Unraveling Mystery: Kurt Cobain’s Uncle Demands New Murder Investigation with Fresh Clues

Kurt Cobain’s uncle has finally addressed the controversial claims that forensic experts believe the Nirvana singer’s death was not a suicide, but rather a murder.

Gary Cobain, who continues to reside in the family home where Kurt spent his childhood, voiced his concerns to the Daily Mail, criticizing the Seattle Police Department (SPD) for what he perceives as a failure to adequately investigate the case.

“He was murdered,” Gary asserted, emphasizing that his father Leland, Kurt’s grandfather, also passed away convinced of this belief.

The tragic loss of Cobain occurred on April 5, 1994, when he was just 27 years old. He died from a gunshot wound to the head in his Seattle residence. His lifeless body was uncovered three days afterward by an electrician who was working on installing security lighting in the property’s greenhouse.

At the time, the King County Medical Examiner declared Cobain’s death a suicide. The decision was based on the discovery of a Remington Model 11 20-gauge shotgun positioned in his arms and a handwritten note found in a plant nearby.

Gary described the original police investigation as ‘sloppy,’ and said he believes the case should be reopened and re-examined more than three decades on. He also claimed Cobain had been considering leaving Nirvana to pursue a solo career, pointing to passages in the suicide note that he believes reflect that desire.

A private team of forensic scientists recently published a peer-reviewed analysis questioning the suicide conclusion and arguing that the evidence points to homicide. The SPD, however, has said it stands by the original 1994 ruling.

Gary said he welcomed the renewed scrutiny, adding that ‘it’s nice that someone else finally caught on.’

Gary Cobain told Daily Mail that he believes his nephew, Kurt Cobain, was murdered 

Cobain died on April 5, 1994, at age 27, from a shotgun wound to the head. A private team of forensic scientists recently published a peer-reviewed study after re-analyzing Cobain’s cause, concluding it was a homicide

The alleged suicide note found near Kurt Cobain’s body has been freshly scrutinized by experts, while Cobain’s uncle believes parts of it point to the Nirvana frontman’s desire to leave the band

Gary, who has seen the autopsy, has similar misgivings about the case. He said the SPD only found one smudged fingerprint on the gun that his nephew is believed to have killed himself.

‘There should’ve been prints all over the gun,’ he said, as Cobain was said to have held the barrel to his mouth and pulled the trigger.

Then there was the position and size of the gun that raised concerns.

‘The gun was 45 inches long, I don’t think I could reach that myself,’ said Gary, who spent seven years in the Army during the 1970s.

Cobain had a close relationship with his uncle, as they were only nine years apart in age, and he spent significant time at his grandfather’s trailer in Aberdeen, Washington, where Gary still lives. 

A picture on the shelf of the home shows Cobain sitting on the couch shortly before his death, cradling his then-baby daughter Frances and sat alongside his wife Courtney Love.

Despite having the photo still displayed, Gary said he never met Love himself.

He described to the Daily Mail how he first heard about his nephew’s death on the radio while driving to his job at a lumber company. ‘I didn’t go to work,’ he said. ‘I took the day off.’ 

A picture on the shelf of the home shows Cobain sitting on the couch shortly before his death, cradling his then-baby daughter Frances and sat alongside his wife Courtney Love

Kurt Cobain’s body was found inside a greenhouse above a two-car garage at his Seattle home (pictured)

He fondly recalled memories of his life, saying Cobain strolled around the house beating on pots and pans.

‘That’s what he wanted to be, a drummer, but he couldn’t keep the beat, so he switched to guitar,’ said Gary.

As a teenager, Gary would babysit Cobain until an incident occurred. ‘I must’ve been 16 or 17, and we were just playing. I was lying on the ground, and he would jump on my feet while I’d toss him into the air like a ball,’ he said.

Cobain wanted to go higher and higher until he broke his arm, and that was the last time Gary babysat him. 

‘Kurt was a good kid, he was happy and goofy,’ Gary said. ‘But that all went downhill when his parents got divorced. It was upsetting.’

Cobain’s parents, Donald and Wendy, separated in 1976 when Kurt was nine years old.

The Nirvana frontman spoke about his relationship with his father, Donald, in past interviews, saying he never really had a father figure. Donald is believed to be living in Aberdeen, but Gary told Daily Mail that the two do not speak.

Gary is currently facing financial challenges, and his friends recently launched a GoFundMe on his behalf, which he told Daily Mail he did not request. 

The campaign has raised $6,000 to help cover basic necessities, including a hot water heater that has been broken for months. 

The trailer where Gary lives has also become something of a historical landmark. 

A suicide note written by Cobain was found in planter inside the greenhouse

When asked how he felt about how the SPD handled Cobain’s case, Gary said ‘sloppy,’ insisting the SPD needs to reopen the case and conduct a proper investigation into what really happened more than three decades ago. Pictured is Cobain’s body found dead at the scene 

Gary said everything went downhill for Cobain when his parents divorced. Cobain struggled with a heroine addiction and was found with a large amount in his system

A person overseeing the property told the Daily Mail that visitors frequently stop to take pictures of the home, and sometimes knock on the door, hoping to meet Gary.

