![KurtCobainHouse](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/KurtCobainHouse.jpg)
On April 8, 1994,
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American musician who served as the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Nirvana. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona ...
, the lead singer and guitarist of the American rock band
Nirvana
( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
, was found dead at his home in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
. Forensics investigators later determined he had died three days earlier, on April 5. The
Seattle Police Department
The Seattle Police Department (SPD) is the principal law enforcement agency of the city of Seattle, Washington, United States, except for the campus of the University of Washington, which is under the responsibility of its own police department ...
incident report stated that Cobain was found with a
shotgun
A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small p ...
across his body, had suffered a visible
gunshot wound
A gunshot wound (GSW) is a penetrating injury caused by a projectile (e.g. a bullet) from a gun (typically firearm or air gun). Damages may include bleeding, bone fractures, organ damage, wound infection, loss of the ability to move part of th ...
to the head, and that a
suicide note
A suicide note or death note is a message left behind by a person who dies or intends to die by suicide.
A study examining Japanese suicide notes estimated that 25–30% of suicides are accompanied by a note. However, incidence rates may depe ...
had been discovered nearby. The Seattle Police ruled Cobain's death as a
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
.
Following his death,
conspiracy theories
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources:
*
*
*
* The term has a nega ...
that Cobain was murdered were spread.
Background
Kurt Cobain was the lead singer and guitarist of the American grunge rock band
Nirvana
( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
, one of the most influential acts of the 1990s and one of the
best-selling bands of all time.
["Nirvana catalogue to be released on vinyl"](_blank)
CBC.ca. March 21, 2009. Retrieved March 7, 2012. Throughout most of his life, Cobain suffered from chronic
bronchitis
Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...
and intense pain due to an undiagnosed chronic stomach condition.
He was also prone to
alcoholism
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...
, suffered from
depression, and regularly used drugs and inhalants.
Cobain had two uncles who killed themselves using guns.
On March 3, 1994, Cobain was hospitalized in Rome following an overdose of painkillers. His management agency,
Gold Mountain Records
Gold Mountain Records was a record label based in New York. It was distributed by A&M Records between 1983 and 1985. After 1985, the distributor was MCA Records.
In 1985, the president of the label was Danny Goldberg. Goldberg founded an anti-cen ...
, said that the overdose was accidental, and that he was suffering from
influenza
Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...
and
fatigue
Fatigue describes a state of tiredness that does not resolve with rest or sleep. In general usage, fatigue is synonymous with extreme tiredness or exhaustion that normally follows prolonged physical or mental activity. When it does not resolve ...
. However, Cobain's wife,
Courtney Love
Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison; born July 9, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress. A figure in the alternative and grunge scenes of the 1990s, her career has spanned four decades. She rose to prominence as t ...
, later said the overdose had been a
suicide attempt
A suicide attempt is an attempt to die by suicide that results in survival. It may be referred to as a "failed" or "unsuccessful" suicide attempt, though these terms are discouraged by mental health professionals for implying that a suicide res ...
: "He took 50 pills. He probably forgot how many he took. But there was a definite suicidal urge, to be gobbling and gobbling and gobbling." Cobain's cousin Beverly, a nurse, said that the family had a history of suicide, and that Cobain had been diagnosed with
attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inap ...
and
bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...
.
Cobain said that his stomach pain had been so severe during Nirvana's 1991 European tour that he became suicidal, and that taking
heroin
Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...
was "the only thing that's saving me from shooting myself right now". In
Charles Cross's biography ''
Heavier Than Heaven
''Heavier Than Heaven'' is a 2001 biography of musician Kurt Cobain, the frontman of the grunge band Nirvana. It was written by Charles R. Cross.
For the book, Cross desired to create the definitive Cobain biography, and over four years condu ...
,'' Nirvana bassist
Krist Novoselic
Krist Anthony Novoselic (; ; born May 16, 1965) is an American musician and activist. He was the bassist and co-founder of the rock band Nirvana.
