All language subtitles for Soaked in Bleach - English

(Somber music)

(Thunder)
(Ominous music)

[Voiceover] He's reaching
out, really, for the downtrodden

Of society, for the average
Joe on the street who wants

To look up to his lyrics
and his music and say,

"Hey, this man's
talking my language."

[Voiceover] You guys don't
like explaining anything

To do with your music...

[Voiceover] There's
nothing to be said,

It's all in the music, man.

It's all in the music.

[Voiceover] If there was
a John Lennon-type figure

For the so-called "Generation
X," it would be Cobain.

[Voiceover] The body of
Nirvana leader Kurt Cobain

Was found in a house in
Seattle on Friday morning,

Dead of an apparently
self-inflicted shotgun blast

To the head.

[Voiceover] An electrician
hired to work on Cobain's home

Walked up to this room
above Cobain's garage

And made the shocking
discovery this morning.

[Voiceover] A
suicide note was found.

[Voiceover] This
is a puzzling case,

A very disturbing case.

[Voiceover] It first got
reported that Kurt was missing

And Courtney Love hired
private investigator Tom Grant.

[Voiceover] I had
been involved in

Missing persons cases before.

Some red flags started
popping up immediately,

So I began recording every
conversation I had with Courtney

During the entire period
that I worked for her.

[Voiceover] My
name is (Indistinct)

[Voiceover] It could be
made to look like a suicide.

[Voiceover] People that
I had do this, I paid.

[Voiceover] I've walked
into cases that looked

Like they were suicides that
turned out to be homicides.

[Voiceover] Cobain's
wife, singer Courtney Love,

Was in England on tour
with her band Hole

When the body was discovered.

[Voiceover] As it is,
she has inherited an estate

Worth tens of
millions of dollars.

That's motive.

[Voiceover] Did Courtney
Love kill Kurt Cobain?

Did she have a hand in
any kind of conspiracy?

These are favorite
topics of fanatics.

[Voiceover] There's nothing
in the medical examiner's

Report or coroner's reports
that could not have easily

Have been duplicated
by a murderer.

[Voiceover] It's entirely
possible that a police officer,

No matter how well-trained,
may not see or notice

A particular item of evidence.

[Voiceover] Kurt
Cobain was not barricaded

Inside the room.

He did not leave his
driver's license out.

No one would believe
that was a suicide note.

Kurt Cobain was injected
with three times

The lethal dose of heroin.

The media was
getting this wrong.

(Thunder)
(Rain)

(Ominous music)

Are you sure
he's not in there?

I knocked for at
least five minutes.

If he's there he
would have answered.

Alright, I just
don't wanna end up

On the wrong end of a shotgun.

Let's go.

[Dylan] Careful.

[Dylan] Kurt?

Kurt!

[Tom] If we find
it we're gonna have

To take it, right?

[Dylan] Yeah.

Which I can legally
do since I bought it.

It's in my name, so...

[Tom] Not here, could
it be under the bed?

[Dylan] Might be.

[Tom] No. Alright,
let's move this.

Alright, what is this?

This mean anything to ya?

[Dylan] Rohypnol,
that's where they are.

[Tom] What?

He kept saying
someone stole 'em,

But they've been sitting there.

These are what he
OD'ed on in Rome.

[Tom] Well she didn't
want us to take those.

Yeah.

[Tom] Uh, wait a minute.

Would she be okay
if you keep 'em?

[Dylan] Yeah.

Are they legal here?

[Dylan] Yeah, they're
completely legal, they're like...

[Tom] What are they used for?

[Dylan] They're
sold as a sedative for

Sleeping ailments, and sometimes
they're given to people...

[Tom] And if we get
pulled over, you're not

Gonna get arrested
for havin' those?

[Dylan] No, they're fine.

Well it's obviously
not here, the shotgun.

No, and I dunno
where it would be.

[Tom] Is there anywhere else?

[Dylan] No.

[Tom] Okay.

(Ominous music)

My name is Tom Grant.

I was hired by Courtney
Love to find her missing

Husband, Kurt Cobain,
in April of 1994.

My father was a schoolteacher,

And this is a man I
never caught one time

In my entire life telling a lie.

He was the best role
model anybody can ask for.

By the time I became a
junior in high school,

I definitely wanted to
be a police officer.

Graduating from the L.A.
County Sheriff's Department

Was a very proud day for
me and for my family.

My first assignment
was a patrol division

At West Hollywood
Sheriff Station.

When I quit the department,
I quit in very high standing.

From there I moved
on, took the test

And obtained my own private
investigator's license.

I believe what makes me a good
P.I. is that I always apply

Logic and common sense
to everything that I do.

I've seen a lot of
suicides, a lot of murders,

And I don't try to
pre-determine anything.

And if I feel that my
client, that's coming to me

For help, is in the wrong based
on what they're telling me,

I'll let them know,
"This could be a pretty"

"Dangerous trip for you."

Scratch the surface of most
P.I.s and you don't find a clean

Record, you find
a lotta skeletons.

And then we met Tom Grant.

It turned out he had
an exemplary record.

He was respected, he
was a stand-up guy.

There was a consensus,
and that went a long way

To convincing us
of his credibility.

The word conspiracy is
actually a legal term.

It simply means two or
more people plotting

Or planning to commit a crime.

Even committing shoplifting
with another person

Can actually be charged
with conspiracy.

When somebody refers to me
as a conspiracy theorist,

I take it as an insult because
I know what they mean by it.

Hiring me is not like
hiring an attorney.

It's not to protect you, it's
not to keep you outta jail.

My job as a private investigator
is to find the truth.

It's simply to find
the truth in the matter

That you're hiring me for.

(Eerie music)

On Easter Sunday,
I was in my office

With a private investigator
who worked for me

Named Ben Klugman,
and we were dealing

With a client when
the phone rang.

(Phone ringing)

Now who calls on Easter?

Would you excuse us
for just a second?

The Grant Company,
how may I help you?

[Tom] And it was a woman's
voice on the other end,

Kind of a raspy, low voice.

Now if someone is unlawfully
using your credit cards,

Maybe the police are the
better people to call.

[Tom] And then she said,
"My husband and I are"

"Kinda famous, and we need
to get this done right away."

And your husband's name?

Are you kidding me?

No, no.

I was about 47 at
the time; Ben Klugman,

My investigator, was 29.

He immediately
knew who they were

And what had been
going on, even in Rome

Just a few weeks earlier.

Because it was a holiday, of
course, there were very few,

If any, other
private investigators
working, so she went

Through the Yellow Pages
and she found our ad

And I was probably one
of many that she called,

And I think she was
probably surprised

To have the phone picked up.

What room number?

It's not very often that
a private investigator goes

Against his client, so I'm
sure she regrets hiring me.

