Kurt Cobain
The word Nirvana can mean many things to people. To the religious community, it is a state of higher being achieved within the religion of Buddhism. To others, it is the name of a famous grunge band from the 90’s of the same name. The lead singer and the heart of this band was a man named Kurt Cobain, known for his darker, more cynical themes in his music, and his ambitious nature. Kurt Cobain would go on to take his own life, but many believe that he was murdered; not just by a random assailant, but by his own wife. Many examine the evidence and find glaring holes, like the fact that he had taken a lethal dose of heroin but had still found the time to tidy himself and put away his needles, or that there were no clear prints on the shotgun that he had commited suicide with. It has also been discovered that a suicide note had been writen, but mysteriously disappeared after having been read by only a select few people, all who dispute its contents. Let us dive into the mysterious death of Kurt Cobain, and how it could very well have been a murder.
Kurt Cobain led a troubled childhood. As a boy, his father ridiculed him, believing children should be seen and not heard. As a teen, he bounced around relatives houses after his parents divorce, feeling unwanted and misunderstood. When he finally was dropped off on the doorstep of his mothers by his father, he developed an unhealthy obsession with marijuana, using it constantly to escape his nervous breakdowns. “I could escape all day long and not have the routine nervous breakdowns once a week”.” This paired with a bad environment in school and a bad group of friends, Kurt found no solace in his life, except for one thing; music.
Kurt had been playing the guitar and singing since he was two years old, and used music as a medium to express his emotions. This can be heard in his solo album “ Montage of Heck,” and especially on the song Aberdeen, where he describes his life growing up. These experiences would be the fuel for the darker themes of his music career.
While he may not have been a very happy person, he was certainly ambitious. His band was formed from only 3 people, and had humble beginnings within the bands practice sessions, where they hoped to even have one or two people come watch. They quickly becam more popular after playing at more venues around their area, and when they finally released their second album, Nevermind, Nirvanas popularity exploded. At its peak, Nevermind was selling 300,000 copies weekly, and quickly hit the top of the charts.
Kurt had been called the voice of his generation and the youths of society, so when his fans learned he had killed himself, it had understandably come as a shock to the masses. Many accepted the circumstances of his death, but some were not so quick as to believe the story told, such as host Richard Lee, who only a week after Cobain was found began a series titled “Kurt Cobain Was Murdered” where he explained his thought process surrounding the death. Lee’s main argument was that the blood splatters around Coban’s body were too small to be caused by suicide via shotgun in Cobain's mouth. However, this claim was debunked by Pathologists who stated that the amount of blood matched the typical amount such a wound would cause.
Another man led the opposition to the case, and that man was Tom Grant, a private detective hired by Courtney Love to locate Cobain after he vanished from the Exodus Recovery center in Marina del Rey, California. Cobain’s body was discovered by an electrician who had come to install a security system in Cobain’s home, and Grant suspected foul play from the beginning. Cobain had three times the lethal dose of heroin and valium in his body when he died, and still found the time to put away his needles and shoot himself? Grant disagrees. Cobain also left behind a suicide note, which became another topic of debate due to the last portion of the note, which Grant believed to be written by someone else. “The note found at the scene by the police was immediately labeled as a "suicide note." The police report states it was "apparently written by Cobain to his wife and daughter, explaining why he had killed himself." Grant says, “But this note was not addressed to Kurt's wife and daughter and it says nothing about "killing himself!" This note was clearly written to Cobain's fans telling them he was quitting the music business. There was only a short footnote to Courtney and Frances and the handwriting contained in those lines has been questioned by several handwriting experts.” The note, the pen, and the shotgun were found with no clear prints on them, and no gloves were found near Cobain.
Kurt Cobain is gone, but his legacy is not. His death impacted millions, and with an event like his death naturally came shock and disbelief, and with that disbelief arose explanations on how he could have died and how it could have been a murder. These explanations were based around
1.Why were there no prints on the gun he shot himself with?
2. How could he shoot himself with so much heroin in his body?
3.Why does his suicide note appear to be partially written by someone else?
These questions will likely never be answered, and the mysterious circumstances of Kurt Cobain’s death will always be just that; mysterious.
Works Cited
"COBAIN, Kurt (1967-1994)." The Encyclopedia of Conspiracies and Conspiracy Theories, Michael Newton, Facts On File, 1st edition, 2005. Credo Reference, https://comlib.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/fofcact/cobain_kurt_1967_1994/0?institutionId=5089. Accessed 19 Jun. 2022.
“Kurt Cobain – Aberdeen.” Genius, genius.com/Kurt-cobain-aberdeen-annotated. Accessed 24 June 2022.
Grant, Tom. “The Kurt Cobain Murder Investigation.” Cobaincase.com, Tom Grant, cobaincase.com/. Accessed 5 July 2022.
Directed by Brett Morgen, “Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck” HBO, 2015
Rutherford, Kevin, and Kevin Rutherford. “Nirvana’s “Nevermind”: 9 Chart Facts about the Iconic Album.” Billboard, 23 Sept. 2016, www.billboard.com/pro/nirvana-nevermind-nine-chart-facts-anniversary/.
The Mystery behind the Death of Kurt Cobain - Conspiracy Theories. 10 Sept. 2020, conspiracytheories.in/the-mystery-behind-the-death-of-kurt-cobain/. Accessed 6 July 2022.