Decades after Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain was found dead at his Seattle home, a team of independent forensic scientists now suggests the 1994 death may have been a homicide rather than a suicide.
Cobain, 27, was reported to have died from a self-inflicted shotgun wound on April 5, 1994. At the time, the King County Medical Examiner ruled the death a suicide. The Remington Model 11 20-gauge shotgun was found near his body in the greenhouse above his garage.
A private investigation led by forensic expert Brian Burnett, who previously worked on complex overdose and gunshot trauma cases, reanalyzed Cobain's autopsy and crime scene materials. Michelle Wilkins, who collaborated with the team, told Daily Mail, "After just three days looking into the evidence with fresh eyes, Burnett said: 'This is a homicide. We've got to do something about this.'"
Wilkins said the findings followed a meticulous review of the autopsy, which showed organ damage inconsistent with a rapid gunshot death. "The necrosis of the brain and liver happens in an overdose. It doesn't happen in a shotgun death," she said, citing signs that Cobain may have been incapacitated before the fatal shot.
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The team's report, peer-reviewed for the International Journal of Forensic Science, highlights ten points suggesting Cobain was forced to ingest heroin to disable him before being shot, and that the suicide note may have been forged. "To me, it looks like someone staged a movie and wanted you to be absolutely certain this was a suicide," Wilkins said as per Times of India, pointing to the neatly organized heroin kit and unusual placement of the weapon.
The forensic review also questioned blood patterns and Cobain's hand position. "If you ever look at photos of shotgun suicides, they are brutal. There is no universe where that hand is not covered in blood. You could eat off of... well, I mean, gross, but, like, his hand is so clean," Wilkins said.
Officials maintain their original conclusion. A King County Medical Examiner spokesperson told Daily Mail, "Our office is always open to revisiting its conclusions if new evidence comes to light, but we've seen nothing to date that would warrant re-opening of this case." Similarly, Seattle police said, "Our detective concluded that he died by suicide, and this continues to be the position held by this department."
While the team is not seeking arrests, Wilkins emphasized transparency. "We weren't saying, arrest people tomorrow," she said. "We were saying, you have this... the extra evidence that we don't have. If we're wrong, just prove it to us. That's all we asked them to do."
The new findings reignite debate over one of music's most enduring mysteries.
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