Seattle Police Review Kurt Cobain Suicide Case

In preparation for the upcoming 20th anniversary of Kurt Cobain‘s death, a Seattle police detective has reexamined the precinct’s files on the case of the Nirvana frontman’s suicide, uncovering some previously undeveloped photos of the death scene.

Seattle Police plan to release one image from that discovery on Seattle’s KIRO 7 Eyewitness News later Thursday night (US time). The police have said that the photos do not shed any new light on the circumstances surrounding Cobain’s suicide and are adamant that the case has not been “re-opened”.

“There was nothing earth-shattering in any of these images,” police spokeswoman Renee Witt said on Thursday. She said the officer took another look at the Cobain suicide to be ready to answer questions in connection with next month’s anniversary. “There’s still a lot of interest in this case,” Witt said. “The detective went into the case files to refresh himself. The outcome of the case has not changed.”

According to KIRO 7, in February of this year, Seattle police developed four rolls of film that had been sitting in their vault for 20 years. Under “high security,” the 35mm film was developed at the King County Sheriff’s Office photo lab.

The images reportedly show a clearer view than previous polaroid photos of the scene, but the police have said the images showing Cobain dead at the scene will not be released to the public. KIRO 7 has obtained one of the new images of the crime scene and will air it on their 11pm new bulletin.

Cobain’s body was discovered in Seattle on April 8th, 1994 by electrician Gary Smith. “I noticed something on the floor and I thought it was a manikin,” Smith told KIRO 7 at the time. “So I looked a little closer and geez, that’s a person. I looked a little closer and I could see blood and an ear and a weapon laying on his chest.”

An investigation determined that days earlier, not long after he had been released from rehab, Cobain had gone into the greenhouse of his large home and taken a massive dose of heroin. He then shot himself with a 20-gauge shotgun. Earlier that year Cobain had tried to kill himself in Rome by taking an overdose of tranquillisers.

Last year, a Seattle police department spokeswoman said the department gets at least one request per week, usually via Twitter, to reopen the investigation. No other Seattle police case has received similar attention over two decades and the public affairs unit keeps the basic incident report on file because of the number of requests.

UPDATE 3:34pm 21/03/14: The previously reported photos taken by the Seattle Police Department at the scene of Kurt Cobain’s death have been released to the public. As the Associated Press reports, the images depict a box containing drug paraphernalia, among other items. See below.

Gallery: Newly Released Kurt Cobain Death Scene Photos

Must Read