(11) Seattle crime scene and the evidence part 3

Burn The Rain
Nov 30, 2019
5 min read

Updated: Mar 8, 2024

A Perforating Shotgun Wound To the Head and Three Times A Lethal Dose Of Heroïn

"A shotgun was laying across the victim's body; the butt of the gun was between the victim's feet and the muzzle was at about the mid-chest level of the victim."

When Kurt Cobain was found, he had fresh injection marks in both arms and a fatal wound to the head and mouth from the 20-gauge shotgun found between his knees. Dr. Hartshorne, the medical examiner notes that the webbing of the left hand has the impression of the shotgun barrel in it.The shotgun was fully loaded with three shells. It was purchased and loaded for protection, not suicide.

Dr. Hartshorne, conducted the initial examination of Kurt's body at the crime scene.

He photographed the body, examined the shotgun wound, and emptied the contents of Cobain's pockets. Hartshorne noted that the body was at room temperature and was in the first stages of putrefaction, suggesting that Cobain had been dead for some time.

Dr. Hartshorne labeled the cause of death a "self-inflicted shotgun wound" after examining the body for only a few minutes and was soon telling reporters, "I've never seen a more open-and-shut case of suicide."

However, normally a self-inflicted 12-gauge shotgun wound inflicts massive blood, skull and tissue loss, but the electrician who discovered Kurt's body said that Cobain only had some "blood in his right ear." and officers on the scene instantly recognized Cobain's famous face, which was perfectly intact.

Screenshots of a reconstruction of the Seattle crime scene: Soaked in Bleach

The Seattle Post-Intelligence reported that Cobain "was shot once in the left ear." But in a nationally televised photo that shows the rear right shoulder of Cobain's body, not one drop of blood can be seen on Cobain's white shirt or on the floor around him. If Cobain was shot in the left ear or anywhere else on his head, the right side of his body should have been covered with blood.

Despite these inconsistencies, Dr.Hartshorne, issued a death certificate citing as cause of death a "perforating gunshot wound to the head (mouth)." If this is true, all the blood must have exited from the left side of his body. More importantly, this specious death certificate allowed Courtney Love to cremate Cobain's body only one week after it was discovered, thus permanently destroying the most important piece of evidence in the investigation.

In response to media incredulity over the mystery wound, in June 1994 the medical examiner's office modified its verdict by saying that there actually was "no exit wound" and that "all of the shot stayed inside the skull." Dr. Hartshorne and his colleague Dr. Donald Reay then released a remarkable document that says Cobain suffered both a "contact penetrating shotgun wound to the head" and a "contact perforating shotgun wound to the head." But a "penetrating" wound is one where the bullet enters, but does not exit the body. A "perforating" wound is one where the bullet both enters and exits the body.

Why couldn't they make up their minds?

Case investigation report by Detective Micheal Ciesynski talking about the shotgun and the shells that were found near Cobain's body

The Shotgun Shell

Box containing 25 shells and a recipe of the shells $6,95.

Police photographed the evidence found on the crime scene.

Dylan Carlson had bought a gun and a box with 25 shells with

Kurt before he left rehab. These photo's where developed 20 years later.

A bill for the box of 25 purchased shells for $6,95

Case investigation report by Detective Micheal Ciesynski.

Detective Micheal Ciesynski talks about reviewing the case because of questions from the media and fans so that he therefore can anwser their questions. It is remarkable that Detective Micheal Ciesynski had a very small part at the time of Cobain's death. He admits that he hardly knew Cobain or Nirvana, and that he didn't know much about the case. He had to ask other detectives who were present on april, 8, 1994, for information and case files. He had read numerous articles, reports and documentaries about the death of Kurt Cobain. If detective Micheal Ciesynski, didn't knew much about the case, only reading some reports, articles and watched some documentairies, without really looking at the evidence, now and 20 years later, how could he say that everything that points to suicide?

It seems as if the Seattle police doesn't want to talk about the evidence.

Seattle Police knew that Kurt and Dylan Carlson (Kurt's friend) purchased the gun on March 30th 1994. Before Kurt went into rehab. Seattle police did not mention this to the media. As the media spread the word that Kurt was suicidal and bought a gun. This gave people the idea that Kurt bought the gun after he left the rehab center.

The media spread the information that Kurt Cobain left the rehab center, then bought a gun and was suicidal. Kurt wasn't suicidal and he and his friend purchased the gun before Kurt left. If Kurt wanted to end his own life, why didn't he do this on the day he and his friend bought the gun? Why wait to go to rehab? And why go to rehab in the first place if he was so 'suicidal?'

The shotgun was fully loaded with three shells. It was purchased and loaded for protection, not suicide. The police claim there were no legible fingerprints on this shotgun! In fact, the shotgun wasn’t even checked for fingerprints until May 6th, nearly a month after Cobain’s body was found. His fingerprints were 'disolved' because of the atmopshere in the greenhouse, according to police. If there were no fingerprints on the gun, not from Cobain, how could he have shot himself? Why shoot himself if he had three times the lethal dose of heroin in his system? Kurt was extremely high on heroin right before he died. If he had so much tolerence, why did he not enjoy this high dose? Why would Kurt inject himself with so much heroin and then shoot himself if he could have died from the heroin alone? After his overdose Kurt would be unconscious in seconds, not able to pull the trigger himself. That police coudn't find any fingerprints on the gun indicates a very sloppy police investigation.