Unfortunately, murder – officially defined as unlawful killing with malice aforethought of another human – is not a rare occurrence even in today’s society. While this heinous crime is usually carried out by means of guns, knives or fists, there have been many other, far stranger murder weapons. From a spatula to a guitar, here are 25 of them.

Fire extinguisher
In April 2010, former student athlete Drew Clark hit a man who was fighting his friend with a fire extinguisher in Arnos Vale, Bristol, England. Clark took the fire extinguisher and bashed the man twice on the head, breaking his skull. The man died three days later in the hospital.
Umbrella
In 2012, a 40-year-old man was walking through Hannover, Germany, when he crossed the path of a stranger carrying an umbrella. The stranger passed by and without warning turned around and stabbed the man in the back with the tip of the umbrella. Apparently, the umbrella had a built-in needle which injected mercury into his body causing him to go into a coma from which he never recovered.
Chair
There have been several cases of murder by chair but probably the most outrageous is the one that happened in London in December 2013. A gang of six teenagers attacked Donald McNicol with a chair outside a community center after an argument over a shared computer. The victim suffered a serious head injury and died two weeks later.
Sweatpants
In April 2006, 61-year-old Jimmy Hackley from Jacksonville, Florida strangled 29-year-old Patricia Ann McCollum with a pair of sweatpants. He was charged and found guilty of first-degree murder.
Pickle jar
When Daniel Kovarbasich was just 12 he was hired by 55-year-old Duane Hurley to walk his dog. Turns out Hurley was a pedophile and their relationship soon turned sexual. This went on for years until January 22, 2010 when Daniel, tired of the abuse, repeatedly bashed Duane in the head with a pickle jar. Then, to be sure Hurley was dead, he started stabbing him with a knife. Upon hearing Kovarbasich’s story of abuse, the judge sentenced him to 5 years’ probation.
Shovel
In March 2014, 42-year-old Michael Marshall used a shovel as a murder weapon in a fight with 25-year-old Demarcus Jones in Yazoo City, Mississippi. After the attack, Demarcus´ brother Jermain fired at Marshall and was charged with aggravated assault for shooting him in the chest. After being released from hospital, Marshall himself was charged with murder.
Nail gun
A gas-powered, high speed repeating nail gun became a murder weapon which claimed the life 27-year-old Chinese student Chen Liu in south Sydney, Australia in 2008. His body was found wrapped in a carpet and bound with electrical wires in a marsh with no other evidence at the scene. The 34 nails that caused Liu´s death were found during a post-mortem examination, and were located mainly in his skull.
Bowling ball
A 14-year-old boy used a bowling ball to kill his 5-year-old neighbor Sida Osman in Fort Worth, Texas. The murderer struck the little boy in the head with a 14-pound bowling ball, allegedly because the child was irritating him. Although just a teenager himself, the culprit was given 23 years behind bars.
Floor lamp
Bryant Willerson from Augusta, Georgia, got involved in an argument with William McClain in June 2012. The heated dispute escalated into a fight when Willerson allegedly grabbed a floor lamp and began beating McClain around his body and head. McClain died at the scene as a result of his injuries.
Corkscrew
A corkscrew was used as a murder weapon in Brooklyn, New York in February 2008 when 55-year-old Murat St. Hilaire was stabbed in the head. His family found him lying face up on the bedroom floor with the corkscrew still embedded.
Pen
In 2007, 21-year-old Jason Webster, a jealous undergraduate history student, murdered his lover Rebecca Love, 26, in a drunken rage by stabbing her with a pen. Love’s body was found by university staff two days later, having 93 separate injuries to her head, chest, neck and body.
Guitar
In October 2011, Danny Kirk, a pastor of a Baptist Church in Texas, was beaten to death with an electric guitar by 33-year-old Derrick Birdow. When police arrived on the scene, they had to use a taser to subdue Birdow who had become increasingly paranoid in the days prior to the murder.
Chainsaw
The Chainsaw ranks among the most brutal and grisly objects used as a murder weapon. In April 2010, in Lewisville, Texas Jose Corona used not one, but two chainsaws for cutting his wife into pieces after which he dragged her headless body into the street where the mail man found her.
Prosthetic leg
In 2011, Debra Hewitt, a homeless woman from Louisiana, killed her boyfriend Dwayne Ball using her own prosthetic leg. According to the police investigation, she stomped on him, then took off her prosthetic leg and – while balancing on the good leg – used it to beat him to death.
Katana
In 2004, Michael Desiderio hacked his friend and roommate Ricardo Richardson to death with a katana in Queens, New York. The motive for the murder was allegedly, a trivial argument over a pillow.
Death by Dong
The original Ben Hur, Ramon Novarro, choked on his own blood due to an Art Deco “installment” being shoved down his throat. Two Chicago hustlers suffocated the star with the lead member, which had been given to him 45 years earlier by Rudolph Valentino. They did it for $5,000 they heard was hidden in his home but only managed to come out with $20.
Dessert spoon
When Richard Clare from Fern Dells, England, attempted to rob disabled Timothy Magee, Magee tried to protect himself. As a result, Clare took a dessert spoon and hit him on the back of the head with such force that it ruptured an artery causing fatal bleeding.
Breasts
Donna Lange, 51, from Everett, Washington, smothered her boyfriend with her breasts after passing out on top of him. Witnesses said they heard the man pleading with her to get off of him. Lange, who was heavily (no pun intended) intoxicated, told the police she had no idea how the man had died. She was charged with second-degree murder.
Microwave
As incredible and terrifying as it sounds, in 2007, China Arnold used a microwave to kill her 28-day-old daughter Paris Talley. The baby was placed in the oven for about 2 minutes and died shortly after removal. For this outrageous crime, China Arnold was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Spatula
A standard kitchen spatula also served as a murder weapon. Angeles Cadillo-Castro from Utah used this tool to beat her 5-year-old daughter to death. When paramedics arrived on the scene they found the girl’s body with multiple lacerations. Soon police found the broken spatula pieces and the case was solved. Angeles was charged with 1st degree murder.
Xbox console
In April 2013, the body of a 20-year-old woman was found next to an Xbox 360 that was badly broken and bloodied. It was later determined that the woman’s boyfriend had used the console to beat her.
Chessboard
Allegedly, even such a thing as a chessboard can serve as a murder weapon. According to a Viking legend from 14th century, two Norsemen, Faber and Sowden, were playing chess when the game got so heated that they started throwing the pieces at each other until Faber grabbed the ancient heavy chessboard and bashed Sowden over the head with it — killing him instantly.
Shoe
Edith Maxwell , a 21-year-old school teacher was found guilty in Wise, Virginia of killing her father with a high-heeled shoe after a heated domestic dispute in July 1935. She was sentenced to 25 years in prison. I guess the devil DOES wear Prada.
Jump rope
In 2007, 5-year-old Monique Fulgham was raped, strangled with her jump rope and hanged from a closet door in her family’s Bronx apartment. Sadly, it was her grandmother that made the grisly discovery.
Toilet tank lid
2. In 2006, an argument between Marvin Hill and his mistress Christina Eubanks erupted when Hill decided to end their affair. The argument got so heated that Hill removed the toilet lid and bashed her in the head – officially ending their affair.