When we were available
to meet Courtney

At the Peninsula Hotel,
first thing she said,

And this is her words,
they're not mine,

You leak this to the press,
I'll sue the fuck out of you.

Well, hello to
you too. (Laughing)

How ya doin'?

Kurtis came from
rehab a couple days ago.

He bought a ticket back to
Seattle, but nobody's seen him

Since he got back.

When I first entered
the room, she was wearing

A negligee nightgown,
totally see-through.

She might as well have
had nothing on whatsoever.

[Courtney] I called
the credit card companies

And told them that
the card was stolen

And that they should cancel it.

[Tom] Was it?

[Courtney] What?

[Tom] Stolen.

[Courtney] No.

Courtney eventually told
us that Kurt's credit card

Actually wasn't stolen,
that she had called the

Credit card company and
canceled it so that nobody

Could use it.

She felt that that would,
essentially, cut him off

From any funds.

I'm sure your husband has
another way of getting money.

[Courtney] Are you kidding me?

Kurt is helpless, he
doesn't have any friends.

Again, in her words,
"You don't understand."

"This guy can't even catch a..."

Fucking cab by
himself if he wanted to!

[Woman] Hey.

[Courtney] Hey.

That's my drug dealer.

I didn't know at the
time that this was supposed

To be an in-house rehab.

I learned that later,
but a total farce.

Most of the time I was
with her, she was either

On drugs or doing drugs.

There was nobody overseeing
what was going on there.

[Courtney] Listen,
Kurt escaped from rehab,

He bought a shotgun, and I
just feel like something bad

Is gonna happen, okay?

In the middle of all this
conversation, she keeps talking

About how suicidal he is,
and how everybody thinks

He's gonna commit suicide.

[Courtney] Everybody
knows it, everybody thinks

He's gonna die.

Hold on a second.

If he bought a shotgun
and he's suicidal,

Then dealing with this
credit card problem,

That's the least important
thing we could help you with.

[Courtney] Okay, well that's
where I want you to start.

She started off with a lie
when we first talked to her

On the phone, saying why
she wanted to hire us,

Which wasn't true, and
then she starts telling us

These other things that
just didn't add up.

They weren't logical,
they didn't make sense.

So all kinds of red
flags started popping up.

I dunno what's gonna
happen with this case,

But we are gonna
document everything.

Looking back on that day,
it turned out to be a day

That really changed
my life forever.

The name Kurt Cobain
goes through my mind,

Probably three or 400
times a day, at least,

And it has for the last
20 years, by necessity,

Because of the e-mails I
get, the letters I get,

And all the other stuff,
because he was so famous,

And it gets a little
bit old after a while,

Just thinking Kurt Cobain,
Kurt Cobain, Kurt Cobain.

[Voiceover] Kurt Cobain,
Kurt Cobain, Kurt Cobain,

Kurt Cobain, Kurt Cobain.

(Rock music)

(Rock music)

Growing up in Aberdeen,

Basically not a whole lot to do.

Nine months out of the
year is very dreary,

Very overcast, lotsa rain.

It's kinda hard living in this
area and not being depressed.

Employment
opportunities in Aberdeen,

There's not a whole lot.

For the most part, we
were lower-middle class.

I don't think we would
be considered poor,

We certainly didn't go hungry.

The first two weeks of
the month, everybody gets

Their welfare check,
the bars are packed.

The last two weeks of the
month, the bars are empty

And that's pretty much the
state of living. (Laughing)

Kurt used to live
across the street,

And his mother and him,
they'd sit out there and argue

For a half hour or 45 minutes,
and the wife and I slept up

In the upstairs bedroom, so
we used to hear it. (Laughing)

I knew Kurt Cobain
from the high school.

He ran around with
my two oldest sons.

The couch I'm sitting
on now is the couch

That Kurt slept on.

He stayed for a few days,
and then a few days more,

And it just sorta stretched
out to be about a year.

It's a depressing
atmosphere, but I also think

At the same time, that's
why we have so many bands

From all over Washington State.

There was nothing to do.

It rained constantly, so
what you had to do was

You had to improvise.

People tended to pick
up instruments and play,

And I think that just
affected the music

For this whole
region in general.

In our neighborhood,
we lived a block away

From the group that
became the Melvins.

Metal Church lived in
the house next door.

We had examples of
people who made it.

I used to see him with
his drum sticks beat

On the stop signs, on the
fences, and his dad had

A old Ford pickup, he used
to beat on that. (Laughing)

When he first saw the Melvins
live for the first time,

He just knew that that
was what he wanted to do.

The day that changed his life.

Before Nirvana, we
were called Skid Row,

And then we went from Skid
Row and we played live

On the radio, a
midnight show on Chaos.

The very next day, I
showed up at Kurt's

And Kurt had his easel
and he was paintin'

This picture, and I
looked at it and I go,

"What the hell?"

It was a painting of a giant pen

With its cap all chewed up.

From that day on, we
were called Pencap Chew.

We did some shows
as Pencap Chew,

And Kurt tired of that,
so we're Ted Ed Fred.

They don't like that no more,
so we're gonna be Bliss.

The fourth name was Bliss,

And then the fifth
name was Nirvana.

I didn't see him
as being particularly

Different emotionally
from any of us.

I think people tended
to read him wrong,

Just because he
was a quiet person.

I don't see Kurt as
being depressed at all,

I see him as being optimistic.

He gave me a lotta hope,

To hopefully, some day,
get outta this area

With my music.

Nirvana, Mudhoney and the
Melvins was doing something.

It was proactive.

To me, that takes courage,
and he had that courage,

And that was the big difference.

He had so much talent
and tremendous amount

Of creativity to give,
so it's unlimited,

What he could've done.

It would be nice to,
eventually, start playing

Acoustic guitars and be
thought of as a singer

And a songwriter rather
than a grunge rocker.

Because then I might be able
to take advantage of that

When I'm older and
sit down on a chair

And play acoustic guitar like
Johnny Cash or something,

And it won't be a big
joke, but who knows?

My last real memory of Kurt

And it's not a good thing
for me, but I was on my way

To work and I had to get gas.

I stopped in at one
of my former employers

And I was gettin' gas for
my car, and they actually

Had the radio playing.

They overheard it on
the radio and stuff,

Standing, paying for my
gas, and it was like...

I can't forget that day.

(Eerie guitar music)

[Courtney] I called
the credit card company

Like you said, and

They told me he also
bought two tickets

On United Airlines.

[Older man] Where to?

They don't know, or
they won't tell me.

All they told me was how
much he paid for 'em.

So, I dunno.

Maybe he's going to hang
out with Michael again.

Michael.

Stipe.

Lead singer of R.E.M?

Anyway, I figure he
flies up, gets his guitar

From Seattle and then he
flies down to Atlanta,

But he has two tickets.

