New forensic findings have reignited the controversy surrounding Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain’s cause of death.
The Nirvana legend was discovered dead at his Seattle residence on April 5, 1994 at the age of 27.
The new forensic findings have challenged the long-standing ruling that Kurt Cobain’s death was the result of suicide, with investigators urging Seattle officials to reopen the case nearly three decades later.
Kurt Cobain’s death was officially ruled a suicide by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, rather than a murder, by a Remington Model 11 20-gauge shotgun.
Now, in the latest forensic findings, a forensic expert, Brian Burnett, and researcher Michelle Wilkins argued that some elements of the autopsy and the crime scene point to pressing questions.
Burnett is credited with re-investigating controversial cases, including the death of Marine Col. James Sabow, who joined Wilkins’ investigation in late 2025.
According to Wilkins, “the necrosis of the brain and liver happens in an overdose. That doesn’t happen in a shotgun death.”
The duo also questioned the physical mechanics of the scene, including whether Cobain would have been able to fire the ‘shotgun’ if he was in the compromised state commonly described.
Some other concerns raised in the independent review include blood patterns, hand placement, the arrangement of drug paraphernalia and how the receipts and ammunition were arranged at the scene.
In a more chilling finding, researchers have claimed that the crime scene was staged to look like a suicide, while casting doubt on the authenticity of the note discovered on the property.
According to researcher Michelle Wilkins, Burnett stated, “This is murder. We have to do something about this.”
However, a spokesperson for the medical examiner’s office said, “The King County medical examiner’s office worked with the local law enforcement agency, conducted a full autopsy and followed all of its procedures to determine the manner of death as a suicide,” as reported by The Daily.
The spokesperson revealed that while their department is prepared to reopen the case if new evidence emerges, their office has “seen nothing to date.”
They added: Our office is always open to revising its conclusions if new evidence comes to light, but our previous death sentence stands.”
