The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-04-01

AN OLD MANS CRIME.
John Kick Sets Fire to the
House in Which He
Thought His Wife Was.
DETECTED BY HIS SON
The Would Be Murderer Was In
saneIy Jealous = Two Lives
Endangered by His Act.

John Kick. sixty years old, who lives
IN Lundy's lane, this city. near the County
road to Snake Hill, through Jealousy this
morning set fire to the house In which
his wife. who is three years his junior,
and TWO other persons were sleeping.
Luckily they escaped with their lives.
Kick was arrested an hour later by,
Roundsman Casey. He was arraigned be-
fore Police Justice Nevin in the First
Criminal Court this morning and was held
for examination on the charge of having
committed arson. His accuser is his own
son. Frank, twenty-three years old, who
alleged tina he saw him making his es-
cape after firing the house.
Mrs. Mary Kick, her son Frank and a
boarder. Frederick Waters, who is only
twenty-four years old, lived in a one-story
frame house on Tonnele avenue. near
North street, near what is known as
Lundy's lane. The place is on the out
skirts of the city. and there are no IRE
plugs in the vicinity. 1t is almost impos-
sibie to stop a fire once started in that
pcality. The building occupied by Mrs.
Kick was an old one. and the planks were
as dry as finder.
AT 4:S0 o'clock this morning Frank Kick
was awakened by the sound of cracking
timbers and the smell of smoke. he
rushed to the window of his bedroom and
was startled to see flames. leaping up be-
meath the window of his room, occupied
by his aged mother. He also saw some
thing which startled him nearly as much.
Disappearing ove- the back fence was a
man whom he recognized as his father
Kick had left his place last October. He
was insaneiy jealous of waters, the
youthful boarder. evidently without cause.
He threatened repeatedly. so Mrs KICK
and her son say. to burn the house down
and destroy his wife in the flames
When young Kick discovered the flames
his first thought was to save his mother.
He rushed to her room. She was sleeping
soundly. He broke open the door and
dragged her from the place h smoke
filled the room and had almost suffocated
her. Waters made his escape. An alarm
of fire was sent in and several engines
responded. but they could not save the
R~oundsman Casey and a squat of po-
1icemen were ON the scene. TO casey
Frank Kick told his fathers threats ana
also told him that two vicious logs were
kept in the yard, and that no stranger
could have entered without tnelT raisllS
would moi modest him. On the testimony
of the son Casey arrested Kick, who mas
been living a short distance from Whs1e
his wife lived. He took his arrest cooliy
and did not seem to regret what ne mad
done.
1t is believed that Kick thought ms WlIe
was in the house. She testified in the Sec
ond riminal Court this morning that she
CHANGED to be out nursing the sick WlIe
of a neighbor. She also testified that KICK
had before threatened to burn the house
Down.
Tine SON Frank and the boarder. Fred
Waters, declared on the witness-stand
that they could not identity FRANKS Ia
Their as the man they saw climbing over
the fence when the fire was first dis
covered by them
Acting Justice Macs held the elder Kick
in s.. 900 for further examination, and held
each of the three witnesses in $500.