Did he buy a ticket
for someone else?

(Crying)

I think Kurt wants a divorce.

Why would you say that?

He left me a note in Rome,
he said he's leaving me.

The subject of divorce
came up almost every time

We talked after that.

Whenever Courtney
referred to divorce,

She would usually
say something like...

The only way that a
divorce is gonna happen is

If I bust him for infidelity.

Has he been unfaithful?

Yes! Yes, I think so.

Courtney, on several
occasions, mentioned
that she thought

Kurt might be having an
affair with Kristen Pfaff,

Her bass player.

She was very jealous, and
she also felt like he might

Be having an affair
with Caitlin.

His drug dealer.

If Kurt's in Seattle,
he's with her.

She seemed to be
very jealous of anybody

That got near Kurt, and wanted
to know every little move

That he made.

So I planted a story
in the news yesterday,

Saying that I had OD'ed and
that I was in the hospital,

Thinking that Kurt would
get scared and call me.

I dunno, it's like...

I've got this record
coming out in a week,

And so I know the value of this,
but I didn't think about it

When it first happened, but

(Laughing)

Anyway, what do I tell this
guy from the Associated Press?

Should I call and confirm it,
and so the story goes out,

And say I was there?

I tell you what, and this
is just my gut instinct

Yeah.

That way there's
no drugs involved

And the sympathy goes to me.

(Laughing) The press always
perceives me as just completely

Tragic and fucked up
anyway, so I don't know.

Thank you very much,
that's a lot of information,

And we'll go do our job.

We were already convinced
that Tom was sincere,

That he believed
what he was saying.

He certainly wasn't lying.

He brought us into this
office with a safe,

Opened the safe, and there was
this trove of cassette tapes,

Just hours and hours of tapes.

And then he starts
playing us the tapes.

And the facts were there.

She's just, coming
across as very controlling

And very angry.

Something was going on
that was outta the ordinary,

And there was more to this
than what I was being told.

[Courtney] I called
Seattle Police,

Filed a missing person's report.

[Tom] Did they ask when
you were comin' back?

She filed it in the
name of Wendy O'Connor,

Kurt Cobain's mother.

[Courtney] If I filed
it under my own name.

So all the media that
went out after that

That said Kurt's mother filed
a missing person's report

Was totally false.

On April 4th, Kurt Cobain's
mother, Wendy O'Connor,

Filed a missing person's
report on her son

Because he reportedly fled a

Quote end quote, "facility."

She did not clarify whether
that was a drug treatment center

Or not, but that's what
people are speculating.

She was worried about Kurt
because he had a shotgun

In his possession.

She considered him suicidal.

[Courtney] That should
get things going, right?

[Tom] Right.

[Courtney] What about Caitlin?

I know that they're together.

[Tom] I've got someone
watching her apartment.

He hasn't showed up.

I wanna put someone
on your house too,

Because sooner or later
he's gonna come home.

[Courtney] But if
Kurt's still in Seattle,

He's hiding out, he's not
gonna be at the house.

He likes to stay in hotels,
fancy hotels downtown.

He uses the name Simon Richie.

Mm, mm, or Bill Bailey.

You should check that out.

The next day, on
Monday, when we hadn't had

Any success with the really
nice hotels in Seattle,

We began calling some of
the other smaller motels,

And we located a
motel, and there was a

Bill Bailey registered there.

I wanna send one of
our guys over there

To see if it's Kurt.

[Courtney] No no no no no
no, I don't want Kurt to know

That I'm looking for him.

Send somebody over there,

Just have them watch
the hotel, okay?

Okay.

I dunno, 15 or
20 minutes went by.

What do you mean
you called the hotel?

I thought that you said that
you didn't want Kurt to...

[Courtney] No! I, Tom...

Okay, listen,
if he's not there,

Then I think we need
to set up a team

At the Lake Washington house.

It's a waste of time, Tom.

You know what, he's
not gonna be there.

Is there a reason that
you don't want surveillance

On your house?

Yes, because we don't need it.

Cali's there, he'll tell
me if Kurt shows up.

(Ominous music)

[Tom] Earlier in the
day in a conversation,

Courtney told me she
didn't trust Cali,

And she said he's one of the
best liars she's ever met.

But now, all of a
sudden, she tells me

He won't tell anybody.

(Ominous music)

[Tom] I'm not as
effective for you here

As I would be up there.

I'd like to move the entire
search up to Seattle.

I know I got guys on the
ground there, local guys,

And if I were there I could
move 'em along a little.

That's fine, you can go.

That's great, that's great.

[Woman] Why don't you
go up there, Courtney?

[Courtney] Because I can't!

I have business to
take care of here.

Look, I'd appreciate it
if you didn't tell anyone

I was traveling up there.

If anyone knows,
they might tell Kurt,

And then he could flee.

[Courtney] Absolutely, I
think it's a really good idea.

Okay, I'm gonna get goin'.

[Courtney] Save the
American icon, Tom.

(Ominous music)

(Rock music)

As I was getting
ready to fly to Seattle,

Courtney told me
about Dylan Carlson.

Dylan knew all the
hangouts, he knew the house

Really well.

Kurt's best friend
was Dylan Carlson.

So what are you
thinkin', is he suicidal?

No, not at all.

He's been under a lotta
pressure but he's been handling

Things pretty good.

I know he and Courtney
have been having

A lotta troubles lately, but...

I don't know why
Kurt married her.

They don't get along, they
don't agree about anything,

They're always fighting,
that type of thing.

This thing in
Rome, did anybody say

That that may have been
him tryin' to kill himself?

No, it was an accident.

Everybody knows that.

I asked him several times
about whether Kurt was

Suicidal or not, and it
was almost a joke to him.

It was like, "No,
of course not."

'Cause I'm thinkin'
if he was as suicidal

As she says he is, why would
she let him buy a shotgun?

He's not suicidal.

We bought that shotgun
the day he went to rehab,

Been a burglary at
the house recently.

The police had just
confiscated his other gun,

So I registered it in my name.

Trust me, if he was suicidal,
I would never let him

Get a shotgun.

Singer Courtney Love says
Cobain had first written

A suicide note to her
which said, in part,

"It's not fun for me anymore,
I can't live this life."

There was a mythology
that, "Oh yeah",

"Everybody knew he was suicidal,"

"That was just obvious,"

So it was no big surprise when
he finally killed himself.

And then you go to
those closest to him,

The people that knew him best,

And none of them
believed he was suicidal.

I've never heard Kurt talk
about suicide or anything,

He always seemed
happy around me.

Quiet, shy, but
definitely happy.

Never hinted to me
that he was depressed.

His music and his lyrics
portrayed a darker side

To some of his emotions, but
I think that was glorified.

