This also raises the interesting question of what a claw hammer was doing with someone's climbing gear.
A 31-year-old man has been charged with manslaughter after authorities said he killed his friend with a claw hammer during a dispute while climbing in the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historic Park.
According to the court documents, DiPaolo told police that Farrar tried to choke him at the base of the cliff, and that the two fell to the ground and rolled over. Fearing he was about to lose consciousness, DiPaolo told police that he hit the victim in the head with the claw hammer, according to the criminal complaint.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/climber-charged-with-killing-friend-with-claw-hammer-in-national-park-in-bethesda/2014/01/14/33cbc3f8-7d32-11e3-95c6-0a7aa80874bc_story.html