Novoselic and Kurt Cobain formed the band Nirvana in 1987 along with drummer Aaron Burckhard, wh ...
is quoted on seeing Cobain in the days before his
intervention: "He was really quiet. He was just estranged from all of his relationships. He wasn't connecting with anybody."
Novoselic's offer to buy dinner for Cobain resulted in unintentionally driving him to score heroin: "His dealer was right there. He wanted to get fucked up into oblivion ... He wanted to die, that's what he wanted to do."
Death
On March 31, 1994, Cobain left the rehabilitation center he had checked into the day before, Exodus Recovery Center, by scaling a six-foot wall. On April 2, Cobain took a taxi to a Seattle gun shop, where he purchased and received a receipt for
shotgun shells
A shotgun shell, shotshell or simply shell is a type of rimmed, cylindrical (straight-walled) cartridges used specifically in shotguns, and is typically loaded with numerous small, pellet-like spherical sub-projectiles called shot, fired throu ...
. Cobain told the taxi driver he wanted to buy shells because he had been
burglarized.
On April 8, Cobain's body was discovered in the greenhouse above the garage at his
Lake Washington Boulevard East
Lake Washington Boulevard is a scenic, approximately , road through Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, that hugs Lake Washington for much of the route. There are views of the lake, small sections of rainforest, meadows, and views of the Cas ...
house by VECA Electric employee Gary T. Smith, who arrived that morning to install security lighting. Smith thought Cobain was asleep until he saw blood coming out of his ear. He also found a
suicide note
A suicide note or death note is a message left behind by a person who dies or intends to die by suicide.
A study examining Japanese suicide notes estimated that 25–30% of suicides are accompanied by a note. However, incidence rates may depe ...
with a pen stuck through it inside a flower pot. A
Remington Model 11 20-gauge shotgun
The 20-gauge shotgun, also known as "20-bore", is a type of smooth-bore shotgun that fires a shell that is smaller in caliber () than a 12-gauge shotgun (). It is often used by beginning shooters for target practice and for hunting small game.
...
purchased for Cobain by his friend, musician
Dylan Carlson, was found on Cobain's chest. It had been legally purchased by Carlson at Stan Baker's Gun Shop in Seattle.
Although conductor
David Woodard
David Woodard (, ; born April 6, 1964) is an American conductor and writer. During the 1990s he coined the term ''prequiem'', a portmanteau of preemptive and requiem, to describe his Buddhist practice of composing dedicated music to be rendered d ...
had built a
Dreamachine
The Dreamachine (a contraction of Dream Machine) is a stroboscopic flickering light art device that produces eidetic visual stimuli. Artist Brion Gysin and William S. Burroughs' "systems adviser" Ian Sommerville created the Dreamachine after r ...
for Cobain, rumors that Cobain had been using the device heavily in the days leading up to his suicide were contradicted by later reports.
Cobain did not want the gun purchased in his name because he thought the police might seize it for his own protection. The police had taken away his guns twice in the previous ten months.
The
King County Medical Examiner
The medical examiner is an appointed official in some American jurisdictions who is trained in pathology that investigates deaths that occur under unusual or suspicious circumstances, to perform post-mortem examinations, and in some jurisdictio ...
noted puncture wounds on the inside of both the right and left elbows. The shotgun was not checked for
fingerprint
A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surfac ...
s until May 6, 1994. According to the Fingerprint Analysis Report, four latent prints were lifted, but they were not usable. The Seattle police report states that the shotgun was inverted on Cobain's chest with his left hand wrapped around the barrel.
On April 14, the ''
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States.
The newspaper was foun ...
'' reported that Cobain was "high on heroin when he pulled the trigger". The paper reported that the
toxicological
Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating expo ...
tests determined that the level of
morphine
Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a analgesic, pain medication, and is also commonly used recreational drug, recreationally, or to make ...
in Cobain's bloodstream was 1.52 milligrams per liter and that there was evidence of
Valium
Diazepam, first marketed as Valium, is a medicine of the benzodiazepine family that acts as an anxiolytic. It is commonly used to treat a range of conditions, including anxiety, seizures, alcohol withdrawal syndrome, muscle spasms, insomnia, a ...
in his blood. The report contained a quote from Randall Baselt of the Chemical Toxicological Institute, stating that Cobain's heroin level was at "a high concentration, by any account". He also stated that the strength of that dose would depend on many factors, including how habituated Cobain was to the drug.
