KURT COBAIN

One of the most intriguing current conspiracy theoriesis that surrounding the premature and sudden deathof world-famous singer Kurt Cobain. The truth seems morethan slightly elusive. Questions of whether it really was asuicide are closely tied with the issues of whether his allegedlyestranged wife, Courtney Love, was involved in anyconspiracy. The further one delves into the mystery, thefewer ends seem to tie up.What seems strangest of all is the suicide note left byCobain directly prior to his dramatic exit scene, given thatthe tone really was not suicidal, with statements such as “Ihave it good, very good, and I’m grateful.” The entire notewas written in the present tense and seems to be a far cryfrom the final words of a man about to kill himself.According to psychologists at the rehabilitation centerCobain had visited only the week before, as well as closefriends, no one had suspected that he was suicidal, whichin the light of his Rome “suicide attempt” a few monthsearlier seems suspicious. Kurt had written Courtney a noteafter that incident which included one line which she saidwas “very definitely suicidal.” “Dr. Baker says I would have to choose between life and death,” Kurt had written. “I’mchoosing death.”There is the theory that Cobain was quite simply terrifiedfor his life after walking out on a $9.5 million contractto headline Lollapalooza and that this inspired him to commitsuicide. And the fact that the shotgun was loaded withthree shells when the fatal deed was done could have beenpart of a plan to make his suicide look like murder.Strangest of all, police failed to find any fingerprints atall on the gun. Of course, perhaps Kurt had carefully coveredhis traces and wiped the gun down, but such behavioris not what one expects from someone on the verge of suicide,and in any case, if it really was suicide, why the needfor the big cover-up?It is not to be denied that murdering the father of yourchild is fairly uncommon and the fact that Courtney andKurt were not getting on well before his death would seemlittle justification for cold-blooded killing. However, shecould have had several other possible motives. In January1994 Cobain told Rolling Stone that he might well be divorcingCourtney. Apparently divorce papers had alreadybeen drawn up by the time of his death. And shortly beforethe death itself, Courtney had apparently instructed one ofher lawyers to get the “meanest, most vicious divorcelawyer” she could find. Kurt had also hinted that he wantedCourtney taken out of his will, in which case she wouldhave gained a lot more financially from a suicide beforethe will could be changed than from a divorce. If Kurt wereto die, sales for Kurt’s band Nirvana would rocket. AndCourtney would benefit financially.The official line is that Kurt committed suicide. In thedays and weeks following his death, fans began killingthemselves in empathy with their fallen hero. In light ofthis suicide rush, the backlash would be devastating if policereversed their original judgment and opened a murderinvestigation.