People start to analyze
the lyrics and look at some

Of the things that
he wrote and say,

"Of course, look at
what he wrote here."

"Obviously he's
talking about suicide."

I'm tired of people
thinking, trying to put

Too much meaning into my lyrics.

A lotta times when I
write lyrics, which is

At the last second
'cause I'm really lazy.

And then I find myself
having to come up

With explanations for it.

There may be one or two lines
in a song here and there,

But I swear to God,
brother, it's really not

As much as it seems.

The pain in his stomach,
this was a big thing

This stomach pain that he'd
been suffering for years

Was so severe that it made
him wanna kill himself.

He did talk like that,
there's no question,

And once that was
diagnosed, it was treated,

And the pain went away.

[Voiceover]
How's your stomach?

Have you found anything to...

(Sighing) It's gone.

- [Voiceover] Yeah?
- Yeah.

I finally have been prescribed
the right stomach medicine

After six years of being
in constant pain, finally.

I haven't had a stomach
problem for over a year now.

The stomach pain and the
outlook and his disposition

Seem to be very closely linked.

He had given an interview
to Rolling Stone,

Where he said he was
happier than he'd ever been.

[Voiceover] Is this your idea?

(Kurt burping)

When you hear Courtney
spinning this whole

Elaborate timeline about how
he tried to commit suicide

Before and he was
talking about suicide

To everybody he knew, that
just seems to be fiction.

Rather chillingly, Love
says that three of Cobain's

Uncles had also
committed suicide.

She calls it the Cobain curse.

As far as the suicide
history in the Cobain family,

Leland Cobain's father,
he was a Monte Santo

Police officer, and he
went into a bar one day

And he sat at a bar stool.

This was back in 1938.

His gun somehow dislodged
from its holster,

Hit the ground, and
according to the report,

He looked around in the
bar and asked if everybody

Was okay, and then
immediately collapsed.

He just fell dead.

From what Leland has told
me about his brother,

His brother was drinking
and he fell down a staircase

And died from
complications of that.

Neither Kurt's great-grandpa

Or his great-uncle
were suicides.

One of the important
elements in the case,

And in convincing the
world that it was suicide

Was the so-called
"Rome suicide attempt."

(Drumming)

Nirvana front-man Kurt Cobain,

Who slipped into a coma
and was hospitalized

In Rome, Italy, at about 6AM
this morning, was in a state

Of what his management
calls "complete collapse."

His condition was
apparently aggravated

When he consumed
champagne on top of a

Prescription painkiller
called Rohypnol.

At the time, the word
suicide was never used

By the media, by
Courtney, by Kurt.

It was portrayed as an
accidental drug overdose.

[Voiceover] He recovered from
the coma, and his publicists

Said the incident was an
accident, not a suicide attempt.

As soon as Kurt died, first
interviews that Courtney gave

She started talking about
previous suicide attempts,

Rome was a suicide attempt.

Courtney started telling people

That Kurt had
swallowed 60 pills.

You swallow 60 pills,
that's not an accident.

That's a suicide attempt.

So we decided to contact
the doctor that treated Kurt

In Rome, Doctor Galletta,
and he categorically denied

That there were 60
pills in his stomach

And that it was a
suicide attempt.

At the time, Kurt and
Courtney both said it was

An accident, and the
doctor confirmed that.

So there's just no evidence
that he had ever tried

To kill himself before.

No anecdotal evidence,
nobody else close to Kurt

Ever said that he tried
to commit suicide,

But the world just took
Courtney's word for it.

(Sad guitar music)

While I was in Seattle with
Dylan and we were driving

Around, I mentioned to
him that Courtney said

That Kurt only stays
in the best hotels,

And he was almost incredulous.

He practically
laughed and he said,

"That's ridiculous!"

"He hates fancy hotels, he
stays in really cheap places,"

"Mostly along the Aurora strip."

Have you seen him or not?

Okay, come on.

(Eerie music)

[Dylan] I'm gonna call
Courtney and check in.

I dunno what's goin' on.

Dylan told me that when
they did stay at those motels,

They usually stayed
for two or three weeks,

Basically living off of
Coca Cola and potato chips

And doing their heroin.

Courtney always wanted
to go through Dylan,

She wanted to talk
to Dylan on the phone

And have Dylan give
me the instructions.

Courtney's had some trouble,
she was in the hospital

And she got arrested.

What?

She said that it was all a
big mistake and she's fine.

She wants us to go back
to the house and look

For the shotgun again.

She thinks it might be
in the hidden compartment

Of the bedroom closet.

Hidden compartment?

She hadn't mentioned
that to us before,

But she said, "That's where
Kurt keeps the shotgun",

"So if it's there, that's
where it's gonna be."

[Tom] Let's go.

(Ominous music)

Remember this from last night?

[Dylan] No.

The note that was
apparently written by Cali

Didn't make sense.

"Kurt, I can't believe you
managed to be in this house"

"Without me noticing."

"You're a fucking asshole
for not calling Courtney"

"And at least letting her
know that you're okay."

"She's in a lot of pain,
Kurt, and this morning"

"She had another
accident, and now she's"

"In the hospital again."

We looked in that little
hidden compartment.

There was no shotgun there.

"She's your wife, she loves you,"

"And you have a child together."

"Get it together to at
least tell her you're okay,"

"Or she is going to die."

"It's not fair, man."

"Do something now."

(Eerie music)

Later when I talked to
Rosemary Carroll about it

And I told her I was
suspicious of it,

She jumped in right away, and
she knows Cali real well, too.

(Eerie music)

Dylan and I headed out
to the town of Carnation,

Just outside of Seattle.

Kurt and Courtney
owned two cabins there,

And we were curious to see if
there had been any evidence

Of Kurt being there.

We got about halfway there
when we stopped to get gas,

And Dylan made
another phone call.

(Ominous music)

[Voiceover] I got a phone
call from our electrician,

Gary Smith, and he was doing
some security lighting.

We had a house above.

We just knew it was a
rock star in Seattle,

We weren't sure,
didn't know who he was.

He literally just
stumbled across it.

He looked through a
doorway, a glass door,

A locked door,
and he saw a body.

And he said, "I think
he shot himself."

I called a radio station,
told 'em what happened.

[Voiceover] So I answered
the call and there's a guy

On the end of the line,
and he's goin', "I have got"

"Some incredible news here."

[Tom] Anything?

A friend of mine said he
just heard they found a body

At Kurt's house.

[Tom] What?

[Voiceover] Rock
group Nirvana is dead.

An electrician
discovered Cobain's body

In the singer's Lake
Washington home this morning.

The electrician tells KOMO
news that emergency crews

Told him that the dead
man is Kurt Cobain.

[Tom] When I heard
that the body was found

In a room that was called
the Greenhouse, I turned

To Dylan and I said,
"What's the Greenhouse?"

