#FBI Unearths Kurt Cobain File

The FBI has released its archived records related to late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, as Rolling Stone points out. The 10-page file contains letters from two individuals who asked the bureau to investigate the rockstar’s 1994 death by suicide, believing foul play to have been involved. “The police who took up the case were never very serious in investigating it as a murder,” one of the individuals wrote.

The other letter, dated September 24, 2003, reads, “I believe a great injustice might have been committed in the case of Kurt Cobain.” Later, the person wrote, “I’m writing you in hopes for your help to press for a reexamination of Mr. Cobain’s death. Millions of fans around the world would like to see the inconsistencies surrounding the death cleared up once and for all. It is sad to think that an injustice of this nature can be allowed in the United States.”

The FBI file also contains several letters that the bureau sent back to individuals, informing them that the FBI does not necessarily have the jurisdiction to investigate a potential homicide. “In order for the FBI to initiate an investigation of any complaint we receive, specific facts must be present to indicate that a violation of federal law within our investigative jurisdiction has occurred,” all three responses read.

The file closes with a fax that Cosgrove/Meurer Productions sent to the FBI in January 1997. CMP is the company behind the documentary series Unsolved Mysteries, which aired an episode about Cobain in February 1997. The fax reads, “At least one investigator, Tom Grant, a Los Angeles based private investigator and former L.A. County Sheriff’s deputy, is convinced that the official ruling of suicide was a rush to judgment.”

Terry Meurer, co-founder of Cosgrove/Meurer Productions, told Rolling Stone, “We reach out to the FBI for various stories and try to get information on them,” adding, “So that was a typical communication.”

You can find the full Kurt Cobain file at the FBI’s website.