BY KRISTEN DELGUZZI
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Richard J. Klein Tracie Alfieri

In the ordinary world, Richard Joseph Klein and Tracie Alfieri have little in common.

But in the criminal justice arena, the two share many traits.

Both are accused of killing someone. Both are embroiled in controversy surrounding changes in Ohio's criminal laws. And both go on trial Monday in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court.

For Mrs. Alfieri, 23, of Mount Washington, the trial - her first brush with the system - is about more than whether she should be held responsible for a deadly car wreck last November.

Her trial, on charges of aggravated vehicular homicide and aggravated vehicular assault, will be among the state's first tests of a new law that makes it a crime to kill or harm a fetus. Mrs. Alfieri is the first local person charged under the law, which became effective in September.

Mr. Klein, 34, of Westwood, is not testing any new laws. But as the man accused of killing a developmentally disabled boy by holding him in a tub of scalding water, he is inspiring one.

Sometime this week, the Ohio House is expected to send a bill to Gov. George Voinovich that, once signed, will make it a death penalty crime to purposely kill a child under 13. The bill was pushed by Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters, who was upset that he could not seek the death penalty for Mr. Klein under current law.

''Getting a death specification for child killers became almost a personal crusade,'' said Mr. Deters, who initially planned to handle Mr. Klein's case himself but decided against that last week. ''I didn't want to become a personal issue in the trial.''

Tracie Alfieri's case

About 7:30 a.m. Nov. 27, Mrs. Alfieri was driving north on Interstate 71.

As she passed the spot where traffic from Red Bank Road merges onto the highway, she had her first encounter with Rene Andrews, 29, of Madisonville.

Prosecutors say Mrs. Alfieri, apparently upset at how Mrs. Andrews had merged into traffic, began making crude gestures.

Then, in Silverton, Mrs. Alfieri allegedly sped in front of Mrs. Andrews and slammed on her brakes. When Mrs. Andrews swerved, she plowed into the back of a tractor-trailer parked on the berm. She was severely injured. Her 6-month-old fetus did not survive.

Motorists who witnessed the incident say Mrs. Alfieri just kept driving. One witness followed Mrs. Alfieri to work.

Mrs. Alfieri, who faces up to 6ï years in prison if convicted of both charges, is accused of driving recklessly. She is free on bond.

Prosecutors plan to call crash witnesses, accident reconstructionists, police and medical personnel. Mrs. Andrews also is expected to testify. According to court documents, she has no memory of the events surrounding the crash.

The defense also plans to call an accident reconstruction specialist. And Mrs. Alfieri and her husband, Anthony, are listed as possible witnesses.

Mrs. Alfieri's attorneys, who did not return calls seeking comment on the case, have indicated in pretrial hearings and motions that they plan to challenge the constitutionality of the law that makes it a crime to kill a fetus.

They lost a preliminary round earlier this month, when Judge Patrick Dinkelacker refused to dismiss the homicide charge. He ruled that the law was properly enacted and that the state has ''a legitimate interest in protecting a woman's choice to continue her pregnancy.''

The law grew out of the August 1995 crash involving Suzanne Daly, a pregnant Middletown woman. Mrs. Daly and her near-term fetus died after her car was struck by a teen-age driver. Upset that prosecutors could not charge the teen with the death of his unborn son, Joseph Daly successfully lobbied legislators to amend the law.

An appellate court has yet to scrutinize the new law, and ultimately, the Ohio Supreme Court will be asked to pass judgment on it.

Richard Klein's case

Matthew Brent Richmond was a happy, energetic 12-year-old. He also had cerebral palsy.

He lived in Westwood with his mother, Sharon Richmond, and her boyfriend, Mr. Klein.

Prosecutors say that sometime around 9 p.m. on Jan. 1, Mr. Klein placed the boy in a tub of water - the temperature around 140 degrees - to punish him for soiling his pants.

Matthew suffered third-degree burns over most of his body, yet his mother and Mr. Klein waited more than 12 hours to seek treatment. Matthew died 12 days later.

Mr. Klein is charged with murder, involuntary manslaughter, felonious assault and child endangering. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison. But Mr. Deters says it's not enough.

''Klein, I think, should be facing the death penalty in this case,'' the prosecutor said.

But under current law - or even the new law, when it is enacted - he could not seek it against Mr. Klein.

''They cannot write the new law to apply it back to him,'' said Christo Lassiter, a law professor at the University of Cincinnati. Such a move would be unconstitutional.

At trial, Matthew's mother is expected to testify. She has pleaded guilty to a felony charge of child endangering for waiting to seek medical care. She will be sentenced after her testimony.

Earlier this year, she defended Mr. Klein, who has prior convictions for aggravated assault and driving while intoxicated. She said her son burned himself by playing with the hot-water faucet.

Mr. Klein allegedly admitted to police that he sprayed Matthew with hot water.

But jurors may not hear about the statement. Defense attorneys on Monday will ask Judge Richard Niehaus to suppress Mr. Klein's comments.

They say their client was coerced into making the comment. They also say the statement was obtained illegally, since police kept questioning Mr. Klein after he demanded an attorney.

Attorney H. Louis Sirkin would not discuss the type of defense he plans to mount, saying only, ''I'm hoping that I get an acquittal.''

Matthew Richmond stories

Feb. 25, 1997
BILL SEEKS DEATH FOR CHILD KILLERS Jan. 24, 1997
BOYFRIEND FACES MURDER CHARGE Jan. 15, 1997
BOY SCALDED IN TUB DIES Jan. 14, 1997
PULFER COLUMN: The short, valuable life of one child Jan. 14, 1997
PULFER COLUMN: Scalded boy belongs to all of us Jan. 14, 1997

Alfieri stories

WOMAN PLEADS NOT GUILTY IN CRASH THAT CLAIMED FETUS Jan. 4, 1997
DRIVER INDICTED Jan. 3, 1997