When one thing unhealthy occurs, our pure response is to ask why. It’s additionally pure to search for one thing or somebody in charge for this misfortune. And this will usually lead us into the world of conspiracies.
I used to be on the air on Friday, April 8, 1994. Within the pre-internet, pre-social media period, radio was how everybody saved up with information in actual time. The afternoon went like this.
alancross · Kurt Cobain’s Demise: Minute-by-minute bulletins from April 8, 1994
For the primary few weeks, there was no query Kurt had died by suicide. However little by little, doubts started to creep in. Ultimately, there was a full-blown Kurt-was-murdered narrative that prolonged to speak exhibits, books, and documentaries. There are nonetheless those that consider that Kurt couldn’t have taken his personal life and can level to an countless record of inconsistencies within the official story together with “proof” that exhibits nefarious actions by shady folks.
Cease it. Simply … cease.
Having adopted this story from the very starting — and having spoken to folks closest to Kurt many instances over time — I’m satisfied that he did the truth is kill himself. Let’s deconstruct the conspiracy theorists’ proof. Sure, there are some free ends, however life isn’t like a 44-minute episode of CSI. On the entire, although, the rational conclusion is inescapable.
1. Kurt was killed as a result of he was threatening to interrupt up Nirvana
THEORY: Tom Grant, a detective employed by Courtney Love to search out Kurt when he bolted from rehab — and a serious proponent of a homicide angle — claims that Kurt was prepared to interrupt up Nirvana and be part of Courtney in Gap. This can be a quote from an interview Kurt gave to a French TV journalist in August 1993:
“It’s a pleasant thought (collaborations with Courtney). I’d prefer to, however to let you know the reality, I might fairly simply stop my band and be part of Gap, you already know, solely as a result of when I’ve performed music with them, there’s a degree of connection that’s slightly bit greater than with anybody else I ever performed with. It’s wonderful,” he stated.
“It’s completely satisfying for Courtney and me, however utterly unrealistic as a result of we’re already so intertwined with one another,” he continued.
“Most individuals don’t consider the band Nirvana, they consider Kurt and Courtney, and it will get in the way in which. Folks would simply overlook the music and look into different issues. It’s such a tragic state of affairs. I want we may simply be part of bands … (however) it wouldn’t be thought of an actual band.”
REALITY: The insinuation is that as a result of Kurt was going to kill off Nirvana, then he wanted to be killed off, too. That is plain foolish. Calling an finish to Nirvana may annoy his bandmates, his administration, and his report label, however bands break up on a regular basis. Nirvana had been in a precarious state of affairs for years, so the thought of every part exploding at any second was a lifestyle for everybody.
The concept of an artist desirous to make music with their vital different isn’t uncommon, both. Hey, John and Yoko. Hey, Paul and Linda.
Breaking apart the band so he may work with Courtney? I may see it. However as a motive for murdering one of the vital well-known rock stars on this planet on the time? Hardly.
2. The divorce menace
THEORY: It’s no secret that Kurt and Courtney had a tumultuous relationship. There have been home disputes requiring police visits, their drug use, and anecdotes in regards to the couple from individuals who knew them. Courtney was reportedly offended that Kurt had refused an invite for Nirvana to headline the 1994 Lollapalooza Pageant.
There’s some veracity to all this. In January 1994, Kurt advised Rolling Stone that he and Courtney have been considering a cut up with each contacting legal professionals about drawing up the mandatory paperwork. There was additionally discuss of adjusting wills and pre-nups. And was Kurt having an affair with an unnamed lady?
REALITY: Look, each Kurt and Courtney had huge personalities. Put them in a relationship collectively, add in a number of cash and loads of medication, and you’ve got a recipe for drama and catastrophe. Issues might be stated within the warmth of the second. And sure, typically issues escalate to disagreeable ranges. However turning to homicide? And on the time when Kurt is considering to interrupt up Nirvana and be part of Courtney in Gap?
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And let’s not overlook {that a} month earlier than his demise — and hours earlier than his suicide try in a Rome resort room — Kurt had gone out and acquired Courtney every kind of high-priced presents. (He additionally stole some candlesticks from The Vatican for her). And about that suicide try: If Courtney actually wished Kurt useless, why didn’t she simply let him die when he took all these capsules in Rome?
3. The unknown enemies
THEORY: Within the months main as much as his demise, Kurt gave the impression to be very afraid of somebody or one thing. It may need been the medication inflicting paranoia, however the concern was actual. Kurt had a stockpile of weapons and ammo in the home. A brand new safety system was being put in on the home on the time of his demise.
