California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Hillhouse, 117 Cal.Rptr.2d 45, 27 Cal.4th 469, 40 P.3d 754 (Cal. 2002):
There can be no doubt that, like rape (People v. Kelly, supra, 1 Cal.4th at p. 524, 3 Cal.Rptr.2d 677, 822 P.2d 385), kidnapping in general, and kidnapping for robbery in particular, requires a live victim. The Attorney General does not argue otherwise. If one kills, then moves the body, the crimes committed do not include kidnapping. The statutory references to a "person" ( 207, subd. (a)) or an "individual" ( 209, subd. (b)), as the kidnapping victim, clearly contemplate someone alive. Indeed, no further harm can befall someone already dead; asportation of a corpse cannot increase the risk of harm.
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