Kurt Cobain death mystery reignites as ex-detective points to three clues challenging suicide ruling
Kurt Cobain was found with a fatal gunshot wound to the head at his home in Seattle, Washington, on April 8, 1994.
The Seattle Police Department (SPD) took over the investigation and found a suicide note, a gun in his possession, and a nearby heroin kit, which they used to determine that Nirvana’s 27-year-old frontman had committed suicide.
Now, in a newly published update tied to his controversial book Closed Case: Cobain Murder: The Killing and Cover-Up of Kurt CobainAuthor Ian Halperin, a journalist known for his best-selling investigative books, claims that an unnamed former Seattle police detective told him privately that the investigation into Cobain’s death was mishandled.
Halperin, who wrote that he talked to the former police officer about 18 months ago, quoted the source as saying: ‘I have felt justified anger for years. ‘I finally decided to speak out against a serious injustice.’
Halperin said the former detective, whose name was not released, claimed Cobain’s heroin level was so high it was impossible for him to fire the gun himself.
“There were no fingerprints on the gun, and the last five lines of the alleged suicide did not match his own handwriting,” the source said, according to the book.
‘However, the case should not have been labeled as suicide. A proper investigation should have been conducted to uncover how Cobain actually died; a comprehensive investigation. This was never done.’
When asked about the possibility that Cobain’s death was mishandled, an SPD spokesman told the Daily Mail: ‘Kurt Cobain died by suicide in 1994. This continues to be the position of the Seattle Police Department.’
Kurt Cobain died from a shotgun wound to the head on April 5. Her body was found three days later by an electrician who was installing the home’s security lighting.
The Seattle Police Department (SPD) took over the investigation and found a suicide note, a gun in his mouth, and a heroin kit at the scene in the greenhouse above the cemetery.
The former SPD office also claimed ‘mismanagement’; Halperin wrote that the source said they were among several people within the department who believed the entire investigation was a “massive cover-up.”
The source worked under Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper from 1994 to 2000, Halperin wrote. Norm Stamper expressed regret over the handling of Cobain’s case, stating that he would “re-open this investigation” if given the opportunity in 2015.
Although Stamper did not directly accuse anyone, he has previously suggested that investigators should not immediately rule out the possibility of murder.
Halperin’s source echoed Stamper’s concerns, saying: ‘There’s too much politics involved. There are not enough facts. Many people have managed to advance themselves at the expense of others. As a result, many cases were treated unfairly.’
When asked why he questioned the unnamed former detective’s decision to commit suicide, the source expressed some concerns about the investigation, Halperin wrote.
Similar concerns had been voiced in previous years by other law enforcement officials who later reviewed the case.
Retired Seattle Police Capt. Neil Low, who was asked by his chief to oversee the Cobain case in 2005, said in an earlier interview with the Daily Mail that he believed investigators did not properly treat the death as a possible homicide.
He described the investigation as ‘incompetent’ and said: ‘I don’t accept that Kurt did this to himself.’
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However, in a newly published update on his controversial book Case Closed: The Cobain Murder: The Killing and Cover-Up of Kurt Cobain, author Ian Halperin claims that an unnamed former Seattle police detective told him privately that the investigation into Cobain’s death was mishandled
According to Halperin, the unnamed former detective claimed: ‘His heroin level was too high, making it impossible for him to shoot himself in the head.’ Pictured is a heroin kit found at the scene of Cobain’s death
However, Low was not involved in the original investigation and re-examined the case years later.
The SPD has repeatedly maintained that Cobain died by suicide in 1994; this remains the official view of the SPD.
Cobain died on April 5 from a shotgun wound to the head. Her body was found three days later by an electrician who was installing the home’s security lighting.
Ian Halperin publishes interview with unnamed former Seattle Police officer as update of his book
The King County Medical Examiner at the time ruled his death by a Remington Model 11 20-gauge shotgun a suicide because a suicide note was found on the gun’s handles and on a nearby potted plant.
According to Halperin, his source said: ‘I’ve been a detective for many years and it’s pretty easy to put two and two together in this case.
‘The murderers incapacitated Kurt by forcing him to take a high dose of heroin. They then shot him in the head. In my opinion, there is no other explanation. ‘I have examined this case thoroughly.’
The police officer, whose name was not disclosed, reportedly said the following to Halperin, drawing attention to Stamper’s statements: ‘[Stamper] He asked for the case to be reopened, saying that it was not properly investigated.
‘Stamper has 34 years of experience in law enforcement. ‘He wouldn’t say something like that unless he had concrete facts and evidence.’
This is Halperin’s second book about the death of the legendary rock star; ‘Love and Death’ was first published in 2004.
Halperin made a name for himself in 2009 by releasing ‘Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson’, which accurately predicted the singer’s deterioration in health and death.
The King County Medical Examiner ruled his death from a Remington Model 11 20-gauge shotgun a suicide because a suicide note was found on the gun’s handles and on a nearby potted plant (pictured)
Halperin stated that he hired handwriting experts to examine the suicide note found at the scene and said: ‘They said that the last five lines were not written in Kurt Cobain’s hand, and that this was the only thing that really talked about suicide.’
He told the Daily Mail that it was the copycat suicides that led him to investigate Cobain’s case.
‘I have spoken to some families of copycat suicide victims and they deserve justice. “If the wolf had been killed and not committed suicide,” he said.
The author began investigating the case and found that the evidence collected at the scene did not directly point to a clear-cut case of suicide.
He stated that Cobain’s toxicology showed that he injected doses roughly three times the dose that would be considered lethal for a typical user.
“For even the most severe heroin addict, the amount found could be fatal; it is estimated to be roughly 70 times the dose for the average person,” Halperin said.
‘No human could stand it and they would probably die within seconds. According to these experts, it is not my opinion.’
He also said he hired handwriting experts to analyze the suicide note found at the scene, saying: ‘They said the last five lines were not written in the hand of Kurt Cobain, which is the only thing that really dealt with suicide.’
‘You know, no latent fingerprints were found on the gun. “Dead men don’t erase their own fingerprints,” he added.
But it was Stamper’s confession that Halperin cited as ‘evidence’ that the case should be reopened.
Stamper appeared in the controversial documentary ‘Soaked in Bleach’, an unauthorized film examining Cobain’s death.
‘We should have taken steps to examine patterns in the behavior of key individuals who were actually motivated to see Kurt Cobain die,’ Stamper said in the 2015 documentary.