In March 2014, the
Seattle Police Department
The Seattle Police Department (SPD) is the principal law enforcement agency of the city of Seattle, Washington, United States, except for the campus of the University of Washington, which is under the responsibility of its own police department ...
(SPD) developed four rolls of film that had been left in an evidence vault. According to Seattle police, the photographs depict the scene of Cobain's corpse more clearly than previous
Polaroid
Polaroid may refer to:
* Polaroid Corporation, an American company known for its instant film and cameras
* Polaroid camera, a brand of instant camera formerly produced by Polaroid Corporation
* Polaroid film, instant film, and photographs
* Polar ...
images taken by the police. Detective Mike Ciesynski, a
cold case
A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or re ...
investigator, was asked to look at the film because "it is 20 years later and it's a high media case".
Ciesynski stated that the official cause of Cobain's death remained suicide and that the images would not be released to the public;
however the images were released in 2016.
According to a police spokesperson, the SPD receives at least one request weekly, mostly through
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
, to reopen the investigation. This resulted in the maintenance of the basic incident report on file.
Memorial and cremation
On April 10, 1994, a public
memorial service
A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...
was held at
Seattle Center
Seattle Center is an arts, educational, tourism and entertainment center in Seattle, Washington, United States. Spanning an area of 74 acres (30 ha), it was originally built for the 1962 World's Fair. Its landmark feature is the tall Space Needl ...
, where a recording of
Courtney Love
Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison; born July 9, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress. A figure in the alternative and grunge scenes of the 1990s, her career has spanned four decades. She rose to prominence as t ...
reading Cobain's suicide note was played. Near the end of the
vigil
A vigil, from the Latin ''vigilia'' meaning ''wakefulness'' (Greek: ''pannychis'', or ''agrypnia'' ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word ''vigilia'' has become genera ...
, Love arrived, and distributed some of his clothing to fans who remained. In the following days, Love consoled and mourned with fans who came to her house.
Cobain's body was
cremated
Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning.
Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...
. Love divided his ashes; she kept some in a
teddy bear
A teddy bear is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtom in the U.S. and Richard Steiff under his aunt Margarete Steiff's company in Germany in the early 20th century, the teddy bear, ...
and some in an
urn
An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape or ...
.
She took another portion of his ashes to the
Namgyal Buddhist Monastery in
Ithaca
Ithaca most commonly refers to:
*Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey''
*Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca
*Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College
Ithaca, Ithaka ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
. There, some of his remains were ceremonially blessed by
Buddhist monks
A ''bhikkhu'' (Pali: भिक्खु, Sanskrit: भिक्षु, ''bhikṣu'') is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male and female monastics ("nun", ''bhikkhunī'', Sanskrit ''bhikṣuṇī'') are members of the Sangha (Buddhist c ...
and mixed into clay, which were used to make memorial sculptures.
A final ceremony was arranged for Cobain by his mother on May 31, 1999, that was attended by both Love and
Tracy Marander. A Buddhist monk chanted while Cobain's daughter,
Frances Bean Cobain
Frances Bean Cobain (born August 18, 1992) is an American visual artist and model. She is the only child of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain and Hole frontwoman Courtney Love. She controls the publicity rights to her father's name and image.
Earl ...
, scattered his ashes into
McLane Creek in
Olympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region.
European ...
, the city where he "had found his true artistic muse".
Reactions from Cobain's friends
Several of Cobain's friends were surprised by his suicide.
Mark Lanegan, a long-time friend of Cobain, told ''Rolling Stone'': "I never knew Cobain to be suicidal. I just knew he was going through a tough time."
