Death of Kurt Cobain By Rylan Harwell

 During the year 1994, 11 million people committed suicide (Lee 1). Of those 11 million people is a popular singer known as Kurt Cobain. As the lead singer from the popular band Nirvana, Kurt Cobain suffered from severe drug addiction. On April 8, 1994, the singer was found with a shotgun across his chest and a gunshot through his head (“Celebrity deaths: The conspiracy theories” 1). Since his death, many conspiracy theories have surfaced.  

1.                  Did Kurt commit suicide by gun? 

2.                  Did Kurt’s widow murder him? 

3.                  Was Kurt murdered by an assassin? 

Let’s dive into the conspiracy theories of the death of popular singer, Kurt Cobain, and try to find the most plausible solution.  

Kurt Cobain was one of the most influential people throughout the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. His rise of popularity came from being the lead singer in a popular rock band called Nirvana. The band’s debut album Nevermind was released in 1991 and brought a wave of cultural change with it. “Cross says Cobain's true and lasting impact is his incredibly personal and powerful music. "Those songs have such meaning to so many people. And when we talk about Kurt and why he mattered, that is by far and away the reason he mattered — is that that body of songs that he created and wrote still speak to listeners today”” (Ashlock 1). 

Kurt struggled a lot throughout his life. From his parents divorcing when he was a child, to drug addiction as an adult. Kurt struggled with manic depression throughout his life. As a

child he would seek sanctuary inside his bedroom closet and would write about suicide and death. “I hate myself and want to die,” was a phrase used quite often throughout his journal. Later in life, he even intended that phrase to be an album title (“Kurt Cobain and manic depression” 1).  As a child, he was diagnosed with ADD and believed to suffer from bipolar disorder as an adult. There were many side effects to his believed bipolar disorder. “This could account for his rebellion, aggression and drug abuse. He also endured poor self-image and self-consciousness sometime in his life. His continuous drug use affected his band as Cobain often fell unconscious during photo shoots. He attempted to go into rehabilitation once but that did not work. He had an overdose of heroin once when preparing for a show” (“Kurt Cobain- Depression, Bipolar Disorder & Suicide” 1). Kurt’s manic depression led a major role in his battle with addiction and eventually his death. 

Kurt was also notorious for being rebellious and doing whatever he liked. This behavior started when he was a child after his parents divorced. He often got in trouble at school and didn’t really pay any attention to his parents. He started vandalizing property and doing numerous different types of drugs. His behavior got to a point where his father had to send him away. “Cobain behaved insolently toward adults during this period of his youth and began bullying another boy at school. These behaviors eventually caused his father and Westeby to take him to a therapist, who concluded that he would benefit from a single-family environment. Kurt’s teenage rebellion quickly became overwhelming for his father, who placed his son in the care of family and friends” (“Personality Analysis of a famous singer Kurt Cobain” 1). During the time of Nirvana’s uprising, Kurt lived in a house in a very wealthy and up kept neighborhood. All the other houses looked normal and wealthy, but there was one house that wasn’t exactly

that. It was Kurt’s house. Everyday, there would be loads of junk everywhere from on the roof, to in the trees in his lawn. He didn’t care about the people around him or what they thought of him. He just did whatever he wanted and didn’t care about the side effects.   

Despite all his hardships, Kurt was very accepting of all different types of people. He respected everyone, even if they were different that him. During his teenage years, he befriended a homosexual student, even though he got bullied by other students because they thought he was gay (Personality Analysis of a famous singer Kurt Cobain 1). “In an interview, he said that he liked being associated with a gay identity because he did not like people, and when they thought he was gay they left him alone. He stated, “I started being really proud of the fact that I was gay even though I wasn’t”” (Personality Analysis of a famous singer Kurt Cobain 1). During the success of Nirvana, Kurt even threatened his own fans if they didn’t support all kinds of people, “He once wrote: “If any of you in any way hate homosexuals, people of different color, or women, please do this one favor for us—leave us the f*$k alone! Don’t come to our shows and don’t buy our records”” (“Kurt Cobain: The Ultimate Rebel” 1). He puts his morals and beliefs over his success.  

          Despite Kurt Cobain’s radical and oblivious behavior, he was also a very romantic and loving person. Even though Nirvana was the biggest band on the planet at the time. He took six months off touring to just spend time with his wife, Courtney Love (Yahr 1). Kurt often wrote love letters to his wife while he was away, “You taught me it’s okay to be a man.” “Courtney, when I say I love you I am not ashamed. Nor will anyone ever come close to intimidating me into thinking otherwise” (Yahr 1). These notes meant a lot to Kurt and his wife and show a deeper look into Kurt’s life. 

After the death of Kurt Cobain, many conspiracies surfaced. The first conspiracy is that Kurt Cobain committed suicide by shotgun. This theory is supported and was the deciding factor of death by the Seattle Police Department. Days after Kurt’s wife, Courtney Love, reported him as missing, his body was found by an electrician, Gary Smith, in a greenhouse through his window above his garage, while he was installing security lights (Admin 1). Rolling Stone wrote “a 20-gauge shotgun was lying across his chest, and, as a medical examiner’s report later revealed, Cobain, who had already been dead two and a half days at that point, had a high concentration of heroin and traces of Valium in his bloodstream” (Witter 1). Next to the body of Kurt was his heroin kit, along with a spoon, needles, and a cigarette butt (Lopez 1). This wasn’t the first case of Kurt being suicidal. He has had many suicide scares, “Cobain had tried to kill himself in Rome by taking an overdose of tranquilizers. When his daughter Frances Bean was born, he learned Child Protective Services was concerned about her well-being because of his and wife Courtney Love's drug abuse. He went to the hospital with one of the many guns he owned and threatened to kill himself and his wife.” (Lopez 1) 

Several days before Kurt Cobain was found dead, he bought a 20-gauge shotgun from his close friend Dylan Carlson. He allegedly bought the shotgun to protect himself from trespassers on his property. Carlson said that Kurt seemed normal and that nothing was out of the ordinary. Except, that he insisted on keeping the weapon himself. He was supposed to go to Los Angeles for treatment. Despite his hesitation, Carlson still decided to give Kurt the shotgun (Witter 1). 

