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Love & Death: The Murder of Kurt Cobain

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I loved Charles Cross's "Heavier than Heaven" but was always a little disappointed at the overly-flattering portrayal of Courtney Love in the book. This book is an important follow-up to the large collection of writings and film about Kurt and Courtney. I was a major skeptic about the murder theory, but I must admit this book has at least prompted me to think about the possibilities - and to become even more convinced that Love is a sociopath much like Nancy Spungen before her. Spungen's biography, written by her annoyingly self-righteous mother, was an eye-opener about anger, hate and mental illness hiding behind a contrived persona. In Nancy's case, punk rock provided an outlet for her hatred, and I think the same thing happened with Courtney. Some psychopaths enjoy great success by posing as the guy-next-door, copying the lifestyle they see around them. Courtney emulated her surroundings, the alternative music scene, in much the same way. Did it allow her to get away with murder? To accept the murder theory means to shift my opinion of Love from a pathetic wannabe to a brilliant manipulator. I am not sure I'm ready to do this...yet.

This book may not go in chronological order(...) This is not meant to be written like a fiction novel, but to investigate the mysterious circumstances surrounding Kurt's death. I'll let the quotes speak for themselves and let future reviewers who, after reading the book may still believe Kurt suicided, tangle with them.

Crime scene and the note:
Denise Marshall, a deputy coroner in Colorado says the body was touched when it should not have been and the judgement was rushed since it was reached at the death scene (78). She also complains that the note can hardly be classified as a suicide note(78). "Nowhere in the note does he say he wants to die. He just doesn't like what he is doing, and he wants to change his life...I think it was really unprofessional for them to judge on it so early."(78) The note is also examined in the latter half of the sixth chapter. Rosemary Carroll, who thought Kurt didn't write the note (Tom Grant has his own theory), found a piece of paper in Courtney's backpack where she had been practicing different handwriting styles: "It sure looked to us like she had been practicing how to forge a letter." (150)

Heroin:
Kurt's body had 1.52 milligrams per litre of morphine in it (79). Heroin almost immediately turns into morphine in the bloodstream. Denise Marshall could not find a single case that paralleled this amount (79). Although Nikolas Hartshorne (who knew Courtney and had a conflict of interest as one will see in the book), invoked the high tolerance argument, Marshall says, "I've seen some amazing amounts...but I`ve never seen anybody with his levels...If tolerance was that important, you wouldn't have so many heroin addicts overdosing all the time, and with levels significantly lower than what Cobain had in his blood." (80) This level is enough to kill a severe 150 pound heroin addict three times over, but Kurt didn't weigh that much so in his case, the maximal lethal dose is more than three times. (82) A study in 1996 showed that a "user experiences a state of acute shock `WITHIN SECONDS' after injecting the fatal dose. In all of the 26 known cases where the morphine levels were close or equal to Cobain's level, "the tourniquets were still in place when the body was discovered, and the syringe was still affixed in the victim's arm of lying on the floor next to the body...yet...the police reports describe no such scenario when Kurt's body was found...`I do not see how he could have injected himself with the amount of heroin to cause those levels, put the syringe and other drug paraphernalia away, folded his sleeve down, grabbed the gun, positioned it backwards in his mouth and pulled the trigger.'"(84) Also discussed is how Broomfield's film "Kurt and Courtney" does a terrible job of showing how someone can function with the amount of morphine Cobain had (85-87). When Halperin and Wallace break it down and show its errors, it brings one to laughter.