[ In the same article, Carlson stated that he wished Cobain or someone close to him had told him that the Rome incident was a suicide attempt. Danny Goldberg, founder of Gold Mountain Records, refers in his book ''Dispatches From the Culture Wars: How the Left Lost Teen Spirit'' to "the crazy Internet rumors that Kurt Cobain had not committed suicide but had been murdered," stating that Cobain's suicide "haunts him every day".
]Anthony Kiedis
Anthony Kiedis ( ; born November 1, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter. He is a founding member and lead vocalist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Kiedis and his fellow band members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fa ...
, lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...
, expressed his feelings in his autobiography, ''Scar Tissue
Scar tissue may refer to:
Medicine
* Scar, an area of fibrous tissue that replaces normal skin after injury
* Granulation tissue, a product of healing in major wounds
Film and television
* ''Scar Tissue'' (1975 film), or ''Wanted: Babysitter'' ...
'', writing: The news f Cobain's death
F, or f, is the sixth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet#Let ...
sucked the air out of the entire house, I didn't feel like I felt when Hillel died; it was more like "The world just suffered a great loss." Kurt's death was unexpected ... It was an emotional blow, and we all felt it. I don't know why everyone on earth felt so close to that guy; he was beloved and endearing and inoffensive in some weird way. For all of his screaming and all of his darkness, he was just lovable.
The song "Tearjerker
Tearjerker is something that provokes sadness or pathos, as the name suggests.
Tearjerker may refer to:
* "Tearjerker" (''American Dad!''), a 2008 episode of ''American Dad!''
* "Tearjerker" (song), a 1995 song by Red Hot Chili Peppers
* "Tearje ...
" from the band's ''One Hot Minute
''One Hot Minute'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on September 12, 1995 by Warner Bros. Records. The worldwide success of the band's previous album ''Blood Sugar Sex Magik'' (1991) caused guitar ...
'' album was written about Cobain.
A musical hero of Cobain's, Greg Sage
Greg Sage (born October 21, 1951) is an American songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist, regarded as an important influence on many punk rock and post-punk artists. Sage is best known as the principal songwriter and vocalist/guitarist of the infl ...
, said in an interview: Well, I can't really speculate other than what he said to me, which was, he wasn't at all happy about it, success to him seemed like, I think, a brick wall. There was nowhere else to go but down, it was too artificial for him, and he wasn't an artificial person at all. He was actually, two weeks after he died, he was supposed to come here and he wanted to record a bunch of Leadbelly covers. It was kind of in secret, because, I mean, people would definitely not allow him to do that. You also have to wonder, he was a billion-dollar industry at the time, and if the industry had any idea at all of him wishing or wanting to get out, they couldn't have allowed that, you know, in life, because if he was just to get out of the scene, he'd be totally forgotten, but if he was to die, he'd be immortalized.
Conspiracy theories
Richard Lee
The first to object publicly to the report of suicide was Seattle public access host Richard Lee. A week following Cobain's death, Lee aired the first episode of an ongoing series called ''Kurt Cobain Was Murdered'', saying there were several discrepancies in the police reports, including several changes in the nature of the shotgun blast. Lee acquired a video that was taped on April 8 from the tree outside Cobain's garage, showing the scene around Cobain's body, which he claimed showed a marked absence of blood for what was reported as a point-blank shotgun blast to the head. Several pathology
Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...
experts have stated that a shotgun blast inside the mouth often results in less blood, unlike a shotgun blast to the head.
Tom Grant
Tom Grant, a private investigator
A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...
hired by Love to find Cobain after his departure from drug rehabilitation, said he believes that Cobain was murdered
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...
. Grant's theory has been analyzed and questioned by several books, television shows, and films, including the 2015 docudrama
Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event".
Docudramas typic ...
''Soaked in Bleach
''Soaked in Bleach'' is a 2015 American docudrama directed by Benjamin Statler, who co-wrote and produced it with Richard Middelton and Donnie Eichar. The film details the events leading up to Death of Kurt Cobain, the death of Kurt Cobain, as se ...
