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By Douglas Main
Senior writer
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Most murders involve the use of a sharp instrument, but until now, there had been no cases in the forensic literature of death via cane sword. These concealed weapons, also known as swordsticks, are the kind of thing you wouldn't be surprised to see in a Sherlock Holmes caper. As the name implies, they consist of a concealed sword or blade hidden inside a cane or something similar like an umbrella.
In a study published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences, researchers chronicle the first recorded murder case involving a cane sword. The details of the crime aren't completely clear, such as the location where it occurred or the names of people involved, but what we know is this: A 27-year-old man was found dead outside his ex-girlfriend's house, and for whatever reason, he had been beaten up by brothers of his girlfriend, among other attackers. (Perhaps he'd been caught returning to his ex?) When cops came to the scene, they encountered a female witness who confessed to bringing items from the crime scene inside her vehicle. One of these things was a cane sword. She denied being involved in the incident, and said she was innocent of wrongdoing, but her story would change in a major way.
Under questioning, the woman admitting to being one of the attackers and going after the victim "with a shovel, until her sister handed her the cane to use instead," recount study authors Joseph Prahlow, a pathologist and forensic scientist at Western Michigan University, and Timothy Wysozan. Definitely not innocent, then. "She also admitted to being aware that the cane [sheath] fell off at some point, which resulted in her stabbing the victim." Apparently she joined the victim's girlfriend's brothers in the attack, but went further than them.
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Later, other witnesses came forward saying that the woman in question indeed used the cane sword to stab the man in the back. While the female attacker was charged with voluntary manslaughter, she plea-bargained to involuntary manslaughter and received a sentence of four years in prison.
The paper notes that the stabbing left only a very small hole. But the long knife penetrated deeply through the back into the left lung, causing it to collapse. The man was unresponsive when the cops showed up, and he couldn't be revived. Later testing showed the victim had significant levels of amphetamine and methamphetamine in his blood, though he clearly died from the stab wound, the resulting collapsed lung and heavy internal and external bleeding.
Cane swords are legal in many places, except of course in cities and municipalities that have rules against concealed weapons. Specific laws make them illegal to possess in California and forbid people from carrying them in Arkansas.
While stabbings are the most common murder method, most of these killers are "males under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol." In this case, so was the victim.
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