And he said, "It's just
a dirty little room"

"Above the garage."

They stored lumber or
something in there.

It sounded to me
like this was just

Some kinda broom
closet or something.

[Voiceover] So do you
think he intentionally

Did not tell you to
check that room out?

[Tom] Again, I hope the
listeners bear in mind

We're having to skip over
an awful lotta stuff...

(Eerie music)

I glanced down on
the floor and I saw

Something that looked
like a mannequin.

I can see blood in this
ear, and long hair,

And immediately got
a little shaken.

The French doors were locked.

I was first in and
right away could see

That it was a fatality.

The shotgun lay in his lap,
a significant pool of blood

By his head.

There was nothing
we could do for him,

So we didn't touch the body.

We'll check for mail or
somethin' with a name on it.

The officer said, "Do
you want the name?"

Knowing I needed
it for my log book.

He said, "It's
Cobain, Kurt Cobain."

A couple of second delay
and my head snappin' around,

I said, "You mean
the rock star?"

[Voiceover] The developing
story shocks the music world.

A man found dead this morning
is rock star Kurt Cobain.

[Voiceover] Cobain's
body was found about a...

[Voiceover] Apparently
it was a suicide...

(Various voiceovers
speaking simultaneously)

[Voiceover] Was so severe
that his body could only

Be identified by fingerprints.

[Voiceover] Police can't
release the details found

In Cobain's suicide note,
but over the past couple

Of years, Cobain has
had some tough times.

Cobain was 27.

He joins a growing list of
rock stars who burn bright

Then burn out tragically.

[Tom] When we
arrived at the property

It was broad daylight and
the Greenhouse stuck out

Like a sore thumb.

You could see it from the
street above the bushes,

It was so tall.

I just didn't understand why
he didn't point that out to me.

[Dylan] That's
Entertainment Tonight.

He's Rolling Stone.

Dylan didn't like the
press and he said Kurt didn't

Like the press.

[Dylan] Current Affairs;
stay away from them.

[Officer] Ho ho ho.

[Tom] I'm Tom
Grant, how are you?

[Officer] Fine.

[Tom] I was hired by
Courtney Love to investigate

The disappearance
of her husband.

I've got information I
think would be helpful.

Could I speak to the
detective in charge?

Wait here.

(Eerie music)

He said he's too busy
to speak with you now.

Call the station after 3PM;
you can talk to him then.

I was dumbfounded by that.

If I were a police officer
investigating the dead body

And somebody told me
there was somebody outside

That had been in the
house the night before,

I'd tell them, "Hold him."

"If they say they need
to leave, handcuff 'em,"

"And keep 'em there until we
get a chance to talk to 'em."

You don't let
somebody like that go,

You don't take a chance until
you've fully investigated

A case and determined
positively how this person died.

The Seattle Police
Department claimed

They were investigating
this as a possible homicide.

If they were, they certainly
wouldn't allow somebody

To leave when they'd been
in the house the night

Before a dead body was
found on the property.

I'm Norm Stamper.

I was a police
officer for 34 years,

And last six from 1994 to 2000
as Seattle's police chief.

I wouldn't pretend that
there aren't police officers

Who are cynical and
suspicious and skeptical.

That was the case in
the Kurt Cobain death.

(Eerie music)

John F. Kennedy,
Martin Luther King,

Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe.

Over the past 50 years as a

Medical-legal forensic
pathology consultant,

I've been involved in
thousands of cases,

About 18,000 autopsies,
and I have reviewed,

Signed off or
supervised, and evaluated

About 38,000 other autopsies.

I have personally
investigated, supervised,

Consulted and researched
on over 8,000 homicides.

I wrote Practical Homicide
Investigation because there was

A need for a standard protocol
to approach all death scenes.

From the very beginning,
everything that the detectives

Encountered indicated to
them that this was a suicide.

The decision to rule the
case by police the same day

And to make a public
pronouncement that this was

A suicide is not the
way good police agencies

Would function today.

As a homicide commander,

I would not be making
any proclamations

That the case was a suicide
without the evidence

Having been processed:
the victimology,

The medical-legal
process, toxicology.

It's a death investigation.

They knew nothing
about the drug level,

They knew nothing
about fingerprints,

They knew nothing about
anything else at that time

Except that they had
found him with a shotgun.

The reason we call things
death investigations is

That we don't wanna
prematurely make them

Homicides, suicides
or accidents.

It's a death investigation.

Cases that involve
prominent figures,

These cases usually take
more time because you know

That there are gonna
be more questions.

People are gonna wanna
know every single

Thing about it.

In the Philip
Seymour Hoffman case,

They found him with
a needle in his arm.

They found 50 bags
of heroin right there

In his apartment, and
yet they did not make

Any announcement beyond that.

They knew that they
should not be commenting.

Official statements as to
cause and manner of death

Do not come from police or
even homicide detectives.

They do not.

I've never believed that
the police were involved

From the beginning in
any kind of a conspiracy

Involving Kurt Cobain's death.

I think they were set
up by Courtney Love

From that missing
person's report,

And everything
that it said in it.

If my officers heard
or were made aware

That Kurt Cobain had
left rehab, had purchased

A shotgun, was suicidal,
that's of course going

To affect them.

They, what I call assumed
the suicide position,

Which to me means cut
corners, not do this,

Not do that, because it's
a suicide, no problem.

I have to admit, there's
been a lot of inconsistencies

In this case.

Really?

The reports that were
coming out in the media said

Kurt Cobain was barricaded
inside the Greenhouse.

Look at this photograph.

Is that the lock
you're talking about?

I dunno where
this picture's from,

So I couldn't say.

Well, it's from
the Greenhouse.

I've been over the
place inside and out,

And trust me, that
is the only lock.

If you say so.

Presuming I'm
telling you the truth,

Why would you say that
he locked himself in?

Because the door was locked.

Look at the picture.

It's not a deadbolt,
it's a twist lock.

Anybody coulda twisted that
lock and pulled the door shut

Behind 'em when they left.

Look, the lock doesn't matter.

There was a stool wedged
up against the door.

Now how do you wedge
a stool against a door

After you've already
left the room?

[Tom] The police reports
plainly states that the stool

Was simply sitting in
front of the two unlocked

French doors at the
other side of the room,

But on one of the reports,
it was added that the stool

Was blocking the entrance.

Someone reported
that there was a stool

Blocking the door.

That wasn't the case.

I dunno where that came from.

If you could just
show me the photographs

Your officer took at the
scene, we can put that issue

To rest once and for all.

Well the photographs
haven't been developed,

Probably never will be.

We don't develop
photographs on suicides.

I have never heard of that.

Every case I've been
involved, with the crime scene

Photographs were developed.