Courtney:
She has lied and behaved strangely. Cali, the male nanny saw Kurt at the house on the morning of April 2. Afterwards, he stayed at his girlfriend's house (116). Love's phone records show she made several calls to Cali at the girlfriend's house in the week of April 8. "She knew Kurt had been to the house, she knew Cali was no longer staying there, yet she wouldn't let us set up surveillance there. It doesn't make any sense."(116) On the morning of April 8, Love told the world for the first time that Rome was a suicide attempt (126) when it wasn't as is later shown. There is a startling tape conversation where even Courtney didn't think Kurt was suicidal after Rome and it stands in contrast to what she told the media for months after Kurt died about his alleged suicidal tendencies (211). Carroll mentions that Kurt before he died asked Courtney to be taken out of his will (136). If he divorced her, she would get none of his money due to a prenuptial agreement. There was also a former nanny who was shocked at Courtney's constant will talk before Kurt died. "There was just way too much will talk...what a thing to talk about...What do you think he wanted? To get away from Courtney."(136-137) Courtney always said she never heard from Kurt after he escaped from the rehab centre but Kurt left a message for her at the hotel proving he had contacted her (151). Tom Grant wonders why Courtney never mentioned this since she just hired Tom to find her missing husband (153). Charles Cross' book HTH is criticized very well later in the book and HTH states that Courtney was on the phone every moment trying to find someone who had seen Kurt Saturday; however, her phone records prove she made repeated anonymous calls to the request line of a radio station in LA to play the single from her upcoming album (153).

There are many other great and important details about the case that I can not touch upon due to my limited space for a review. I recommend seeking out Roger Lewis' essay "Dead Men Don't Pull Triggers" on the internet. By the way, the book also has an excellent refutation of a criticism of Lewis' essay (89-91). For anyone who wants to call these two authors money hungry conspiracy nuts capitalizing on Kurt's death, keep in mind that Cross sold the rights to his book HTH for an upcoming movie about Kurt's life (http://launch.yahoo.com/read/news.asp?contentID=217818) and that Courtney sold his journals for $4.5 million. I better not see either of these two parties saying H & W are only doing this to profit from Kurt's memory because they will render themselves hypocrites.

This well-researched and well-written book puts forward a very plausible scenario whereby Courtney Love hired a killer to murder Kurt Cobain and make it look like suicide. The evidence is plentiful and the motive is substantial. Kurt had begun the process of removing Courtney from his will and they were heading for divorce. Had he been able to follow-through, she would have been entitled to none of his millions. As a result of his 'suicide' she received everything. No fingerprints at the scene, a man with a triple-lethal dose of heroin in his body rolling down his sleeves, tidily putting away his paraphenalia and then shooting himself in the mouth is simply not a plausible scenario. Far more likely is that someone injected him (whoever brought him the stuff), killed him and then made it look like suicide. Read this book and the truth will be self-evident. Hopefully enough to reopen the case. The authors are investigative journalists, not Nirvana fan- fanatics. A very credible book that will surely cause great controversy. Buy it and read it - you won't be disappointed. This is serious journalism and a reminder that people do often get away with murder...

Like many other readers, I was initially skeptical towards this book. However I decided to pick it up just to see what the authors have to say. Now I seriously have misgivings as to what really happened. There are numerous inconsistencies with Courtney Love's public remarks in and around the death and actual evidence found at the scene, particularly the "suicide note." Also a private investigator found some very incriminating evidence in one of Love's purses shortly after Cobain's body was found. (You'll have to read it to see what it is). And just for you hardcore disbelievers, Love has admitted to a similar crime in the months after Cobain's death. She hired a PI to spy on a boyfriend of hers based on the assumption that he was cheating on her. The PI found that a psycho fan had broken a window to his apartment, splattered bloody tampons on the walls, and left a threatening note. A couple of weeks later, Love admitted to the whole thing just because she's vindictive. Her behavior that incident echoed what was found that fateful day; a strange crime and an even stranger note. And to contradict what that idiot from "planet earth" wrote below, these journalists are very credible. Yes, they're not medical or legal experts, but they've talked with the experts. All a journalist has to do is know what questions to ask and where to find the answers. Mr. Wallace and Mr. Halperin did an excellent job at presenting a very convincing case.

I know that at first it sounds like a typically wacky conspiracy theory; I refused to even listen to those who suggested that K.C. was murdered until very recently, when I read "Who Killed Kurt Cobain?" and then this book. Perhaps what is most important about this book is that it establishes that everything everyone thinks they know about K.C.'s supposed suicidal tendencies comes straight from Courtney Love. She's the one who says he tried to kill himself in Rome; she's the one who called the police and said that he was threatening to shoot himself, which Cobain denied. Once you realize that Courtney is constitutionally incapable of telling the truth, this case begins to look very, very different.

