A Denial The Death of Kurt Cobain The Seattle Police Department Substandard Investigation & The Repercussions to Justice by Bree Donovan A Capstone Submitted to The Graduate School-Camden Rutgers, The State University, New Jersey in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Liberal Studies Under the direction of Dr. Joseph C. Schiavo and approved by _________________________________ Capstone Director _________________________________ Program Director Camden, New Jersey, December 2014 i Abstract Kurt Cobain (1967-1994) musician, artist songwriter, and founder of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band, Nirvana, was dubbed, “the voice of a generation”; a moniker he wore like his faded cardigan sweater, but with more than some distain. Cobain‟s journey to the top of the Billboard charts was much more Dickensian than many of the generations of fans may realize. During his all too short life, Cobain struggled with physical illness, poverty, undiagnosed depression, a broken family, and the crippling isolation and loneliness brought on by drug addiction. Cobain may have shunned the idea of fame and fortune but like many struggling young musicians (who would become his peers) coming up in the blue collar, working class suburbs of Aberdeen and Tacoma Washington State, being on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine wasn‟t a nightmare image. Cobain, with his unkempt blond hair, polarizing blue eyes, and fragile appearance is a modern-punk-rock Jesus; a model example of the modern-day hero. The musician- a reluctant hero at best, but one who took a dark, frightening journey into another realm, to emerge stronger, clearer headed and changing the trajectory of his life. Cobain intended to walk away from his world- famous band, devoted fans, the grueling life of touring, millions of dollars and a demanding and at times belittling wife. Cobain wanted out. He wanted to pursue other avenues of music, and have a more peaceful life for himself and his baby daughter, Frances Bean. Cobain never had the chance to realize those simple, yet unattainable dreams. ii Table of Contents Abstract………………………………………………………ii Table of Contents…………………………………………...iii Introduction…………………………………………………..1 The Seven Major Mistakes in Suicide Investigation.....................................................................5 Analysis of the Investigation of Kurt Cobain‟s Death................................................................................9 Conclusion........................................................................41 Bibliography .....................................................................49 Addendum (Charts) iii 1 Introduction Almost every individual from the Baby-Boomer generation would be able to relate with the clarity of a photograph where he/she was the moment President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed in 1963. It was a watershed moment for that generation. The members of my generation-Generation X only know that moment as a citation in a history book. What we do remember, what I remember is the date of April 5, 1994. I was in Israel, for a Study Abroad semester. How ironic that friends and family warned me not to go. It was far too violent a place, with guns, bombs and teenage soldiers. But, the only gunshot that mattered to me on that day in April, 1994 was the one that rang out in a solitary greenhouse in Seattle. I was gathered around a television set, (a rare treat) with some friends at The King David Hotel, the ultimate in pampered luxury. We had snuck in for a lazy afternoon. The voice from the television spoke. Kurt Cobain, the front man of the penultimate Grunge rock group on the planet, (Nirvana) was dead. He had shot himself-committed suicide. The voice of our generation was silent. Kurt Cobain was twenty-seven-years old, the same age as I was at that time. My friends and I asked the same question as everyone around the world was asking, WHY?! Kurt Cobain and his music continue to speak to new generations of teenagers twenty-years after his death, and Nirvana has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. There are many who conclude that while Cobain‟s death was tragic and untimely, it was predictable because of his choice of lifestyle and the demons that relentlessly haunted him. When I first choose to 2 write about Kurt Cobain, I, too, felt as though I would be ultimately exploring the death of a hero by his own hand. I believed there were certain extenuating factors that pushed Cobain to a precipice where he felt he had no other option but to jump. After many hours of looking over credible research, I now believe, as do many others, that Cobain was in fact the victim