Kurt Cobain

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April 5, 1994, Seattle, Washington

Kurt Cobain, the lead singer of the American grunge band Nirvana, was found dead at his home located at 171 Lake Washington Boulevard in Seattle, Washington, United States on April 8, 1994

analysis determined that he had committed suicide three days prior on April 5. The Seattle Police Department incident report states that Cobain was found with a shotgun across his body, had a visible head wound and there was a suicide note discovered nearby. The King County Medical Examiner noted puncture wounds on the inside of both the right and left elbow. Prior to his death, Cobain had checked out of a drug rehabilitation facility and been reported suicidal by his wife Courtney Love.

Despite the official ruling of suicide, several theories have arisen offering alternate explanations for Cobain’s death. Tom Grant, a private investigator hired by Cobain’s wife, Courtney Love, to find Cobain after his departure from rehab, put forth his belief that Cobain was murdered. Grant’s theory has since been analyzed and questioned by television shows, films and books. Authors and filmmakers have also attempted to explain what might have happened during Cobain’s final days, and what might have led him to commit suicide.

Discovery of Cobain’s body

On April 8, 1994, Kurt Cobain was discovered in the living quarters above his garage at his Lake Washington house by Veca Electric employee Gary Smith. Smith arrived at the house in the morning to install security lighting and saw Cobain lying inside. Smith found what he thought might be a suicide note with a pen stuck through it beneath an overturned flowerpot. A shotgun, purchased for Cobain by Dylan Carlson, was found resting on Cobain’s chest. Cobain’s death certificate stated that his death was a result of a “contact perforating shotgun wound to the head”, and concluded his death a suicide. The report estimated Cobain to have died on April 5, 1994.