Hathorn v. State

In Hathorn v. State, 848 S.W.2d 101, 113 (Tex. Crim. App. 1992), the appellant was charged in a single, three-paragraph indictment with the capital murder of his father. Id. The three paragraphs alleged that appellant committed: (1) murder in the course of robbery and burglary; (2) murder for remuneration or the promise of remuneration; (3) murder for hire. Id. In that case, the Court concluded that the appellant's argument that the indictment charged more than one offense misconstrued the language of 3.04(a). The Court determined that the challenged indictment charged the appellant "with committing only one offense, capital murder of his father." Id. Thus, the alternative paragraphs simply alleged different theories for the commission of that one capital murder. Id. An indictment may contain as many separate paragraphs charging the same offense as is necessary to meet the contingencies of the evidence. See Hathorn, 848 S.W.2d at 113. Where an indictment charges different theories under which a defendant may have committed a single capital murder, the provisions of 3.04(a) will not apply. Id.