Delaware County Daily Times - Oct 20, 2001 Article

Rivera trial will be in Delco

Delaware County Daily Times (Primos - Upper Darby, PA) - Saturday, October 20, 2001

Author: KATHLEEN E. CAREY ; kcarey@delcotimes.com

MEDIA -- Attorneys for accused child killer Robert Rivera asked yesterday for a change of trial venue, as well as eliminating the death penalty consideration, claiming the Delaware County District Attorney has been discriminatory in seeking it.

Robert Rivera , 33, of Boothwyn, is charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and related charges for bursting into his daughter's child-care center Aug. 1, 1999, kidnapping 20-month-old Katelyn Selena Rivera -Helton and then allegedly killing her. Her body has never been found despite exhaustive searches that included cadaver dogs and helicopters.

In his request for a change of venue, defense attorney Guy Smith pointed to the pre-trial media coverage, particularly that of the Delaware County Daily Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer.

"This is a case that has received widespread publicity," he said. "The newspaper coverage has been fairly extensive."

Judge Charles C. Keeler was unconvinced that would prohibit Rivera from receiving a decent trial.

"Of course," he said to Smith, "the test is not whether someone has read about the case, but whether they can be fair or impartial. If you walked into a Wawa, nine out of 10 people wouldn't know what you're talking about."

The judge rendered his decision. "There's certainly no reason for a change of venue."

Keeler said he would not rule on the request for a change of venir, which is bringing in a jury from out of the area. He said he would start with Delaware County candidates, who are subject to lawyers' questioning.

If that didn't reap success, the judge said he would reconsider the motion.

Defense attorney Steven C. Leach then asked Keeler to rule the death penalty unconstitutional in this case because of the District Attorney's selective use in pursuing it.

In court documents, Leach wrote, the "Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, through the District Attorney's Office of Delaware County, has consistently requested the imposition of the death penalty based on the racial background of the defendant, together with the economic background of the defendant and the geographical location of the crime and the defendant's residence."

Rivera is described as Hispanic and indigent.

In an evaluation of capital cases in Delaware County over the last five years, Leach found that the District Attorney sought the death penalty for 22 of 73 minority murder defendants and for four of 19 white murder defendants.

"It is clear that the District Attorney sought the death penalty for minority males (blacks and Hispanics) 30.4 percent of the time, while doing the same for white defendants only ... 21 percent of the time," Leach wrote. "The Commonwealth never sought the death penalty for females."

He said this information showed a bias.

"It is submitted that the Commonwealth has sought the death penalty on a much greater percentage of the time for minority male defendants than for other defendants," Leach wrote.

Assistant District Attorney John F.X. Reilly said the defense had not provided enough clear evidence to indicate a pattern of discrimination from his office.

He added that there is a requirement to seeking the death penalty in which aggravating circumstances must be proven during trial.

The prosecutor had a request of his own yesterday.

After responding to the discrimination charge, Reilly asked Keeler to reconsider his decision to not allow Rivera 's July 29 and 30, 1999, assaults on Jennifer Helton into trial.

Reilly said these events bolstered what the prosecution is contending drove Rivera to abduct and kill his 20-month-old daughter. "That's the defendant's motive for kidnapping," Reilly said. "Not hostility toward Katelyn but ... an intense hatred and hostility toward Jennifer."

Smith warned that a jury may judge Rivera on those incidents and allow that to influence their decision on the murder charges rather than the evidence itself.