Did Nirvana star Kurt Cobain really kill himself? 30 years later, private investigators claim, ‘This is a homicide’

The death of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain has long been etched into music history as a suicide. But more than 30 years after he was found dead at his Seattle home in April 1994, a private team of forensic specialists is challenging that conclusion, arguing the case should be reopened.Cobain, 27, was discovered with a fatal gunshot wound from a Remington Model 11 20-gauge shotgun. The King County Medical Examiner ruled his death a suicide, and the Seattle Police Department closed the case accordingly. He was survived by his wife, Courtney Love, and their daughter, Frances Bean Cobain.Now, according to the Daily Mail, an unofficial group of forensic scientists working with specialist Brian Burnett and independent researcher Michelle Wilkins say their review of the evidence points in another direction.Wilkins told the Daily Mail that after reviewing crime scene materials for three days, Burnett concluded: “This is a homicide. We've got to do something about this.”Burnett is described as having specialist experience in cases involving drug overdoses followed by gunshot trauma. The team says it “exhaustively” examined autopsy documents and other materials tied to the case. Their findings have reportedly been compiled into a peer-reviewed paper accepted for publication in the International Journal of Forensic Science, according to the outlet.

The group claims to have identified “ten points of evidence” they believe contradict the official ruling. They allege Cobain was forced to take a heroin overdose before being shot, and that the scene was staged to resemble a suicide, including claims that the gun was placed in his hands and a suicide note was forged.Wilkins said: “The necrosis of the brain and liver happens in an overdose. It doesn't happen in a shotgun death.”She added: “To me, it looks like someone staged a movie and wanted you to be absolutely certain this was a suicide.”Wilkins also questioned specific details from the scene, stating: “The receipt for the gun is in his pocket. The receipt for the shells is in his pocket. The shells are lined up at his feet.”She described the room as unusually orderly and said the needles found nearby had caps placed back on, something she argued would be unlikely after a massive heroin dose.

The spent shotgun shell was reportedly recovered on top of a pile of clothes, which she said was inconsistent with expected ejection patterns.“Not only is there a shell where it shouldn't be, there shouldn't even be a shotgun shell,” Wilkins said.“If your hand is on the forward barrel, where Kurt's hand was reported to be in the SPD report, the gun wouldn't eject a shell at all,” she added.The team also questioned why Cobain’s hands were described as clean and alleged that his left hand may have been placed on the weapon after death, citing what they called a thumbprint-like mark.They further dispute the authenticity of the suicide note. Wilkins said: “The top of the note is written by Kurt, there's nothing about suicide in that. It's basically just him talking about quitting the band.” “Then there are four lines at the bottom... you can see that the last four lines… the text is a little bit different,” she added, claiming the final lines appear “bigger” and “more scrawly.”Wilkins said authorities declined to re-examine the case.

According to her, they “both came back with, "No," Like, we're not even looking at your evidence”. She added: “If we're wrong, just prove it to us. That's all we asked them to do.” Officials have reaffirmed the original findings.A spokesperson for the King County Medical Examiner’s Office said: “King County Medical Examiner’s Office worked with the local law enforcement agency, conducted a full autopsy, and followed all of its procedures in coming to the determination of the manner of death as a suicide.”

The spokesperson added that the office is open to reconsideration if warranted, but said: “we’ve seen nothing to date that would warrant re-opening of this case and our previous determination of death.

"The Seattle Police Department also reiterated its position in comments to the Daily Mail: “Our detective concluded that he died by suicide, and this continues to be the position held by this department.”Cobain’s death remains officially classified as a suicide.

In the years following his death, Courtney Love has spoken publicly about the backlash she faced. In 2024, she told the Evening Standard: “He was able to hide behind me, but then I got hated. Then Kurt died, and the hatred towards me reached a completely new level. I did not plan for that.”In a 2011 interview with Vanity Fair, cited by ABC News, Love said: “If [Cobain] came back right now I’d have to kill him, for what he did to us. I’d fking kill him. I’d fk him, and then I’d kill him. He tried to kill himself three times! He OD’d at least five times.” Despite renewed scrutiny from the private team, law enforcement and medical authorities continue to stand by the original 1994 ruling.