''. Grant was still under Love's employment when Cobain's body was found. Grant has stated that he finds the events surrounding Cobain's death to be "filled with lies, contradictions in logic, and countless inconsistencies. Motivated by profit over truth as well as a web of business deals and personal career considerations, Courtney Love, her lawyers, and many of Courtney's industry supporters have engaged in an effort to keep the public from learning the real facts of this case."
There are several components to Grant's theory, including the assertion that Cobain could not have injected himself with such a large dose of heroin and still have been able to pull the trigger, the belief that Cobain's note was doctored to make it only appear to be a suicide note, and a purported lack of fingerprints from Cobain or others at the scene. He also asserts that Love had financial motivation to kill Cobain, both in the form of rumors that Cobain was planning to divorce her, and the fact that Cobain had turned down an offer to headline the 1994 Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...
festival for nearly $10 million.
In studying the Rome incident, journalists Ian Halperin
Ian Halperin (born August 17, 1964)Michael M. MillerThe Halperin & Fish Family Descendants ver. 0014, May 1st, 2009at posluns.com (archive version), access date 5 August 2015 is a Canadian investigative journalist, writer and documentary filmmake ...
and Max Wallace
Max Wallace is a New York Times-bestselling author and historian specializing in the Holocaust, human rights in sport, and popular culture. He is also an award-winning filmmaker, and long-time disability advocate.
Literary works
In the Name of ...
contacted Dr. Osvaldo Galletta, who treated Cobain after the incident. Galletta contested the claim that the Rome overdose was a suicide attempt. "We can usually tell a suicide attempt. This didn't look like one to me," said Galletta, who also contradicted Love's claim that 50 Rohypnol
Flunitrazepam, also known as Rohypnol among other names, is a benzodiazepine used to treat severe insomnia and assist with anesthesia. As with other hypnotics, flunitrazepam has been advised to be prescribed only for short-term use or by those ...
pills were removed from Cobain's stomach. Halperin and Wallace mused, "Grant believes Courtney may have mixed a large number of pills into Kurt's champagne so that when he took a drink, he was actually unknowingly ingesting large amounts of the drug, enough to kill him. But if that's the case, why did she call the police when she found him unconscious on the floor? If she wanted Kurt dead, why didn't she just leave him on the floor until he died?"
Grant believes the claim that the Rome incident was a suicide attempt was not made until after Cobain's death. Prior to the shooting, some close to Cobain, notably Gold Mountain Records, firmly denied he had wanted to die. Grant believes that if that were true, Cobain's friends and family would have been told in order that they could keep a close watch on him. However, others assert that these denials were simply self-serving, in an effort to mask what was really going on behind the scenes. Lee Ranaldo
Lee Mark Ranaldo (born February 3, 1956) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, guitarist, writer, visual artist and record producer, best known as a co-founder of the alternative rock band Sonic Youth (guitar and vocals). In 2004, ''Rolling ...
, guitarist for Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...
, told ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'', "Rome was only the latest installment of hose around Cobainkeeping a semblance of normalcy for the outside world."[Strauss, Neil. "The Downward Spiral". ''Cobain: By the Editors of Rolling Stone''. 1994.]
Grant counters the claim that he profits from the sale of casebook kits on his website by stating that it offsets some of the costs of his investigation. Grant stated: "I wrestled with that ... but if I go broke, I'll have to give up my pursuit and Courtney wins." Sergeant Donald Cameron, one of the homicide detectives involved in the case, dismissed Grant's theory outright, saying, "rant
A diatribe (from the Greek ''διατριβή''), also known less formally as rant, is a lengthy oration, though often reduced to writing, made in criticism of someone or something, often employing humor, sarcasm, and appeals to emotion.
