It’s been over thirty years since rock legend Kurt Cobain took his own life at his home in Aberdeen, Washington.
But despite the seemingly self-explanatory circumstances of his passing — Cobain died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after writing a suicide note — theories about his final hours continue to run rampant.
And now, a Washington-based private investigator has sparked renewed interest in one of the music world’s most enduring mysteries.
Kurt Cobain’s suicide note remains a source of controversy
According to the National Enquirer, PI Jason Jensen claims that two Seattle cold case detectives and a King County assistant prosecutor are investigating Cobain’s death in response to startling new evidence.
“The circumstances of Kurt’s death have long troubled me,” Jensen tells the Enquirer. “I never believed he killed himself once I saw the purported suicide note. It’s obvious that a part of that note was forged
In the note, Cobain bemoans “the miserable, self-destructive, death rocker that I’ve become,” but he never speaks of a desire to take his own life until the final four lines.
In his conclusion, Cobain implored Love to “please keep going” for the sake of their child, Frances Bean, adding his daughter “will be so much happier without me.”
According to one prominent forensic document and handwriting examination consultant, the handwriting at the end of the note does not match the lettering at the beginning.
“The top portion of the note … exhibits handwriting characteristics consistent with known samples of [Kurt’s] writing,” reads a report by Dawn McCarty.
“However, upon detailed examination, the last four lines of the note … show subtle but distinct differences in handwriting traits.”
McCarty further explains that the differences include “variations in letter formation, baseline alignment, and slants applied during writing.”
Dr. Mozelle Martin, a court-certified questioned document examiner also reported that her analyses “strongly suggest that Kurt Cobain likely did not author the last four lines of the note.”
She cites the discovery of a “practice note” found among Love’s belongings as potential further evidence of foul play.
“While absolute certainty cannot be guaranteed, the handwriting characteristics present in the last four lines exhibit notable similarities to those observed in the handwriting practice note discovered among Courtney Love’s belongings,” Martin writes.
Conspiracy theorists continue to fixate on Cobain’s widow
In addition to the controversy over the letter, the Enquirer claims to have found a 2014 police report revealing that Cobain had “three times the fatal dose of heroin” in his bloodstream at the time of his death, which would have made it “virtually impossible for him to have shot himself.”
The outlet also links to an article published by Loudwire, citing unsubstantiated claims that in the weeks leading up to his death, Cobain was planning to divorce Love and remove her from his will.
Despite the ongoing fixation among conspiracy theorists, Seattle Police Department and the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office both told the Enquirer that there are no plans to reopen the investigation into Cobain’s death.
“My hope is the findings will finally shed light on what really happened to this generational talent,” Jensen tells the Enquirer.
“Kurt deserves to rest peacefully and that will never happen until his murderer is brought to justice.”