Opinion ID: 2022193
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Sufficiency of the Evidence Confinement

Text: Saylor next asserts that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction for confinement, a Class B felony. [5] Saylor again argues that the evidence of confinement is wholly circumstantial. However, Saylor confessed to Herche that he saw the victim in the laundromat and he took his knife and forced her to get into the van. A defendant's confession of a crime is direct, not circumstantial, evidence. Stahl v. State, 616 N.E.2d 9, 11-12 (Ind.1993). Moreover, David Conrad testified that he approached the van while it was parked in the field and saw Judy and a man later identified as Saylor. He testified that he briefly spoke with Judy and asked if she needed help. She told him that she did not, but Conrad believed she appeared nervous. From this evidence, the jury could have reasonably concluded that Judy did not voluntarily accompany Saylor but that he confined her at knife point. Therefore, the evidence was sufficient to support Saylor's conviction for confinement.