The evidence in favor of Cobain's death being a homicide and not a suicide is overwhelming. It starts with two primary facts about his death: (a) the "suicide note" doesn't much resemble a suicide note at all; mostly it talks about his leaving the music business, and only the last four lines -- which seem to be written in different handwriting than the rest of the note -- indicate an intention to kill himself; (b) there was WAY too much heroin in his system at the time of death for him to have rolled down his sleeve, put away the drug paraphernalia, pick up the shotgun and shoot himself. These are only the two most immediately striking reasons for a homicide verdict; there are many, many more details that show that K.C. did not kill himself.

Tom Grant's website, www.cobaincase.com, is a good intro to this case, but if you want the argument for homicide laid out in detail, buy "Love and Death". It will completely change the way you see Cobain, Love, and the music of Nirvana as well. I know it is hard to believe at first, but K.C. DID NOT KILL HIMSELF. The book makes this fact clear as day.

I never once doubted the fact that Kurt killed himself. I remember hearing about all these conspiracy theories circulating the internet, and then one day I actually saw this book at the store when it was released and I picked up a copy and it completely changed my mind on the matter. The book is written very well, it includes both background information on Kurt and Courtney, and it leads up to Kurt's last days/whereabouts which are VERY interesting (and not well-known at all) I read this book in two sittings during one day, very addictive and it has some VERY compelling evidence/info. If you are a fan of Nirvana/Kurt or music in general and HAVE AN OPEN MIND, read this book, it is that good.

I received this book in the mail yesterday and I was up until 7am finishing it off. It is fascinating. Courtney's ruthlessness makes me sick to my stomach. I feel so bad for Kurt and how his memory is being tarnished constantly. I can't believe someone as unlikable as Courtney doesn't have more journalists digging into this case. I say we e-mail the Seattle Police Department. Something has to be done.

This is an extremely convincing and well written book. They leave no stones unturned and interview everyone imaginable. Just to think that when Kurt was touring America in late 1993, his wife was sleeping with Corgan, Dando, and Reznor. Then around New Years Eve, she contacted a guy about having him killed and this guy passed a lie detector test administered by the top lie detector specialist in the country.. he administered one to O.J. Simpson in 1995. The lack of conscience is sickening the greed that motivated those to kill the leader of the band of my generation is definately a case that needs to be reopened and explained. Do it for Kurt's memory and do it for his daughter.

This book will mess you up and in the end you will be restless with a need for justice and action.

I will admit that I was more than skeptical regarding the 'Kurt was murdered' theories when I began reading this book. I had read the Charles Cross biography and seen the film 'Kurt and Courtney' previously. My feeling was that although she may have consciously created an environment that allowed the suicide to happen, I didn't feel that she was directly involved. After reading this book, my opinion has changed.

If one were to see the claims put forth in this book without context, I would expect the reaction to be one of incredulity. However the authors are incredibly meticulous with their research, and their claims are especially bolstered by the tapes of LA private investigator Tom Grant, the man hired by Courtney to find Kurt after he leaves the rehab center.

The authors are conscious of the stigma applied to conspiracy theorists -- and they take great pains to sort out the credible witnesses from the ones that are self-serving or, sometimes, deliberately misleading. After reading Halperin and Wallace's findings, I am genuinely disturbed by the reluctance of the Seattle Police Department to re-examine this case. I would encourage everyone to read this book -- and make up your own mind. But if your exerience is anything like mine, you will want to write the Seattle Police and demand that they open a new investigation.

I wasn't a Nirvana fan when I read this book. I just thought it sounded like a good read. Not knowing much about the suicide/murder, whichever you prefer, really helped me to remain non-objective about all the evidence. I'm still not entirely convinced one way or the other, but I do know that this was a great book. It was extremely interesting and hard to put down. The author goes into legal detail, but without losing the audience. The goes into the details of the death without being too gruesome. It's truly a great, fast-paced read that I would reccomend to anyone, Nirvana fan or not.

Actually got this book for oldest daughter but I read it first just due to Courtney's pubicity of late. Am amazed at the inconsistancies surrounding his death. As a Criminal Justice graduate I would like to say I'm floored by such amatuerish actions of SPD. Someone should reopen this case for real if for no other reason than for his daughter.