New forensic review challenges Kurt Cobain's suicide ruling, says 'this is a homicide'

A new private forensic review has challenged the official ruling that Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain died by suicide, according to a report by the Daily Mail.

Cobain was found dead at his Seattle home on April 5, 1994, aged 27. The King County Medical Examiner ruled that he died from a self-inflicted shotgun wound using a Remington Model 11 20-gauge shotgun.

More than three decades later, the Daily Mail reports that an unofficial team of private forensic scientists has re-examined Cobain’s autopsy and crime scene materials. The group brought in forensic specialist Brian Burnett, who has previously worked on cases involving overdoses followed by gunshot trauma.

Independent researcher Michelle Wilkins, who worked with the team, told the Daily Mail that after reviewing the evidence Burnett concluded: “This is a homicide. We've got to do something about this.”

According to the newspaper, the team published a peer-reviewed paper in the International Journal of Forensic Science outlining ten points they say suggest Cobain may have been incapacitated by a heroin overdose before being shot, with the scene staged to resemble a suicide.

Wilkins said autopsy findings pointed to organ damage more commonly associated with oxygen deprivation from overdose than with an instantaneous gunshot death.

“The necrosis of the brain and liver happens in an overdose. It doesn't happen in a shotgun death,” she said.

The review also questioned the positioning of the weapon, the reported ejection of a shotgun shell, the condition of Cobain’s hands and the relative lack of blood spatter described in reports. Wilkins said: “Suicides are messy, and this was a very clean scene.”

She also raised concerns about the suicide note, stating that the upper portion appeared consistent with Cobain’s writing but the final lines differed in style.

"If you look at the crime scene photos, you can see how big that gun is," she said. "Imagine he's comatose and dying, and also the way that he would have had to hold it… it's six pounds."

The placement of Cobain's hands and the lack of blood spatter raised further questions. 

She said his left hand was tightly wrapped around the muzzle end of the gun's barrel, yet the shotgun shell was found on top of a pile of clothes opposite the expected ejection direction. 

"So he's dying of an overdose. I mean, he's in a coma, and he's holding this up to be able to reach the trigger to get it in his mouth. It's crazy," Wilkins said.

The team replicated the weapon and found, "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," Wilkins said. 

"So not only is there a shell where it shouldn't be, there shouldn't even be a shotgun shell."

She also highlighted that Cobain's left hand was unusually clean. "If you ever look at photos of shotgun suicides, they are brutal. There is no universe where that hand

The items found on Cobain's body at the time of his death in 1994.

is not covered in blood. You could eat off of… well, I mean, gross, but, like, his hand is so clean."

According to the report, the homicide scenario is that Cobain's left hand was placed on the weapon after death, explaining the thumbprint-like mark observed on his hand 

Wilkins also cited blood patterns suggesting the body may have been moved. 

"There's also blood on the bottom of his shirt. The only way the blood would get on his shirt is if Kurt was lifted and his head was down.

"There's no blood on his hand. There's no blood on the rest of his shirt, but there's a big blood stain on the bottom of his shirt." she said.

The alleged suicide note was also scrutinised, she 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. If you even look at the note, you can see that the last four lines are written in different… the text is a little bit different. It's bigger, it's… looks more scrawly," she said.

In a statement to the Daily Mail, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office said it had conducted a full autopsy and followed proper procedures in ruling the death a suicide.

“Our office is always open to revisiting its conclusions if new evidence comes to light, but 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 told the Daily Mail that it is not reopening the case.

“Our detective concluded that he died by suicide, and this continues to be the position held by this department,” a spokesperson said.

Wilkins said the team was not calling for arrests but wanted authorities to review the evidence.

“If we're wrong, just prove it to us. That's all we asked them to do.”