Love & Death: The Murder of Kurt Cobain Kindle Edition

The bottom line is this: you CANNOT ignore the fact that several of the LEADING EXPERTS in Forensic Science have stated this case needs to be reopened. This book was written in 2004. As of this year, 2016, the same forensic experts, along with new additional forensic experts, have stated this case needs to be reopened. Additionally, Norman Stamper who was the Chief of Police for Seattle Police Department in 1994 has stated they need to reopen the case and that if he were still chief, he would demand it. You CANNOT deny this. You CANNOT call this a mere "conspiracy theory" made up by Nirvana fans that simply can't accept Kurt committed suicide. Not when the key forensic experts in this book are STILL to this day saying there is not just enough evidence to warrant the case being reopened, but that the evidence is OVERWHELMING. I applaud the authors of this book for bringing this into public view in 2004 (twelve years ago now!), yet I'm utterly appalled the case hasn't still been reopened. I hope that Tom Grant's own book released this year will open enough eyes. How many people has Courtney sued for even the most trivial of things? Dozens. And yet she doesn't sue these authors, or Tom Grant, or any other person that is calling her out for having a hand in MURDERING HER HUSBAND? You have to ask yourself: WHY? If someone blatantly blamed YOU for murdering your spouse, and kept doing so for 25+ years, wouldn't you at some point along the way want to take them to the cleaners? I'd be a lion if anyone ever accused me of that. So what's my review of this book? Read it. Read Grant's. If not for anything else, to see in print the testimonies of leading forensic experts and what they have to say. (I also recommend getting at least a slight grasp of forensic science, so that you understand that it's a science that cannot lie. That this is far beyond some 9/11 YouTube conspiracy video that has no forensic merit). If after all this, you STILL don't think the case should at least be reopened for a proper and just investigation, then I ask you, if this were your own child that "committed suicide", and there was this same mountainous evidence that it could very well have been a homicide, and leading forensic experts were saying your child probably didn't kill themselves but was murdered, would you have the same "conspiracy theorist" reaction? I bet not. This is about justice.

Speaking as a person who never purchased a Nirvana album or idolized Kurt Cobain, but rather a person who simply recognizes a very small handful of Nirvana songs, I'd like to think I went into this read with a completely open mind, with no hidden agenda to defend or point the finger at either side of the "suicide vs murder" debate. I had watched the "Soaked In Bleach" video for free on Amazon Prime and followed up with this book, which I couldn't put down once I started it. I don't consider the murder possibility to be a "theory" now, considering the book is based on recorded telephone conversations, documents, and interviews with people who knew Cobain. That's not speculation or story telling; that's recorded voices of people lying, deceiving, hating, planning, people filing false police reports, false media reports, rage, jealousy, etc. I think a better description would be that the book presents a very plausible explanation as to why this man is gone, not a "theory" and certainly not a "conspiracy". Love's "practice sheet" of trying to copy Cobain's handwriting, the fact that someone was trying to use Cobain's credit card up until 15 minutes before his body was found (he had been dead for several days), and the questionable four lines added to his suicide note are all very disturbing. Toss in the fact that another recording between private investigator, Tom Grant and the personal attorney for Love/Cobain confirms that they were divorcing, and that Love was trying to find a way to dissolve the prenup between them, and you'll really start to wonder what's going on. Cobain's new will, which removed Love from inheriting anything, was unsigned at the time of his death. The other two band members confirm that Nirvana had already broken up when Cobain died; without the added four lines to the suicide note, one must consider that the note is actually a note to the FANS, as he was departing the music scene and/or Nirvana at that time. Cobain also had two airline tickets, ready to leave Seattle, but obviously never used them, and was not traveling with Love. Love hangs back in Los Angeles the entire time that Cobain is missing, refusing to actively partake in looking for him, tossing out a variety of media spins and false reports about herself to get attention for her new album, but once his body is found, she returns to Washington state within two hours via private jet. Huh? This is just a bit of the information that came from the many phone recordings and documents that are found in this book. Shame on the police department for proclaiming Cobain's death a suicide the same day that he was found, for NEVER developing the crime scene photos, and for refusing to reopen this case when so much bizarre and suspicious evidence/behavior has been uncovered since Kurt's death. Tom Grant and one other person in this book claim to essentially have the slam dunk evidence for the murder case, but they are refusing to release that information until the FBI steps in and takes over. And they should. Please note that the slam dunk is not in the book, but I did not finish this book feeling like I needed any more information to seriously question the police department declaring this a suicide. Yes, it's a different state and 15 years later, but when Michael Jackson died...THAT is the way to conduct an investigation. Leave no stone unturned before ruling it a natural death, accident, suicide, or homicide. By the end of this book, I found myself feeling very angry and disgusted that the police (or anyone else) can just slap their personally perceived label on another human being (i.e., junkie, homeless, bipolar, whore, druggie, prostitute, drug dealer, teenager, black, white, rockstar, troubled, depressed etc.) and then proceed to quickly dismiss the importance of that person's life, whether the label is true or not, by completely disregarding a proper investigation to find out why that person is now DEAD. I don't care if Cobain used heroin. Couldn't care less! His death deserved a proper and complete police department investigation, just as any other human being; NOT because he was famous, but because the police shouldn't have the power to toss anyone's life value out so quickly. Obviously, this is still a very modern day issue, nothing new really, but certainly infuriating, regardless. And that, in my opinion, is exactly what happened in this botched case: this rush-to-judgment by the police department, and their incredulous ability to believe the false statements and deception coming out of the mouth of this man's wife (because it conveniently supported the label they put on Cobain, and it supported their assumptions, assumptions that were, btw, fed to them by HER) and then promptly tossing the whole thing into the closed case files as if Cobain never mattered, is a complete disgrace. When you're done with this book, Nirvana fan or not, you'll be questioning why SOMEONE out there can't get this case reopened. I do not find the material presented to be fabricated or even far reaching, nor is it one person's opinion. It expands greatly on what was brought up in the "Soaked in Bleach" video. Get this book and make your own decision. I was shocked at how much more information is readily available in the book; the "Soaked in Bleach" video is just a scratch on the surface. Indeed, how DOES a junkie shoot up seven times the lethal dose of heroin, remain conscious, put his personal items away neatly, and retain the ability to properly position a shotgun to commit suicide? And don't fall back on tolerance and heavy abuse, it doesn't hold water. If you think that's the case, then please note that Cobain is the only person on the planet to ever pull it off, which would make him a drug-using superman and an interesting scientific study, too. The book also discusses how Kurt wasn't the only person who was trying to get away from his wife that ended up dead. The bass player for Hole suspiciously died shortly after Cobain (when she announced she was quitting the band, before a big tour started), along with another man who passed a polygraph test, twice stating that he was offered $50K to kill Cobain and "make it look like a suicide"; I'll allow the book to present those stories. Coincidences? How about the fact that the same medical examiner did the autopsies regarding the two dead people mentioned here, declaring their causes of death, and him being a good friend of Love's? Curious? I'm not on the fence about this issue any more. The police need to put their egos aside, reopen the case, and give this a real investigation. Until that happens, there will never be closure as to why this man is gone. The sheer number of copy-cat-suicides in young people since Cobain died should be reason enough for them to do it, even if they still don't give a damn about Cobain. The book consults with multiple experts, who have handled high profile cases that you probably recognize, who state that the photographs of the crime scene would tell all, but Seattle still refuses to develop them. Why? The whole thing is incredibly sad.

