The Kurt Cobain Theory About His Death That Changes Everything
Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain's death in 1994 was ruled a suicide but 25 years later, the theory that he was actually murdered is still alive and well. Recent FBI files released on the case show that people have contacted them several times since Cobain died, even as recently as 2006, asking the agency to look into the case and laying out the reasons why they don't think Cobain took his own life. The FBI politely said the case doesn't fall under their jurisdiction.
The names of the people who asked the FBI for help are redacted, but there are a few drivers of the theory that Cobain was murdered. One is a private investigator and former detective with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department named Tom Grant. Grant was hired by Cobain's wife, Courtney Love, to find him after he'd left rehab shortly before his death, but Cobain was dead by the time Grant figured out where he was — at home in his Seattle garage. Still, according to Cobain Case, Grant's website, his investigation led to his belief that it was Cobain's wife who helped arrange his death.
Grant wrote, "After several months of intensive investigation, including dozens of taped interviews with Cobain's closest friends and family members, I reached the conclusion that Courtney Love and Michael Dewitt (the male nanny who lived at the Cobain residence) were involved in a conspiracy that resulted in the murder of Kurt Cobain." It should be emphasized though, that these allegations have never been proven.
The case was reviewed in 2014 and Kurt Cobain's death was still ruled a suicide
Grant alleges that it's because Kurt Cobain was actually in the process of divorcing Courtney Love that she conspired to kill him. He says on Cobain Case that evidence of the rock star's murder includes someone else trying to use one of Cobain's credit cards after he died but then halting when the body was found — three days after his death.
Grant also claims the "suicide note" was instead a letter to fans saying he was retiring, with the bottom part that specifically speaks of Love and their daughter, Francis, being a forgery. Grant says further proof is that Cobain had too much heroin in his system— three times the lethal dose — to have managed to kill himself.
Another person who will not let go of the theory that Cobain was murdered is Seattle public access TV host, Richard Lee, who, according to The Stranger, is not really accepted in the Cobain-was-murdered conspiracy theorist circles, yet he persists. In 2018 Lee sued the City of Seattle when they would not release photos of Cobain's death scene after a cold-case detective had four previously undeveloped rolls of film developed to review the case in 2014, according to court records.
That detective, Mike Ciesynski, shared his findings with CBS in 2019, saying, "Did I find any earth-shattering evidence that would change the medical examiner's conclusion that Kurt committed suicide? No. In fact, I found evidence that strengthened that finding."
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).