stevens as Pear
sail avenue and the Hudson County Bou-
levard. Two weeks after the marriage
Stevens new wife tired of him and
sought to return to Kaiser, who was anx-
ious to nave her back. The two had a
| conference with the result hat Kaiser,
taking the Stevens-Watts case as a pre-
cedent, consulted Lawyer Seguine and in
structed him to prosecute Stevens for
stealing his common law wife. 1t would
appear that things were complicated
enough as they were, but just as Lawyer
Seguine was about to institute suit for
$4,000 in the Supreme Court on behalf of
Kaiser he was nonpluSSed to learn that
Kaiser had a wife living whom he de-
serted nine years ago to live with the
Couch woman.
While in the eyes of the world the
Couch woman was to Kaiser a wife, and
had lived with him as a wife for nine
years, he could not claim her as sucn
without confessing to bigamy, and could
not hope for any sympathy from the
courts if he did. 1t was when his lawyer
told him that he could not prosecute
Stevens for alternating the affections of
Kate Couch and that he only had a legal
! right to her, hat Kaiser determined to
| secure his love by strategy. The two had
ample opportunity for formulating their
plans, as Stevens police duties require
his presence in certain places at certain
hours and rave him no opportunity to
| attend to private affairs during business
hours. Mrs. Stevens and Kaiser met fire.
| quently and carefully laid all their plans
| for their grand cup. On Monday night
Stevens was to be on post from six
| O'Clock until midnight. Mrs. Stevens and
plans accordingly. Shortly after eight
Pearsall avenue n the Boulevard and
| all the furniture was loade upon it and
taken to apartments on Atlantic street,
near Ocean avenue, which had been Sc
cured by Kaiser. Everything was done
SO quickly and quietly that the neigh
bors scarcely realized what was going on
until it was all over.
Shortly before midnight as Stevens was
patroling Grove street, a boy handed him
a key and a note. The key was that of
the Pearsal avenue house. The note was
short n to the point. 1t was from Mrs.
Stevens, who informed her husband that
she had gone away and taken the furni-
ture with her. but had left him his be-
longings. When Stevens got home early
yesterday morning all he found in the
house was his trunk, which stood in the
middle of the floor.