While Kurt was in rehab at Exodus Recovery Center in Marina del Rey, California, he sent a message to Courtney Love saying, “Just remember no matter what, I love you.” (Witter 1). Later that night, Kurt escaped from the rehab center and flew back to his house in Seattle.

The next time he was found, was when he was found dead with a gunshot through his head (Witter 1). 

The second conspiracy theory is that Courtney Love murdered him. A few months before Kurt’s death, he suffered a drug overdose in Rome while on tour with his band. After the incident Courtney referred to the overdose as an accident. However, after Kurt’s death, she came forward and said that the Rome incident was a suicide attempt (The Facts 1). Even though Courtney said it was an attempted suicide, she didn’t warn anyone or tell anyone about it.  

Kurt and Courtney were in the midst of a divorce. Shortly before Kurt’s death, he made a new will, which he hadn’t yet signed. This new will excluded Courtney from the will. So, if Kurt divorced her, she would lose all access to his money (The Facts 1). During an interview, Kurt admitted that their band, Nirvana, would not be performing at Lollapalooza. This meant that the band would be losing out on millions of dollars. Apparently, once Courtney found out that they wouldn’t be performing at lollapalooza, “Courtney went ballistic,” says Dylan Carlson (The Facts 1). She was mad at Kurt for giving up on millions of dollars. 

After Kurt escaped from the Rehab Center and went missing, Courtney hired Tom Grant to find and locate Kurt. However, when she hired him, she failed to tell him that he was spotted at their Lake Washington home the day before. She told him to set up surveillance cameras at certain points, but not at their home in Lake Washington, which was the last place he was spotted (The Facts 1).   

When Kurt died, there was large amounts of heroin inside him. There was so much heroin in his system that it is not possible for Kurt to commit suicide. Once heroin enters the brain, it turns into morphine and binds to your opioid receptors.

The third conspiracy theory is that Courtney Love hired someone to kill Kurt Cobain. One of the people that Courtney Love tried to hire was a man named El Duce, a LA musician. In a documentary by Nick Broomfield, El Duce said Courtney Love offered him $50,000 to murder Kurt a few months before Kurt’s death (The Facts 1). After Kurt’s death, a top polygraph test expert tested El Duce, he passed both lie detectors. After Nick Broomfield interviewed El Duce for his documentary, El Duce was found dead. He was hit by a train while hanging out with one of his friends. The person who El Duce was with was never found (The Facts 1). 

After asking thirty people, “Do you believe that Courtney Love was involved in the death of the Rock Star, Kurt Cobain?” Off the people asked only 10% of people said that Courtney Love was not involved in the death of Kurt Cobain. The other 90% of people said the she was involved in the death of Kurt Cobain. After analyzing and surveying people about the death of Kurt Cobain, the best solution is that Courtney Love murdered Kurt Cobain or at least hired someone to murder him. After examining the murder of the rock star, Kurt Cobain, the results lead to three different conspiracy theories: 

1.                  Did Kurt Cobain commit suicide by gun? 

2.                  Did Kurt’s widow, Courtney Love, murder him? 

3.                  Was Kurt murdered by a hitman? 

After examining all the conspiracy theories, the most plausible answer points toward Courtney Love either murdering him or hiring someone to murder him. 

Citations

Ashlock, Alex. “Looking At The Legacy Of Kurt Cobain.” Looking At The Legacy Of Kurt Cobain | Here & Now, WBUR, 3 Apr. 2014, www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2014/04/03/kurt-cobain-legacy.

Faiza, and Mental Health. “Personality Analysis of a Famous Singer Kurt Cobain.” Mental Health with Faiza, 20 Sept. 2017, mentalhealthwithfaiza.wordpress.com/2017/09/20/personality-analysis-of-a-famous-singer-kurt-cobain/.

“Kurt Cobain and Manic Depression.” Bipolar Lives, 9 Oct. 2019, www.bipolar-lives.com/kurt-cobain-and-manic-depression.html.

“Kurt Cobain - Depression, Bipolar Disorder & Suicide.” Kurt Cobain & Bipolar Disorder | Famous Bipolar People, www.famousbipolarpeople.com/kurt-cobain.html.

Lopez, Korina. “Kurt Cobain Photos Reveal Drug Paraphernalia.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 21 Mar. 2014, www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2014/03/20/police-will-release-new-kurt-cobain-photo/6661603/. 

“The Facts” Proof Courtney Killed Kurt, www.angelfire.com/nv/boddah/facts.html. 

Rj. “Kurt Cobain: The Ultimate Rebel.” DA MAN Magazine - Make Your Own Style!, 1 Jan. 1970, daman.co.id/kurt-cobain-the-ultimate-rebel/.

“Tragic Suicide Or Something More Sinister: Examining The Death Of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain.” L4LM, 3 June 2019, liveforlivemusic.com/features/kurt-cobain-20th-anniversary-death-l4lm/. 

Witter, Brad. “Inside Kurt Cobain's Final Days Before His Suicide.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 22 June 2019, www.biography.com/news/kurt-cobain-final-days-suicide. 

Yahr, Emily. “Here Are the Intimate Details Courtney Love Shares about Kurt Cobain in 'Montage of Heck'.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 27 Apr. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2015/05/05/here-are-the-intimate-details-courtney-love-shares-about-kurt-cobain-in-montage-of-heck/.