His ...
hasn't shown us a shred of proof that this was anything other than suicide," while Seattle homicide detective Mike Ciesynski, who reviewed the case, was quoted as saying of Grant, "An experienced Det. would never have come up with the theories that he's come up with." Grant in turn has accused Cameron of being a personal friend of Courtney Love. Dylan Carlson told Halperin and Wallace that he also did not believe that Grant's theory was valid, and in an interview with Broomfield implied that if he believed that his friend was murdered, he would have dealt with it himself.
Nick Broomfield
Filmmaker Nick Broomfield
Nicholas Broomfield (born 1948) is an English documentary film director. His self-reflective style has been regarded as influential to many later filmmakers. In the early 21st century, he began to use non-actors in scripted works, which he cal ...
, deciding to investigate the theories himself, brought a film crew to visit a number of people associated with both Cobain and Love, including Love's estranged father, Cobain's aunt, and one of the couples' former nannies. Broomfield also spoke to the Mentors
The Mentors are an American heavy metal band, known for their deliberate shock rock lyrics. Originally formed in Seattle, Washington in May 1976, they relocated to Los Angeles, California in 1979.
The band garnered attention both from noted h ...
' bandleader Eldon "El Duce" Hoke, who claimed that Love had offered him $50,000 to kill Cobain. Although Hoke claimed that he knew who killed Cobain, he did not mention a name and offered no evidence to support his assertion. However, he mentioned speaking to someone called "Allen" or "Alain", before quickly interjecting, "I mean, my friend", then laughing, "I'll let the FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
catch him." According to Mentors' bass player Steve Broy
Steve Broy (also known by the stage names Dr. Heathen Scum and Pope Heathen Scum) is an American musician, best known as a founding member and current bassist of the Heavy metal music, heavy metal band the Mentors (band), Mentors. Broy has also ...
, the whole story was concocted to sell supermarket tabloids. Broomfield incidentally captured Hoke's final interview, as he died days later when he was struck by a train in the middle of the night.
Broomfield titled the finished documentary ''Kurt & Courtney
''Kurt & Courtney'' is a 1998 British documentary film by Nick Broomfield investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of Kurt Cobain, and allegations of Courtney Love's involvement in it.
Synopsis
The documentary begins as an investi ...
'', which was released on February 27, 1998. In the end, Broomfield felt he hadn't uncovered enough evidence to conclude the existence of a conspiracy. In a 1998 interview, he summed up his thoughts: "I think that he committed suicide. I don't think that there's a smoking gun
The term "smoking gun" is a reference to an object or fact that serves as conclusive evidence of a crime or similar act, just short of being caught ''in flagrante delicto''. "Smoking gun" refers to the strongest kind of circumstantial evidence ...
. And I think there's only one way you can explain a lot of things around his death. Not that he was murdered, but that there was just a lack of caring for him. I just think that Courtney had moved on, and he was expendable."
Ian Halperin and Max Wallace
Journalists Ian Halperin and Max Wallace followed a similar path and attempted to investigate the murder theory themselves. Based on evidence gathered in interviews, Halperin and Wallace believed that Cobain wanted to divorce Love near the time of his death, and that she was looking for "a vicious divorce lawyer" to help crush a prenuptial agreement
A prenuptial agreement, antenuptial agreement, or premarital agreement (commonly referred to as a prenup), is a written contract entered into by a couple prior to marriage or a civil union that enables them to select and control many of the leg ...
she'd reportedly signed that would keep their respective fortunes separate in the event of divorce. They also made the case that because Nikolas Hartshorne (the coroner in Cobain's case) was an admitted friend of Love's, that this was a conflict of interest
A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...
. Their initial book, ''Who Killed Kurt Cobain?
''Who Killed Kurt Cobain?: The Mysterious Death of an Icon'' is a 1998 book that explores the premise that the death of Kurt Cobain, frontman of American rock band Nirvana, was a case of murder and not suicide. It is a collaborative investigative ...
'', was released in 1999, and drew a similar conclusion to Broomfield's film: while there wasn't enough evidence to conclusively prove foul play, there was more than enough to demand that the case be reopened. A notable element of the book included their discussions with Grant, who had taped nearly every conversation he had undertaken while he was working for Love. Over the next several years, Halperin and Wallace collaborated with Grant to write a second book, 2004's '' Love and Death: The Murder of Kurt Cobain''.
