United States v. Saba

Rami Saba (defendant) was convicted of kidnapping Donald Dietz, who was never located and was presumed dead; the trial evidence showed Saba likely failed to release Dietz within the statutory window, impersonated him afterward, and appeared to implicitly admit the crime to fellow inmates during an emotional breakdown. At sentencing, the government argued Saba should be sentenced under the felony-murder guideline because a preponderance of the evidence showed he killed Dietz, but the sentencing judge found no factual link between the presumed death and any act by Saba furthering the kidnapping, and rejected that argument; the government appealed.