Overview
- An independent team led by forensic specialist Brian Burnett and researcher Michelle Wilkins contends Cobain’s death is more consistent with a staged homicide than suicide.
- King County Medical Examiner’s Office says it followed procedures and sees no new evidence to justify reopening the case, and Seattle police have declined requests to revisit the investigation.
- Official records documented extremely high heroin levels in Cobain’s system, which the researchers argue would have left him unable to operate the shotgun.
- The review points to autopsy findings—fluid in the lungs, petechial eye hemorrhages, and brain and liver necrosis—that they interpret as signs of prolonged oxygen deprivation typical of overdose.
- Alleged scene anomalies cited include receipts for the gun and shells in Cobain’s pocket, shells arranged at his feet, capped syringes, blood‐pattern questions, hand positioning, and concerns about the note’s handwriting; the report urges transparency rather than arrests.