Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Kurt Cobain death-scene note released by Seattle police



Seattle police have released a note found in the wallet of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain at the scene of his death 20 years ago this month.

CBS News reports the note, kept secret until now, promises to add fuel to the pop culture fascination with Cobain and stoke further questions about what role his famously troubled personal life and marriage played in his demise.

When police arrived to find Cobain dead at his Seattle area home on April 8, 1994, from what the King County Medical Examiner would determine was a suicide, the note was taken from his wallet, logged into evidence days later in the Seattle Police Department (SPD) case file, and never made public.

“Do you Kurt Cobain take Courtney Michelle Love to be your lawful shredded wife,” he wrote. “even when she’s a bitch with zits and siphoning all yr money for doping and whoring…”


The undated note is written on stationery from the Phoenix Hotel outside of San Francisco and is in stark contrast to Cobain’s presumed suicide note that calls Love a “goddess of a wife who sweats ambition and empathy.”

Earlier this month, Seattle Police released images of Cobain’s death scene in sync with the 20th anniversary of his passing.

Among the photos released by police were images of Cobain’s body on the floor of the living quarters above his garage: one showing his left arm with a hospital ID bracelet around his wrist (Kurt had left an LA rehab center days before), and another displaying an open box of shotgun shells at his feet.

Other images include the rocker’s wallet with ID, a cigar box with drug paraphernalia, and his suicide note, which was found on top of a planter with a pen stuck through it.

An extensive set of photos can be found at the Seattle police website here.

Cobain died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his Seattle home on April 5, 1994; his body was discovered three days later by an electrician who had arrived to do some work on the property.

Seattle police recently reviewed the closed case due to heightened interest surrounding the 20th anniversary, and confirmed that the case - ruled a suicide in 1994 - will remain shut.

On April 10, Nirvana were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe; other honorees included KISS, Peter Gabriel, Hall and Oates, Cat Stevens, Linda Ronstadt, and The E Street Band.



See also:

Nirvana bassist comments on Rock Hall induction
VIDEO: Nirvana play New York bar after Rock Hall induction
VIDEO: Nirvana perform at Rock Hall induction
AUDIO: Nirvana and Joan Jett rehearse Smells Like Teen Spirit for Rock Hall performance
Search Nirvana at hennemusic