Theorists consider that somebody wished retribution for Kurt turning down Lollapalooza. And why have been three shells loaded into the Remington shotgun that Kurt used? Did Kurt load the gun or did another person?
REALITY: Kurt did hold round with some shady drug folks, all of whom knew he was a heavy consumer with some huge cash. Everybody in Seattle knew the place he lived, too. Having weapons for cover? Not a shock.
The presence of additional shells within the gun has been offered as proof that one thing was fishy. I’d theorize that as a result of Kurt was extraordinarily excessive on the finish, he wasn’t precisely in the perfect mind-set. Possibly the gun had been loaded a lot earlier. Something on the contrary is pure hypothesis.
4. The bank card
THEORY: Kurt used a MasterCard to guide his remaining airplane journey residence from Los Angeles to Seattle. Across the similar time, Courtney, who knew Kurt had gone lacking, had his card cancelled. But somebody saved making an attempt to make use of the cardboard to get money advances. There was an try and get $5,000 on April 4 over the cellphone with a name to MasterCard. There was one other request for $2,500 after Kurt died. And there was a remaining try and safe $1,000 shortly after that. After which on the morning of April 8, the day Kurt’s physique was found, somebody tried to make use of the cardboard to by $43.29 price of flowers.
Who was doing this? Unknown. But it surely will need to have been the assassin who stole Kurt’s bank card, proper?
REALITY: There’s no proof that it was Kurt making an attempt to get the money advances. Bear in mind, these have been requests remodeled the cellphone and have been all declined, most likely as a result of whoever was calling didn’t have the best PINs or safety data. Possibly Kurt misplaced his card. Possibly he gave it away to a drug good friend. And I’ll guess that whoever tried to purchase the flowers on the day Kurt died was seeking to lay them someplace in tribute to him. This can be a free finish however by no means does it level to homicide.
5. The suicide word
THEORY: Why the distinction within the handwriting all through Kurt’s suicide word? Why the usage of totally different colored ink? Based mostly on his examination of the word, detective Tom Grant believes Kurt didn’t write the entire thing (two handwriting analysts apparently agreed). To him, the word gave the impression of a press release of retirement, not a remaining word to the world. Why no point out of Frances, Kurt’s daughter? Why no correct signature? The word ends with “Kurt” spelled out in small letters.
And what about an alleged second word? There’s a narrative that Courtney discovered one other word months later in a sealed enveloped in her bed room that apparently detailed how Kurt was going to go away each her and Seattle. Extra grist for the homicide mill?
REALITY: That is admittedly one other free finish, however Kurt was hardly in an excellent place on April 5, 1994. He might have already been fairly excessive when he wrote the word. Kurt was a visible artist in addition to a musician, so the totally different colored ink may be a part of that. Possibly in his altered state he simply wished the word to look fairly.
As for the second word, its existence has by no means been verified.
6. The toxicology report
THEORY: Briefly, conspiracists consider that Kurt injected a lot heroin into his system that there was no method he would have been capable of goal the gun and pull the set off. They level to the toxicology report —which was solely partially launched on the time however leaked with slightly extra element in 2024 — which indicated Kurt had loads of medication in his system together with diazepam (used for treating nervousness and alcohol withdrawal), codeine (a light opioid painkiller), nordiazepam (a muscle relaxant and anticonvulsant), and 1.52 milligrams of morphine per litre of blood. That’s a lot. (Heroin turns into morphine as soon as injected.)
How may Kurt have that many medication in his system and nonetheless handle to neatly pack up his syringe equipment, goal the gun, and fireplace. Unimaginable! Somebody will need to have both (a) helped or (b) did all this to Kurt. Homicide!
“It’s extremely unlikely that he would shoot himself up in each arms, put the needle away in his little equipment, after which have the psychological capability to sit down there and manipulate this shotgun and shoot himself,” Tom Grant advised Excessive Occasions journal. “If he wasn’t unconscious, he was at the least to the purpose the place he wasn’t conscious of what was happening. Anybody may have achieved something to him.”
Oh, and Grant believes that the notorious photograph of Kurt’s head is a pretend, a inventory post-mortem photograph of somebody who had an unlucky encounter with a lawnmower.
