Forensic Review Reopens Questions About Kurt Cobain’s Death
A new private-sector forensic review is again challenging the official finding that Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain died by suicide in 1994, with researchers arguing that elements of the autopsy and crime scene materials are inconsistent with an instantaneous self-inflicted gunshot death.
In the investigation, Daily Mail reported that an unofficial team examined Cobain’s autopsy and crime scene documentation and presented a peer-reviewed paper outlining ten points they say support a homicide scenario, including a theory that Cobain was incapacitated by a heroin overdose before the fatal shot.
Independent researcher Michelle Wilkins, who worked with the group, told the outlet that forensic specialist Brian Burnett reviewed the materials and concluded the case should be revisited. Wilkins pointed to organ and tissue findings she said align more closely with oxygen deprivation associated with overdose than with a rapid death from a shotgun blast, and also raised questions about blood patterns and the positioning and cleanliness of Cobain’s hands in scene photographs.
Some of the renewed focus on the case also arrives amid continuing public interest in Cobain’s personal life, including reports about his marriage to Courtney Love and the surrounding scrutiny that has persisted for decades, such as claims that Cobain was once convinced Love had cheated with another singer.
Officials have reiterated their position. A spokesperson for the King County Medical Examiner’s Office said the original investigation followed standard procedures and that the office has not seen evidence warranting a change in the manner of death determination, while Seattle police said they are not reopening the case and continue to regard the death as a suicide.
