Kurt Cobain was found with a lethal gunshot wound to the head on April 8, 1994 at his Seattle, Washington home.
The Seattle Police Department (SPD) took over the investigation, finding a suicide note, a gun in his hands and a nearby heroin kit, which they used to determine the Nirvana frontman, 27, had taken his own life.
Now, in a newly released update tied to his controversial book Case Closed: The Cobain Murder: The Killing and Cover-Up of Kurt Cobain, author Ian Halperin, a journalist known for several bestselling investigative books, claims that an unnamed former Seattle police detective privately told him the investigation into Cobain’s death was mishandled.
Halperin wrote that he spoke to the former police officer about 18 months ago and quoted the source as saying: ‘I have felt a sense of righteous indignation for years. Finally, I decided to speak out to address a serious wrongdoing.’
Halperin said the unnamed former detective claimed Cobain’s heroin levels were so high that it would have been impossible for him to fire the gun himself.
‘There were no fingerprints on the gun, and the last five lines of his alleged suicide did not match his own handwriting,’ the source said, according to the book.
‘Just on that, the case should not have been labeled a suicide. A proper investigation should have been conducted, a thorough investigation to find out how, in fact, Cobain died. It was never done.’
When asked about a potential mishandling of Cobain’s death, a SPD spokesperson told the Daily Mail: ‘Kurt Cobain died by suicide in 1994. This continues to be the position of the Seattle Police Department.’
The former SPD office also claimed there was ‘poor management,’ with Halperin writing that the source said they were among several people within the department who believed the entire investigation was ‘one big cover-up.’
Halperin wrote that the source worked under Norm Stamper, the Seattle Chief of Police from 1994 to 2000, who has expressed regret over how Cobain’s case was handled, stating in 2015 that he ‘would reopen this investigation’ if given the opportunity.
While not directly accusing anyone, Stamper previously suggested that investigators should not have immediately discounted the possibility of murder.
Halperin’s source echoed Stamper’s concerns, saying: ‘Too much politics was involved. Not enough facts. Many people were able to advance themselves at others’ expense. As a result, many cases were treated unfairly.’
Halperin wrote that when asked why the unnamed former detective questioned the suicide ruling, the source cited several concerns about the investigation.
Similar concerns have been raised in previous years by other law enforcement figures who later reviewed the case.
In a previous interview with the Daily Mail, retired Seattle Police Captain Neil Low, who was asked by his chief to audit the Cobain case in 2005, said he believed investigators failed to properly treat the death as a potential homicide.
‘I just am not buying that Kurt did that to himself,’ he said, describing the investigation as ‘botched.’
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