REALITY: There aren’t as many free ends right here because it seems. First, Kurt was an skilled junkie with a particularly excessive tolerance for heroin, giving him simply sufficient time to finish all the mandatory duties after he injected his final dose. Maybe he injected himself in phases, searching for the best degree of euphoria to perform what got here subsequent.
Extra probably, although, is that the outcomes of the toxicology check have been misinterpreted and brought out of context.
In the event you learn that quantity — 1.52 milligrams of morphine/litre — a technique, it seems that Kurt had almost 12 instances the deadly degree of morphine in his blood on the time of his demise. However we’re undecided if this quantity represents “free morphine depend” or “complete morphine depend” — and there’s an enormous distinction.
A free morphine depend measures the quantity of medication injected right into a physique at a selected second. A complete morphine depend measures traces of the drug over an extended time frame. As a long-time common heroin consumer, it’s extremely probably that the toxicology report features a quantity that describes the cumulative buildup of medication in Kurt’s system over weeks and months, not hours. (See this text from the Nationwide Library of Medication. This text additionally seems on the attainable discrepancies.)
In a case like Kurt, a recognized longtime drug consumer, it’s extra widespread for a health worker to go together with the full morphine depend check, which is cheaper, quicker, and doesn’t require the identical specialised gear as measuring a free morphine depend. Was Kurt’s final injection deadly and rendered him incapable of capturing himself? Based mostly on the toxicology methodology and outcomes, no.
7. The crime scene
THEORY: No clear fingerprints on the shotgun? Somebody will need to have wiped it clear. Who? The assassin, in fact. Who had barricaded the door of the greenhouse? Why didn’t Kurt simply give himself a deadly overdose and never hassle with the entire messy gun factor? Who organized the physique simply so and maybe even combed Kurt’s hair after he died?
The forensics report reads like this: “The merchandise was processed for prints on 05/06/94 by Sr. ID Technician T. Geranimo, #4466. 4 playing cards of latent prints have been lifted. The 4 playing cards of lifted latent prints comprise no legible prints.”
REALITY: I can think about Kurt’s palms being type of sweaty in these final seconds, can’t you? In April 2014, Mike Ciesynksi, a retired 20-year vet of the Seattle PD with loads of chilly case expertise, opened the Cobain file. He dove deep into the case and went by way of 35 mm movie that was shot of the crime scene. This helped him reconstruct how the gun was fired. Consulting with a firearms skilled, it was decided that there was nothing bizarre about the place the spent shell landed, the place of the gun associated to the physique, or the physique itself. His conclusion: “The investigation on the demise of Kurt Cobain, which was performed 20 years in the past, reached the right conclusion that the way of demise was [suicide].”
In 2021, the FBI made their Cobain case file public. It was all of 10 pages lengthy and contained completely nothing new aside from two extremely redacted letters from a few followers asking them to look into Cobain’s demise.
8. The El Duce allegations
THEORY: Eldon Hoke was the frontman of a noxiously obscene group known as the Mentors, buying and selling underneath the title El Duce. He claimed that Courtney Love supplied him $50,000 to kill her husband throughout a dialog exterior an Los Angeles report store. “Off the previous man earlier than he recordsdata for divorce,” was the plan. Earlier than El Duce could possibly be formally commissioned, Kurt was useless. The implication is that Courtney discovered another person to do the job.
REALITY: If you already know something about El Duce and The Mentors, I’d name Eldon Hoke an unreliable narrator. Sure, he took a lie detector check on nationwide TV and handed, however that’s not admissible in courtroom. We’ll by no means get to grill El Duce any additional on the matter as a result of he was decapitated when he was hit by a prepare on April 18, 1997. He was very drunk strolling residence from a gig.
There are just a few extra conspiracy angles, however I’ve lined all of the essential ones.
Lastly, think about this. Dave Grohl believes Kurt killed himself. Krist Novoselic believes Kurt killed himself. So does Kurt’s mom and father. So do two of Kurt’s former managers and I’ve spoken to them straight. And having frolicked private time with Courtney, I don’t consider any of the allegations in opposition to her. You could disagree, which is your proper. However you’re improper when you suppose Kurt’s demise was something however a depressed, determined, drugged-up younger man taking his personal life.
Life is messy and demise may be even messier. However as a result of we’ve this pathological function of the unknown, we’re all the time going to search for any clarification which may quiet our minds. Within the case of Kurt Cobain, we’ve our solutions.
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Alan Cross is a broadcaster with Q107 and 102.1 the Edge and a commentator for International Information.
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