Kurt and Courtney – Can One PI’s Story Reopen The Rocker’s Cold Case?

Today is the anniversary that many 30-somethings remember tragically. On April 5th, 1994, the up-and-coming rock star Kurt Cobain committed suicide at his home in Seattle, WA. Not only did this event shock the music world, but it began a series of investigations into the possibility that Cobain’s death wasn’t as straightforward as it seemed.

Over the last 21 years, many have speculated about the possibility that Kurt Cobain didn’t commit suicide, but that he was killed by his wife, Courtney Love. In 1998, a documentary entitled “Kurt and Courtney,” highlighted a theory that Love hired a hitman and paid $50,000 to have her husband killed. Later, the book “Love & Death: The Murder of Kurt Cobain” by Ian Halperin and Max Wallace revealed new forensic and police evidence obtained through the Freedom of Information Act that pointed to Love as a key suspect in Cobain’s murder.

Still, at the core of each of these theories, there is the testimony of one man: Private investigator Tom Grant.

 

 

Grant has been the impetus of many of these so-called “conspiracy theories” regarding Love’s involvement with the death of Kurt Cobain. Although originally hired by Love to help find Cobain after he escaped a Los Angeles rehab center on March 30th, 1994, he has turned into one of the most prolific advocates for the theory that Cobain was murdered. And, his testimony is about to be delivered on the big screen in a movie to be released later this year: “Soaked in Bleach.” His goal? To finally reopen the Kurt Cobain case so that it can be solved.

 

The History

 

Kurt Cobain was the lead singer Nirvana, a rock-and-roll overnight-success story. When the three-piece band came onto the music scene in 1991, bands like Poison and Def Leppard were still the reigning record kings. Within a few short months, Nirvana had changed the face of popular music as the world knew it – making emotion and passion paramount to high production value.

By 1992, the group’s hit single “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” had spent 20 weeks on the Billboard Top 100 Chart. Cobain, who struggled with the concept of fame and commercialism, began to bemoan the group’s success and continued to push the envelope in regards to social issues and drug use. He married Courtney Love on February 24th of that year. Love gave birth to the couple’s only child, Francis Bean, in September.

During the spring of 1993, Cobain’s mental health and drug use began to aggravate each other, foreshadowing the events that would proceed. Cobain overdosed on Heroin twice between May and August, but still managed to release the chart-topping In Utero in September of that year. On March 4, 1994, Love found Cobain passed out from an overdose of Rohypnol. A suicide note was later discovered, making it the first of Cobain’s suicide attempts. Two weeks later, police were called to Cobain’s house. He was found locked in the bathroom with a gun, threatening to kill himself.

One week later, on March 30th, Cobain checked himself into the Exodus Recovery Center, which he fled on April 3rd. He was found five days later when a security system installer found his body locked in a small room above the garage at his home in Seattle, WA. Coroners ruled his death a suicide by self-inflicted shotgun wound. Still, many wondered if it was truly a suicide or a carefully-planned murder in response to Cobain’s desire to divorce his wife.

 

The Private Investigator Speaks

 

According to Grant, Love contacted him on April 3rd about strange credit card activities by Cobain while he was supposed to be in rehab. She then hired him to find Cobain, who was considered a missing person. Grant claims that Love told him to search “the best hotels” as that is where he liked to hang out the most. Later, when talking to Cobain’s friend, Dylan Carlson, Carlson told him: “No, he doesn’t. He usually stays in some pretty ratty places.”

This was just the beginning of a long list of possible subterfuges run by Love. Although he was invited to search Cobain’s residence for the singer, he was never told about the “greenhouse” – the room above the garage where Cobain’s body was found. In addition, several of Kurt’s close friends and employees mentioned that Cobain wasn’t suicidal (although he had been suicidal often in the past six months).

Finally, Grant was concerned with the state of the marriage just prior to Cobain’s death. According to Rosemary Carroll, Love’s entertainment attorney, Love wanted to start divorce proceedings and had investigated into voiding the couple’s prenuptial agreement. Kurt had also called the attorney to ask about updating his will to cut Love out of it completely. As it stood, at the time of Cobain’s death, Courtney would receive 100% of his estate.

 

The Verdict

 

Although the case has long been considered open-and-shut, there are thousands of fans who have followed the additional investigation of Tom Grant in the hopes that it will be reopened. The question is, can one private investigator blow the top off a potential murder without significant new evidence? According to Grant, he has that evidence – he just needs someone to listen. With the anniversary of Cobain’s death inspiring many to revisit the events, and a new movie in the works to highlight the private investigator’s experiences, now could be the right time to consider the “conspiracy theories” in more depth.

For more information about Tom Green’s investigation, visit CobainCase.com. To learn more about Nirvana, read “The Nirvana Biography,” from Rolling Stone Magazine. For more information about how a private investigator can help you get the justice you deserve, contact us.