Written by Brian Linsky

Murder is nothing new, in fact it’s been going on for hundreds of years.

Whether it’s two complete strangers crossing paths at night, or a crime of passion between lovers, it’s impossible to pick up a newspaper these days without reading about someone being killed somewhere in the world.

You probably think you’ve seen just about every way possible for one person to take the life of another, but you may be surprised to learn some of the methods that people have used to carry out the deed.

I decided to focus on a few unusual cases of murder where the implement used in the crime is not your traditional murder weapon, and some of the circumstances involving them.

9) Guitar – In October of 2012, Police in Fort Worth, Texas received a 911 call from the church secretary after 33 year old Derrick Birdow chased down and beat a church pastor to death using an electric guitar he found inside the church.

Birdow had crashed his car into the church before the attack, and died while being subdued by police. Investigators later learned Birdow was high on PCP at the time of the incident, and family members said he suffered from mental illness.

8) Spatula – On July 27, 2010, Angeles Cadillo-Castro beat her own daughter to death using a spatula and other various kitchen items. Castro would later tell investigators she snapped before committing the brutal assault, which left the girl with injuries from her neck down to her knees.

After pleading guilty to a lesser charge of child abuse homicide, a first-degree felony, Castro was sentenced to five years to life in prison for her daughter’s tragic death.

7) Microwave –  August 30, 2005, In a real life horror story, China Arnold placed her one month old baby daughter in a microwave oven and turned it on following an argument with her boyfriend over the identity of the baby’s father.

The baby was killed after being cooked alive while spending more than two minutes inside the oven, and Arnold was later sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole.

Unfortunately, this was not the only incident involving a child being killed inside a microwave by a deranged parent.

6) Pickle jar – On January 22, 2010, a 16 year old boy named Daniel Kovarbasich was dropped off at the home of a close family friend by his father. The friend, Duane Hurley, was supposed to take Daniel to school that day.

A half hour later, Duane Hurley was dead. Daniel had bashed his head in using a pickle jar, and then stabbed him 55 times to make sure he was dead.

Daniel had been keeping a dark secret. He had been being molested by Duane for several years, and on that Friday morning Daniel finally snapped.

At Daniel’s trial the judge showed leniency and found Daniel guilty of voluntary manslaughter and aggravated assault. He was also sentenced to 5 years of probation, and was ordered to stay in jail until the courts found him a therapy based treatment facility.

5) A shoe – Lots of women have a passion for shoes, but back in 1935 a woman named Edith Maxwell had her passion turn to rage. Following an argument with her father, Edith used her shoe to beat him to death.

Edith was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the murder, but was released after only spending 6 years behind bars. One of the factors in reducing her sentence was when Eleanor Roosevelt penned a letter on Edith’s behalf.

4) Sweatpants –  In April 2006, a man named Jimmy Hackley, from Jacksonville, Florida, strangled 29-year-old Patricia Ann McCollum with a pair of his sweatpants. Hackley was charged in the case and found guilty of first-degree murder. He was 63 at the time.

3) Chainsaw –  In April of 2010, a real life version of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre played out in the streets of Lewisville, Texas.

Jose Fernando Corona used two different chainsaws to viciously slice his wife Maria into pieces, and then he dragged her headless body into the street. Maria was later discovered by the neighborhood mailman during his usual route.

When authorities arrived on the scene, one of the chainsaws was still running. A warrant was issued for Jose’s arrest, but as far as we know Jose is also still running.

2) Prosthetic Leg – In 2011, a 47 year old homeless woman from Louisiana named Debra Hewitt killed her boyfriend, Dwayne Ball, using her own prosthetic leg.

According to the police reports, Hewitt first stomped on Ball, then took off her prosthetic leg and violently beat him with it. He was also choked, stabbed, and left for dead. Ball’s body would eventually be found 6 weeks later.

Hewitt, whose nickname was “Angel”, was convicted of second-degree murder, and faces a mandatory life sentence behind bars.

1) Breasts – In January, 2013 – Police were called to a trailer park in Snohomish County, Washington for a report of fighting at a neighbor’s home.

When cops arrived on the scene, they found Donna Lange, 51, who weighed 192 pounds at the time,  passed out on top of her boyfriend, who weighed 175 lbs. His face was completely smothered by her breasts, and he was pronounced dead.

Witnesses claim they heard the boyfriend yelling at Lange to get off of him, and investigators found clumps of Lange’s hair in his hands. Donna Lange was charged with second-degree murder for the smothering death of her boyfriend.

This wasn’t the only case where breasts were used a weapon. In November 2013, German lawyer Tim Schmidt claimed his girlfriend attempted to smother him with her size 38DD breasts. She allegedly told Schmidt that she wanted his death to be as pleasurable as possible, but Schmidt survived the assault, and the woman was charged with attempted manslaughter.