Why not release 'em
to other experts?

I can't answer that question.

It was something that the
Seattle Police department did.

In hindsight, they
probably shouldn't have.

But that's what they did.

Nothing you've said
convinces me this is anything

But a suicide.

Now do you got any
other pearls for me?

[Tom] Not at this time.

Detective Cameron
resigned when he learned

I was preparing to fire him.

He had colluded with one
of his own detectives

To replant evidence
that had been stolen

By a homicide detective
at a homicide scene.

And it was for that reason
that I was preparing

To fire him.

I'm just giving you
the information I have,

I don't care what
you do with it.

I understand that, but
I think your investigation

Is into things that our
investigation doesn't apply to.

You don't allow
a patrol officer

With no homicide
investigative experience

To determine whether a
scene is a suicide or not.

My opinion is, in 1994,

They just didn't
look at anything.

If it appeared to be a
suicide, it was a suicide.

Case closed.

(Somber music)

The news media do
poison the atmosphere,

And I have been involved
in cases in which

It was impossible, almost,
to overcome the beliefs

That had been created
within the community

Because of the way in
which that particular death

Had been reported.

Judging by the
evidence at the scene,

Love says, Cobain
apparently drew a chair up

To a window looking out
on Puget Sound, sat down,

Took some more drugs,
picked up his shotgun and,

Using his thumb, it seems,
shot himself in the head.

The physical damage was so
severe that his body could

Only be identified
by fingerprints.

I was a bit surprised.

Normally a shotgun
wound to the head,

The ones I've seen,
are pretty devastating,

Often making facial
features unrecognizable.

His head was not grossly
deformed or badly damaged.

I think I certainly
would've recognized him.

I don't see any reason
why anyone wouldn't have,

Who knew what he looked like.

Seattle's own police
reports indicate

That Officer Lavendowski
found Kurt Cobain's wallet

Lyin' on the floor.

He opened it up and removed
his driver's license,

And he put it on top
of Cobain's wallet

To take a photograph
for evidence.

Most of the media
reported that Kurt left

His driver's license exposed,
and a lot of 'em went

Into a lotta detail:

That he did that so that
everyone would recognize him.

But it was completely false.

Love, who, contrary to
rumor, says she and Cobain

Hadn't broken up, says
Cobain had first written

A suicide note to her
which said, in part,

"It's not fun for me anymore."

"I can't live this life."

News media play a great
role in these matters.

John Kennedy,
incidentally, pointed out

The need for integrity
within the news media.

This has been something
that was commented

Upon going back to
our founding fathers,

Because sometimes
pressures from news media

Can be very, very significant.

I don't have the
right to make an opinion

On anything that I read
or see on television

Until I go to the fuckin'
source myself, personally.

The toxicology report
from Kurt Cobain's autopsy

Indicated a heroin blood level
of 1.52 milligrams per liter.

Five milligrams
will produce a level

Of 0.035 milligrams.

Most users, even heavy users,

Only use up to 40 to 60
milligrams in one hit.

So you can see, to reach
1.52 milligrams per liter,

You're talking about an
amount that would have

Certainly have exceeded 200
milligrams that were injected

Into Kurt Cobain.

Three times the amount that
would be considered lethal.

I think very legitimate
questions have been raised

About the level of heroin.

We have not, in 18
years, found a single case

Where somebody could
have the level of heroin

In their body that Kurt did
and still remain conscious.

[Voiceover] 70
times the lethal dose

For the average person,
triple the lethal dose

Even for the most
severe heroin addict.

It would have incapacitated him,

He would have been unconscious.

And then roll down
their sleeves, put
away their heroin kit,

Pick up the shotgun,
position it backwards

And pull the trigger.

That deals with
coordinative functions.

How about the emotional
aspects of this?

Why would he then shoot
himself before the drug

Has had a chance to take effect?

No study that I know
of has correlated use

Of heroin with suicide.

I cannot think of a case
in which I have had someone

Inject himself with a
large amount of heroin

And then proceed
to kill himself.

It just doesn't make sense,
and it doesn't fit in

With these kinds of
situations involving heroin.

These are questions that
I think deserve answers,

And in fact, require answers.

Many of the questions
could be answered

If the medical examiner's
office would make public

The autopsy report.

I haven't been able to
see the toxicology report

Or the autopsy report
because I haven't had access

To review the actual
documentation from
the authorities.

The autopsy report
is public record.

Apparently in this
jurisdiction, it is not.

In the case of Kurt Cobain,
they should've made them part

Of the release with the
Freedom of Information.

Why they didn't
do that, I dunno.

In hindsight, maybe
they should've.

We wouldn't be having
this discussion today.

There was a documentary
made about 1997, I believe,

Called "Kurt and Courtney."

I cooperated with the
producer and director of that,

Nick Broomfield.

[Voiceover] Tom Grant's
assertion that 1.52 milligrams

Of heroin per liter of blood
would have incapacitated

Kurt were discounted
by Doctor Colin Brewer,

Formerly director at
Westminster Hospital.

He gave us this color slide
of a patient balancing easily

On one leg, who had
taken the equivalent

Of over twice the
amount taken by Kurt.

The problem is that this
man had taken methadone,

Not heroin, and he had
swallowed the methadone.

Methadone is a
pain medication.

It's also used to
treat heroin addiction,

And because it's taken orally,
it 's absorbed much slower.

It takes time to get into
the blood, so it can take

Up to an hour or perhaps
two before it reaches

Its highest concentrations.

Heroin, on the other hand,
injected directly into the vein,

Is immediately available
to circulation,

Immediately available
to the brain.

Comparing oral methadone
to intravenous heroin.

What's the trade expression,
apples and oranges?

It's much worse than
apples and oranges.

It might be peaches and
asparagus that you're comparing.

I'm surely amazed that a
competent forensic scientist

Would have made that
kind of comparison.

(Eerie music)

[Voiceover] Seattle
police reports indicate

That Kurt Cobain was found
with a shotgun upside down,

With his left hand
grasping the barrel

In a vise-like grip, known
as a cadaveric spasm.

Cadaveric spasm is a form
of muscular stiffening

That only occurs in death.

This occurrence is indispensable
to forensic investigation,

As it clearly shows the precise
orientation of the deceased

At the exact moment of death;

In this case, Cobain's left hand

Gripping the barrel upside
down, as he was found.

(Camera shutter)

This all seemed straightforward,
until you take into account

The shotgun shell was found
to Cobain's left side,

Opposite of where we'd
expect to find the shell:

On Cobain's right side.

The exit chamber is clearly
on Cobain's right side

If it was fired upside
down, as it was found,

And as the cadaveric
spasm confirms

Seattle P.D. explained
the illogical trajectory

Of the shotgun shell by
concluding that the shotgun

Was fired right
side up by Cobain,

The shotgun flipped upside
down, expelling the shell

To his left, to finally
rest in the position

That it was found.

