Opinion ID: 1967857
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Criminal Restraint

Text: To convict the defendant of criminal restraint, the State had to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that: (1) the defendant unlawfully confined the victim; (2) the circumstances of the confinement exposed the victim to a risk of serious bodily injury; and (3) the defendant acted knowingly. See RSA 633:2, I. Unlawful confinement includes but is not limited to confinement accomplished by force, threat or deception. RSA 633:2, II. Serious bodily injury means any harm to the body which causes severe, permanent or protracted loss of or impairment to the health or of the function of any part of the body. RSA 625:11, VI (2007). To prove that the defendant acted knowingly, the State had to show that he was aware that his conduct would cause unlawful confinement. See RSA 626:2, II(b) (2007). Considering all of the evidence and the inferences to be drawn from it in the light most favorable to the State, we conclude that it was sufficient for a rational juror to find, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant was guilty of criminal restraint. The jury heard evidence that the defendant repeatedly stopped the victim from going upstairs or downstairs by holding onto her arms, standing in front of her, and physically restricting her movement. The jury also heard evidence that, before the first choking incident, the defendant dragged the victim upstairs when she was trying to go downstairs, and that before the second choking incident, he pushed her upstairs when she was trying to go downstairs. Viewing this evidence in the light most favorable to the State, a rational juror could have found that the defendant knowingly and unlawfully confined the victim. Additionally, the jury heard evidence that the defendant twice choked the victim until she lost consciousness and slammed her face into the floor four or five times, breaking her nose, breaking a tooth, and cutting her lip. This evidence was more than sufficient for a rational juror to find, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the circumstances of the confinement exposed the victim to the risk of serious bodily injury. Viewing this evidence and all inferences to be drawn from it in the light most favorable to the State, we hold that a rational juror could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the crime of criminal restraint.