I'm thinking, if they were used as, well, a blunt instrument, could you tell they were the vic's?

They come in sizes and they're adjustable, so if the crutch was set up for a person of a different height, it would be obvious. Also, aluminum crutches, which is all I've ever used, are pretty light to be a blunt instrument. Would a cane work in your scenario?

If you have the leverage on an aluminium crutch, they should work fine. If you're holding them way on the other end, and swinging firmly, they can do damage.

Signed,
Has Smacked and Been Smacked with Light Sticks.

I have suddenly been overtaken by the urge to go whack something with a crutch and see what kind of force I can develop. When I was actually using them, I was working to hard to not whack something with a crutch.

Oh, aluminum crutches can pack a wallop. Hubby's used Crutch Fu on some football players (college) who thought they could hassle the crip.

edit: It's all in the snap of the wrist as you swing the crutch around. SCA sword training helps.

Possibly. Cause I love the image...it's the Agatha Christie in me. Would that leave a skin impression?ETA: I love it when my instincts are right. But then, I wonder what sort of person I've turned into to turn my instincts to those types of questions.

re: skin impression

A lot of aluminum crutches have holes in the shafts for the adjustment bolts. So those could leave a mark.

Would that leave a skin impression?

More than a bruise? Where are you hitting? If you whack aluminium on shin or skull, for instance, you will definitely leave a mark. If you whack with the rubber tip it should still bruise, but more diffused. And perhaps with molding marks.

erika, there's also the question: was the crime premeditated?

Because you could take a hollow crutch - say, bought at a Salvation Army or somewhere, paid for with cash, hard to track down that sale - and weight it with something, if you happened to have premeditated the crime, and wanted to draw the cops straight to you right off, so that they could examine your real crutches and see that the amount of damage done to the victim is not commensurate with the person allegedly swinging or the weight of the supposed implement.

Not to mention no hair or blood or brains on the real crutches. It would be a question of safely disposing of the real weapon, though.

If it's spur of the moment, of course, ignore above.

Ericka, how about a nice walking stick of some sort, instead--possibly a shillelagh someone brought home for the victim from Ireland, or a monogrammed, handmade hardwood cane, or something?

Cindy, thing about something that idiosyncratic is that is leads straight to the perpetrator, and there goes your novel.