of murder. I could not in good conscience write about the significant impact of Cobain‟s death without reaching any other conclusion. It is clear to me that a great injustice has been done to Cobain, his legacy, family (especially his daughter, Frances Bean) friends, fans, and all those who believe that manipulative people who commit a crime as heinous as murder should be brought to justice. This paper will examine how it could transpire that for twenty-one years, the Seattle Police Department has held to its initial ruling of Cobain‟s death as a suicide despite the growing pile of credible evidence to the contrary. I will do so by exploring the tireless work of one Private Investigator, (Tom Grant) who was initially hired by Courtney Love, Kurt Cobain‟s wife at the time of his death. Love engaged Grant to find her missing husband days before he was found dead. Grant is now certain beyond the shadow of a doubt that Love played an integral part in her husband‟s murder. I will also be looking at the work of Max Wallace and Ian Halperin; two investigative journalist who wrote two books on the subject of the possible murder of Kurt Cobain. Finally, I will be following The Seven Major Mistakes in Suicide Investigation compiled by Vernon J Gerberth, Homicide and Forensic 3 Consultant. Just after midnight on July 2, 1994, an eighteen-year old Edmonton (Canada) boy named Bobby Steele puts the Nirvana song “Endless, Nameless” on the stereo and presses the REPEAT PLAY button. Minutes later, he lifts a 12- gauge shotgun from his father‟s collection and loads three shells. Dressed in a Nirvana “Silver” T-Shirt, he takes out his little black diary and begins to write: “July 94. I just can‟t live anymore. If you just think a lot, you just stop knowing that life has a purpose…I am not intoxicated or high…I just feel bad. It‟s been the most painful 84 days of my life. Eighty-four days earlier, Bobby learned that his hero, Kurt Cobain, had killed himself with a shotgun. A few weeks later, a teenage friend of the family‟s named Greg had locked himself in his car with the engine running and died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Bobby and his sister believed he had never gotten over Kurt‟s death. Now Bobby finishes writing the words in his diary, ending with a veiled reference to the passage in Kurt‟s suicide note, in which he wrote, “so remember, it‟s better to burn out than to fade away.” Instead Bobby writes, “it‟s better not to spark at all. Rob Steele.” He signs the note, and then snaps a Polaroid of himself with a Kurt Cobain poster in the background. He then takes another picture of himself reclining on his bed with a copy of Nirvana‟s In Utero above his head. He aligns the photos on the bed and the positions himself on the floor so that when his body is found, he will look like Kurt in the greenhouse photo. With the death-haunted words of “Endless, Nameless” playing in the background, he positions the muzzle of the shotgun in his mouth and pulls the 4 trigger… Eventually, there would be sixty-eight documented cases of Cobain copycat suicides worldwide. The real figure is likely to be in the hundreds, since most suicides don‟t leave a note (Wallace and Halperin 168-69). This paper is dedicated to all the lives lost in hopes they be delivered by Justice. And to Dr. Joseph Schiavo, Dr. Stuart Charmé, and the late Dr. Hugh White, whose wonderful gifts were not wasted on me. I am humbled. *** “Famous is the last thing I wanted to be…I feel like people want me to die because it would make the classic rock „n‟ roll story.” Kurt Cobain, Kurt Cobain; The Cobain Dossier “I can deny it all the way to the bank…all publicity is good publicity, how‟s that for a spin? Save the American icon, Tom!” Courtney Love to P.I. Tom Grant: Soaked in Bleach Documentary “The story just didn't add up… This woman's husband had just been found dead, and there didn't seem to be any sadness whatsoever. And there was more to this than what I was being told." Private Investigator, Tom Grant hired by Courtney Love, (Cobain‟s wife) to find Cobain prior to his death. “Death investigation is a complicated process, which involves a number of different members of the police department as well as other forensic disciplines working together towards the goal of solving the case.” Vernon J. Geberth M.S. M.P.S. Practical Homicide Investigator 5 The Seven Major Mistakes in Suicide Investigation* 1. Assuming the Case is A Suicide Based on the Initial Report If the case is reported as a SUICIDE, the police officers who respond as well as the investigators automatically tend to treat the call as a suicide. It is a critical error in thinking to handle the call based on the initial report.