Friends and family
The overall consensus amongst his close friends and family is that Cobain committed suicide. However some of Cobain's friends and family members also believe Cobain was murdered. Hank Harrison, Courtney Love's father, has shared his belief that Love had a motive, there is evidence of foul play, and the case should be re-opened. Cobain's grandfather, Leland Cobain, also publicly stated that he believed Cobain was murdered.
In August 2005, Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon
Kim Althea Gordon (born April 28, 1953) is an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the bassist, guitarist, and vocalist of alternative rock band Sonic Youth. Born in Rochester, New York, she was raised in Los Angeles, Califor ...
was asked about Cobain's death in an interview for ''Uncut'' Magazine. When asked what she thought to be Cobain's motive for suicide, Gordon replied: "I don't even know that he killed himself. There are people close to him who don't think that he did ..."[Dalton, Stephen.]
Suicide Blond
" Uncut Magazine August 2005. ''Beautifully Scarred''. Accessed on August 24, 2005. When asked if she thought someone else had killed him, Gordon answered, "I do, yes." In the same interview, Gordon's then-husband and collaborator Thurston Moore
Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958) is an American musician best known as a member of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label. Moo ...
stated: Kurt died in a very harsh way. It wasn't just an OD. He actually killed himself violently. It was so aggressive, and he wasn't an aggressive person, he was a smart person, he had an interesting intellect. So it kind of made sense because it was like: wow, what a fucking gesture. But at the same time it was like: something's wrong with that gesture. It doesn't really lie with what we know.
However, in 2015, in a piece she wrote for ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', Gordon said that she had not been surprised to hear of Cobain's suicide, stating, "I’ll always remember the day Thurston called to tell me Kurt had shot himself. Of course I was totally shocked, but I wasn’t entirely surprised. There had been an incident in Rome, where Kurt had OD’d, but the details were never clear."
Others, however, have dismissed or ignored the conspiracy theories surrounding Cobain's death. In an interview with ''The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', former Nirvana manager and friend of Cobain, Danny Goldberg, emphasized Cobain's erratic and depressed behavior in the days and weeks leading up to his death, stating, It’s ridiculous. He killed himself. I saw him the week beforehand, he was depressed. He tried to kill himself six weeks earlier, he’d talked and written about suicide a lot, he was on drugs, he got a gun. Why do people speculate about it? The tragedy of the loss is so great people look for other explanations. I don’t think there’s any truth at all to it.
Krist Novoselic shared his thoughts in a Reddit AMA: "I can't believe people think that I would confess to them being part of a criminal conspiracy, especially on line. Also, I beg anyone who thinks they have any real evidence of foul play to go to the police. Finally, one of the reasons I am convinced Kurt killed himself is that he purchased a .20 shotgun. Kurt was not interested in hunting birds or squirrels, he bought that firearm as a suicide device. Suicide is not rational."
In the April 19, 2004 issue of ''People'' magazine, some of his family shared a statement about his death:
“Our Family has dreaded the 10th anniversary of the death of our son, stepson and brother Kurt Cobain. Not only do we mourn his passing but we can never forget him, because even after 10 years we’re constantly reminded by the controversy surrounding his death and the innuendos that he was murdered. With the death of a loved one by suicide, a family experiences the guilt and what-ifs. With the death of an icon it never goes away.
We all know that Kurt killed himself. Courtney did not kill him nor did she have him killed. We hope that all the quacks who try to make money by questioning his death will remember the music and remember that he did have a family that loved him and a beautiful little girl who doesn’t deserve to forever be reminded of the garbage surrounding his death.
Don and Jenny Cobain and Family
Bellingham, Wash.”
References
Further reading
* Maxim Furek (2008). ''The Death Proclamation of Generation X: A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of Goth, Grunge and Heroin'', "Kurt Donald Cobain", pp. 20–38. i-Universe.
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