This proposed scenario
is impossible, not only

Because shotguns do not
flip upside down when fired;

It completely ignores
the cadaveric spasm

That locks the grip, dictating
the precise orientation

Of the shotgun when fired.

In order for the scenario the
Seattle police stated occurred

Cobain's wrist would
have to bend at an angle

That is anatomically impossible.

The cadaveric spasm shows
the precise orientation

Of Cobain's hand at the
exact moment of death.

The only way that the shell
could end up in the opposite

Side of the room is if,
when the shell was expelled,

Hit an obstruction on
Cobain's right side

And ricocheted to Cobain's left
side, to land on the jacket.

The crime scene clearly shows
there was no such obstruction,

Which then puts into question
if Cobain truly was alone

In the Greenhouse when
the trigger was pulled.

[Rosemary] Kurt
was not suicidal.

Have you been watchin' TV?

Readin' the paper?

They're all saying
that he's been suicidal

For a long time, and Courtney
said that this overdose,

The one that was
in Rome, she said

That was a suicide attempt.

That's not true.

It was Rosemary
Carroll's involvement

That really pushed me
forward, because if somebody

In Rosemary Carroll's
position was telling me

The things she was telling me,

Then I wasn't off
base, I wasn't crazy,

I wasn't a lunatic.

She called me a
couple of weeks ago,

Said Kurt was leaving her and
asked me to find the meanest,

Most vicious divorce
lawyer I could find.

She even asked me
if there was any way

To avoid their prenup.

And she said about
that same time,

Kurt had called her also
and asked her if she could

Have Courtney's name
taken outta the will.

(Eerie music)

Does it seem strange
that Courtney didn't go

Up to Seattle, not even
once, to look for him?

Absolutely.

When I offered to go up,
she said she couldn't go

With me because she had some
business down here in L.A.

She didn't have
any business in L.A.

What I don't understand
is how you didn't see him

In the Greenhouse the
first night you were there.

Wait a minute, I didn't
even know the Greenhouse

Existed until the day I
heard it on the radio.

But Courtney told
Dylan to check it.

When he called Courtney at
my house Wednesday night,

I heard her tell him to
check the Greenhouse.

A lotta people mock him
for being at the house,

On the case, looking for Kurt.

Kurt was lying dead 20 feet
away and he never found him.

What does that say about
his abilities as a P.I?

I went back on a rainy night.

He claims it was dark and
just didn't know it was there.

Nobody told him, Dylan
certainly didn't tell him.

Dylan must have known
that it was there.

[Tom] Is there anywhere else?

No.

[Max] So I went and tested
that, and sure enough,

You really couldn't see
it if you weren't looking

For it specifically.

(Eerie music)

I asked Courtney to see the
note when I was in Seattle,

And she refused.

Courtney apparently
had let Danny Goldberg,

Her husband, see the
note, but she wouldn't let

Rosemary see it, so
that mystified her too

And made her more suspicious.

And it made me more
suspicious, too.

To hear Courtney's own lawyer,

Kurt and Courtney's
entertainment lawyer,
Rosemary Carroll,

The godmother of Frances Bean,

Somebody that knew them
better than almost anybody,

Telling Tom that

They were in the
middle of a divorce,

That Kurt was drawing
up a new will,

And most importantly,
I think the tape

That really had me reeling,

Was hearing Rosemary Carroll
looking at the suicide note

And immediately concluding
that it's a forgery.

I believe Courtney never
thought the public was gonna

Ever see that note.

If I hadn't have tricked her
out of a copy of the note,

They wouldn't have seen it.

I heard you read the
note on TV the other day

And I'm just a little
confused about something.

It sounded like the note
said, "I'm lying on the bed."

If Kurt was lying in the
bed when he wrote the note,

Why was the bed so neat when
I came here the other night?

It looked like nobody
had been on the bed.

I was lying on the bed,
recording the message

For Kurt's fans.

Are you sure
that's what you said?

Because I was under the
impression that Kurt was lying

On the bed.

Look, I'll show you, okay?

It's just a copy, but the
cops have the original.

I can't read this
without my glasses.

I'm gonna take it down, make
a copy in the fax machine.

I'll read it later.

Yeah, sure.

[Rosemary] That I never
thought to look at at all,

Quite honestly,
until last night.

She left it after she
came over to my house,

The night of the 6th.

Rosemary Carroll was working
with me behind the scenes,

Privately, giving
me information.

She did it out of
a good conscience.

[Rosemary] What do
you think that is?

(Eerie music)

[Courtney] (Indistinct)
conference on your phone,

And that way you could...

[Tom] You've promised
me things before,

And it didn't come through.

Almost immediately
after Kurt Cobain's death

Was announced in the
media, this phenomenon

Of copycat suicides began.

Kids started killing themselves:

Kurt Cobain fans, Nirvana fans.

This was happening
all around the world.

Now I'm a dad
myself, and it's just,

Absolutely breaks my heart.

I talk to a lotta the families.

When you read their suicide
notes and read their journals,

It really drove
home the importance

Of Kurt on this generation.

The thought of losing
a child is just horrific.

I was relieved that I was
gonna go forward with this,

Because I thought,
"Maybe it'll help stop"

"Some of these
copycat suicides."

(Sad music)

[Tom] That would help
too, to be analyzed.

We could determine whether
Kurt wrote that whole thing.

The fact that the
handwriting looks,

To my untrained eye,
different at the bottom

Of that note than it
does during the body

It certainly does suggest
that putting that note

In the hands of a questioned
documents examiner,

Somebody who really understands
a lot more than we do

As cops, that would
be a good idea.

A forensic document
examiner examines documents

For the purposes
of authenticity.

I examined a handwriting
sample that was found

In Courtney Love's backpack,
and it was a practice sheet

Of different letters,
the alphabet.

I examined that in comparison
to the suicide note.

What I did find interesting
about the practice sheet is

That it did have
letter combinations
and specific letters

That are found in the bottom
portion of the suicide note.

It is possible that somebody
else with some skill

Could indeed
imitate his writing,

Especially those last few lines.

One of the, perhaps
surprising, characteristics

Of this note is that the
largest section of the note,

Or the initial part, talks so
much about his relationship

To music, and it's only the
very small part of the note,

The last four lines, that
talks about his relationship

To his family.

But there's another
linguistically interesting thing

About the second or final
four lines of the note,

And that is that that is what
most of us would consider

A stereotypical suicide note.

"I love you, someone will
be better off without me,"

"Keep moving forward."

Those are the kinds of
things we expect to find

In suicide notes,
or even in overkill,

To make it very stereotypical
so that people couldn't miss

What it was.

