State v. Moore

In State v. Moore, 315 N.C. 738, 340 S.E.2d 401 (1986), defendant was charged with the first-degree kidnapping of his estranged wife under N.C. Gen. Stat. 14-39. Moore, 315 N.C. at 739, 742, 340 S.E.2d at 402, 404. The indictment in Moore included three of eight statutory "purposes" that make kidnapping a first-degree offense. Id. at 743, 340 S.E.2d at 404-05. The Supreme Court noted that "the indictment in a kidnapping case must allege the purpose or purposes upon which the State intends to rely, and the State is restricted at trial to proving the purposes alleged in the indictment." Id. at 743, 340 S.E.2d at 404. The Supreme Court did not, however, require the State to prove every ground or purpose set out in the indictment, instead stating that "although the indictment may allege more than one purpose for the kidnapping, the State has to prove only one of the alleged purposes in order to sustain a conviction of kidnapping." Id. The jury in Moore was not required to indicate which of the three purposes it found to be present, but the case was remanded for a new trial, because one of the purposes was not supported by the evidence and should not have been submitted to the jury at all. Id. at 749, 340 S.E.2d at 408.