As a MSc Psychology graduate and huge fan of both Kurt and Courtney I started reading this book with an extremely cynical mind. I went to the cinema when "Kurt and Courtney" (Nick Broomfield) was released in the late 90s and felt really sorry for Courtney.This book is extremely well written and articulate. Only one sentence made me cringe; when the authors link Courtney's date of birth to O.J Simpson. They are sympathetic to Courtney's horrendous childhood upbringing which no doubt is at the root of her psychological issues. I agree with Kim Gordon's assertion (in "Girl in a Band) that she does present with many symptoms of personality disorder and is obviously a very troubled woman. Her ability to manipulate and feed misinformation to the media is quite frankly quite amazing. You get the feeling that she realised in Tom Grant, here was someone that was not a person susceptible to flattery or psychological game playing. He was able to calmly analyse and question her behaviour instead of getting drawn in to the drama.The whole Seattle Police Investigation is shocking and already well documented in "Soaked in Bleach". The repetition of material between the film and this book does get tiresome. However, one massive shock that left me speechless, was the revelation that the Medical Examiner who conducted the autopsy, Nikolas Hartshorne, was a long term acquaintance of Courtney who saw no ethical issues with conducting her husband's post-mortem. Incredible stuff.A fascinating read which leaves one with an uncomfortable feeling and genuine anger for the rampant egotism of Sgt. Cameron that resulted in an unacceptably poor police investigation. We will probably never know the truth. I will still wear my Hole t-shirts and play Courtney's music, but something definitely was rotten in the State of Washington in April 1994.

Not a massive Nirvana fan nor a fan of Hole, but certainly not convinced that she hired someone to kill Kurt nor do I think that she snuck into the house and pulled the trigger. Certainly not convinced by the so called hitmen thats for sure. The book was well written, with lots of info, certainly enough to make your own judgements, certainly worth the money. I would like to add that I find the silent television in the house (TV on but no sound) could tell a little story perhaps, whats the first thing you do if you hear a strange/loud noise and your watching TV, I tend to mute it or, turn the sound down and go see whats happening, could someone have been staying over (Courtneys pal) heard the noise of the gun going off, turned the sound off then went to investigate, then fled......maybe an angle to think about and certainly makes me angle towards Kurt killing himself.

Fantastic search for the truth. Its a travesty that this case has never been investigated by the authorities, and was so easily dismissed as the suicide of a junky. What a loss to the world!Someone has an awful lot of blood on their hands...

1st book I've read about Kurt's death, the book contain lots of depth research and investigation sources, as a Nirvana and Kurt cobain fan, I really enjoy reading it as it shows me so many things that I don't even heard before (even as evidences of his death). The book shows lots of detailed cases and stories that I'm really interested to know (e.g. Kurt's personal life with Courtney, relationship between the publication companies, bandmates, investigators, social media, Police officers & detectives, as well as the analysis of the evidence & cases that are related.) Although this book is more about the connection Between Courtney and kurt's death, people still could get there own thought and analyze on this rock star's tragedy, the book is excellent for knowing more. Recommend to anyone who love Kurt and nirvana.

Whatever you believe happened to Cobain this makes for very interesting reading concerning the events leading up to his death and the people involved. It doesn't have the tone of a conspiracy theory book, rather it openly speculates and discusses possibilities, allowing for a more objective argument. A real page turner.