(Eerie music)

There are a lotta questions
I have for Dylan and Cali,

Especially Cali, who spent
more time here at the house

Than anybody last week.

Cali is, he just
left for rehab.

He's in El Paso, or

Georgia, I think.

No no no, he's in
L.A. with friends.

I'll get Dylan over here.

After probably a half an
hour or so, I walked out

And I asked, "Is Dylan here yet?"

"I haven't seen him," and I
just assumed that somebody

Would let me know
when he showed up.

They said, "Yeah, he's
upstairs with Courtney,"

Which I thought was strange.

He was supposed to be
coming in the house to talk

To me, not go upstairs and do
a pre-interview with Courtney.

So there's just been a
couple things that have been

Eating at me in the last few
weeks, and I wanted to sit here

And I wanted to talk
to you about them.

Did you just shoot up?

[Dylan] Hm?

[Tom] Did you just shoot up?

Yeah.

[Tom] What?

Yes.

Why did you do that?

I told you I was coming
up here, I told you we had

To have this conversation.

Dylan.

Hm?

[Tom] I told you we had
to have this conversation.

I'm ready.

[Tom] You're ready?

- Mm hmm.
- [Tom] You're not ready.

[Tom] I felt, "Why
would Courtney do this?"

She knew I had some serious
questions to ask him,

And she's sending him down
to me in a drugged state

Of mind, where he
could hardly talk?

You check the front
door or the back?

Did you check the front
door or the back door?

Yeah.

[Tom] Which door?

Both.

[Tom] Both doors. Did
you check the side door?

No.

[Tom] You didn't
go to the side door?

I don't remember.

[Tom] You don't remember.

Did you go to the Greenhouse?

[Dylan] No.

You didn't go
to the Greenhouse?

Dylan, Dylan, I
wanna talk about...

I wanna talk about
the Greenhouse.

Dylan.

Dylan was a heroin addict,

And he needed a
source for heroin.

Once Kurt Cobain was dead, his
source became Courtney Love.

His loyalty became
Courtney Love.

He was very dependent on her.

We've since learned
that she paid his rent

For many, many years,
supplied the money

For his heroin, and almost
everybody around Kurt.

They were dependent on Courtney,

They were dependent
on Courtney's money.

It's a waste of
time, waste of time.

I felt it was my duty
to notify my client

That I was starting to
dig into some directions

That she may not want
me to be looking into,

But I was determined
to do it and I thought

That she deserved to know
that I was going to do this.

She got the message,
I'm sure, from that.

I was insinuating
that I suspected her

Of being involved in this.

A few days after
that letter was sent,

I got a phone call
from Courtney.

She wasn't livid, she
wasn't even angry.

She didn't mention
the letter, in fact.

I basically said I'm going to
continue with my investigation

With or without
your cooperation.

Here's all you have
to do to bring this

To a quick end and solve
all of your problems.

(Ominous music)

(Eerie music)

(Sad guitar music)

Yes, hi, I'm looking for Kurt.

Hello?

(Sad guitar music)

Hello?

Yes, hi. Someone's gonna get
really fucked up over there

If I don't talk to Kurt.

Hi, this is Julie Bernstein.

I really need to speak
to my client Kurt.

Get him on the fucking phone!

(Sad guitar music)

Yes, yeah, thank you.

No, no problem.

Yeah, Delta's fine.

(Sad guitar music)

(Eerie music)

[Voiceover] with the 20th
anniversary approaching,

Detective Mike Ciesynski
re-examined the case files

Of an assignment early
in his fledgling career,

The investigation into
the death of Kurt Cobain.

You can never really
realize what type

Of conspiracy theorists
are gonna come out

Of the woodwork.

The amount of heroin that
he injected was 10 times

What, normally,
anybody would've taken,

Even a heavy heroin user.

I believe he gave himself a
fatal dose of black tar heroin.

(Eerie music)

[Voiceover] Detective Mike
Ciesynski found four rolls

Of undeveloped
crime scene photos.

Two of those photos
were released,

Taken the day his
body was found.

In hindsight, I think I
would've developed the film.

[Voiceover] Did you
find anything different

That made you believe
it's anything but suicide?

No, nothing.

What are people gonna
gain from seeing pictures

Of Kurt Cobain?

How is that gonna
benefit anybody?

It wasn't gonna change
my decision that
this was a suicide,

And actually I'm the one who
makes the decision finally,

Do we go forward or not.

There is never one item
that I said definitely

That this actually
was suicide, but um...

Any re-examination
should not even be actively

Participated in by the
Seattle Police Department.

To expect them to conduct
an objective, detached,

Unbiased investigation,
come back 20 years later

And say, "Hey man, we blew it?"

It flies in the face
of common sense.

The Kurt Cobain death
demands a re-opening

By an objective set of experts,
and until that is done,

Then one cannot feel
comfortable in saying

That Kurt Cobain's death
was a clear-cut suicide.

(Eerie music)
(Rain)

For me, the most
compelling piece of evidence

That convinces me,
almost to a certainty,

That Kurt was murdered, was the
level of heroin in his body.

There's never been a
documented case in the history

Of law enforcement where
somebody could have

The level of heroin in
their body that Kurt did,

Still remain conscious,
and still led to a suicide.

We talked to an FBI
expert, and he said,

"If you wanna get
away with murder,"

"You kill a junkie."

It's very easy to
make a murder look

Look like an accidental
overdose or a suicide.

It's the perfect crime, and
it happens all the time.

We know that Kurt and Courtney
had a prenuptial agreement.

They were in the process
of getting a divorce.

This was confirmed,
they were divorcing.

He was leaving her.

If the divorce had gone through,

She would've received
a very small settlement

As a result of the
prenuptial agreement.

When he died, she
co-inherited an estate worth

Possibly more than a billion
dollars in future royalties.

Police immediately
look at motive.

Here's the motive.

No matter what anybody
believes, this happened

Far too quickly for the kinds
of things to be accomplished

That need to be done in this
kind of death investigation.

We should, in fact, have
taken steps to study patterns

Involved in the behavior of key
individuals who had a motive

To see Kurt Cobain dead.

This would be in fact, a
classical example for how

An investigation
should not be done.

If, in fact, Kurt Cobain
was murdered, as opposed

To having committed
suicide, and it was possible

To learn that, shame on
us for not doing that.

That was, in fact,
our responsibility.

Should the case be re-opened?

My answer is unequivocally,
unhesitatingly,

"Yes, the case
should be re-opened."

It's about right and wrong.

It's about honor,
it's about ethics.

If we didn't get it
right the first time,

We damn well better get
it right the second time.

And I would tell you right
now that if I were the

Chief today, I would
re-open this investigation.

(Birds chirping)
(Eerie music)

(Guitar music)

(Rock music)