does anyone know why this adaptibar question doesn't have burglary or robbery merge into the felony murder rule, and instead thinks the D can be tried for burglary, robbery, and FMR?
At 11:00 p.m., a couple was accosted in the entrance to their apartment building by the defendant, who was armed as well as masked. The defendant ordered the couple to take him into their apartment. After they entered the apartment, the defendant forced the woman to bind and gag her husband and then to open a safe which contained a diamond necklace. The defendant then tied her up and fled with the necklace. He was apprehended by apartment building security guards. Before the guards could return to the apartment, but after the defendant was arrested, the husband, straining to free himself, suffered a massive heart attack and died.
The defendant is guilty of
A. burglary, robbery, and murder.
B. robbery and murder only.
C. burglary and robbery only.
D. robbery only.
EXPLANATION:
The correct answer is A. Robbery is defined at common law as the taking, by force or threat of force, of personal property of another with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of the property. Burglary is the breaking and entering into a dwelling with the intent to commit a felony or theft therein. Felony murder is the killing of a human being in the course of a violent felony. In this case, the defendant is guilty of burglary, robbery, and murder. The defendant forced, at weapon point, the couple to allow him to enter their dwelling, which is sufficient for breaking and entering. When this breaking and entering occurred, the defendant had the intent to commit a theft of their property, and he is guilty of burglary. In addition, the defendant used force by tying and binding the couple, and the threat of force by threatening them, to take the necklace from the couple, and he had the intent to permanently deprive them of the necklace. Therefore, the defendant is guilty of robbery. Finally, the husband died as a result of the commission of those two violent felonies, so the defendant is guilty of felony murder. During the commission of the robbery and burglary, the defendant had the husband bound and gagged. That the husband would die from these actions, and the stress of attempting to escape, is foreseeable from the commission of the crime, and the defendant is guilty of murder.
Answer B is incorrect because it ignores the forced entry with the intent to commit felony theft into the apartment. Answer C is incorrect because it ignores the defendant's guilt under felony murder. Answer D is incorrect because it ignores both the burglary and the murder.