However, Gary has been haunted by the death of his nephew for decades, with feelings of anger that the truth has been kept hidden.

Written in red pen on a restaurant placemat, the alleged suicide note was one of the key pieces of evidence cited by Seattle Police in their conclusion that Cobain took his own life.

The top of the note, addressed to Cobain’s imaginary childhood friend ‘Boddah,’ reads like a farewell to the music world rather than a personal message to his family, his uncle Gary believes.

‘I haven’t felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music along with reading and writing for too many years now. I feel guilty beyond words about these things,’ the note states.

Gary has now found hope in the new unofficial report, which has put the spotlight back on the late rockstar.

Gary hopes the Seattle Police, who he said did a sloppy job on the investigation, reopens the case

One of the researchers, independent crime scene reconstruction expert Bryan Burnett, told the Daily Mail about several pieces of evidence that convinced him and the team that Cobain was murdered.

Burnett pointed to blood patterns, clothing evidence and damage to Cobain’s mouth that he argues are inconsistent with a typical suicide scenario and details in the Nirvana singer’s autopsy.

After re-analyzing pictures taken from the scene, Burnett said he identified what he described as an undocumented bloodstain on Cobain’s left pant leg, which he called ‘extraordinary.’

Enhancing an image with Photoshop, he said, revealed a distinct bloodstain, identifiable by its color, texture and pattern. Burnett noted that the clarity of the image rules out any artifact from digital processing.

The stain’s irregular filling and diffuse pattern were consistent with transfer bloodstains on fabrics with uneven surfaces, according to the peer-reviewed study Burnett and his team published in November.

Near the center of the mark, a partially unstained area appears to correspond with a fold in the fabric, which likely blocked blood from reaching that spot.

Burnett concluded that the absence of similar stains on the victim’s left sock and shoe suggests the mark on the lower left pant leg resulted from contact with a bloodied hand or surface.

The forensic team examined an image released by the SPD showing the lower part of Cobain’s left pant leg, enhancing it in Photoshop using pixel expansion, gamma adjustment and multiple vibrance routines

The forensic team said high-resolution imaging revealed a distinct bloodstain, identifiable by its color, texture and pattern. They also noted that the clarity of the image rules out any artifact from digital processing

In his view, blood would be expected to pool around the head in a suicide scenario rather than appear on the lower leg. He speculated it could indicate someone handled Cobain’s body, though no official findings support that interpretation, nor do forensic reports indicate that such a stain was ever documented.

But that was only the first of five distinct clues that the researchers say support their theory.

Burnett also pointed to blood on Cobain’s shirt as evidence that the body could have been moved after his fatal injury.

He suggested that Cobain continued bleeding after the shotgun blast, and the position of the blood suggests the head was tilted forward. ‘Cobain was bleeding onto his shirts,’ he said.

Burnett’s forensic analysis suggests that, due to the wound, blood from his mouth, nose and left ear should have flowed directly onto his cheeks, neck and the floor – not his shirt.

The pattern of bloodstains, the new analysis argues, suggests that Cobain’s upper body was lifted, causing his head to tilt forward and his chin to rest on his chest, which would have resulted in blood flowing onto his shirt.

‘After the intraoral shotgun discharge, Cobain’s body was moved, either from a different location in the greenhouse before the staging of his body or, more likely, he was carried up the exterior stairs at the side of the garage to the greenhouse,’ the analysis claims.

The experts suggested that Cobain continued bleeding after the shotgun blast, and the position of the blood suggests the head was tilted forward. ‘Cobain was bleeding onto his shirts,’ he said 

The autopsy included Cobain’s blood tests, showing evidence of multiple substances in his system, including morphine, codeine, diazepam and heroin

The Remington Model 11 20-gauge shotgun found at the scene, held by Detective Mike Ciesynski, who investigated Cobain’s death

The autopsy also detected multiple substances in Cobain’s system, including morphine, codeine, diazepam and heroin.

In the official scenario outlined to the public by Seattle police, Cobain is believed to have injected heroin himself, then put away the drug paraphernalia, walked across the room, and then shot himself.

The authors of the new analysis, however, proposed an alternative explanation, speculating that the drugs could have been administered by another person to incapacitate him. No such conclusion has been adopted by authorities.

The Daily Mail has reviewed the full autopsy used by the forensic scientists, which offers a look at the scene, Cobain’s injuries and the meticulous documentation that followed.

The King County Medical Examiner’s Office, which never publicly released the autopsy, would neither confirm nor deny its veracity when approached for comment.

A spokesperson for the Seattle Police Department (SPD) said: ‘The Kurt Cobain case remains closed. The SPD has no plans to revisit it.’