Kidnapping Charge Although Victim Initially ''Went Freely''

In Conahan v. State, 844 So. 2d 629, 636-37 (Fla. 2003), the victim initially went freely with the defendant after the defendant offered him money to pose for nude photographs. The defendant was convicted of premeditated murder and kidnapping after the victim was discovered dead and bound to a tree at the site of the photo shoot. The Court held that there was competent, substantial evidence to support the kidnapping charge because even though the victim initially went freely with the defendant and even might have also initially consented to being tied up, the victim's extensive ligature wounds indicated that "the victim was confined against his will at some point and apparently struggled for his life." Id. at 637.