Tom and Curley

Tangney: Hopefully latest photos put Kurt Cobain conspiracy theories to rest

By MyNorthwest.com, Staff report | March 18, 2016 @ 9:41 am

"This gives you the sense that these documentaries are bogus," KIRO Radio's Tom Tangney said about conspiracies related to Kurt Cobain's death. (Seattle Police Department)

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It has been more than 20 years since Kurt Cobain’s death and Tom Tangney hopes the latest details in his apparent suicide puts any conspiracies to bed.

The Seattle Police Department released photos of the shotgun the Nirvana frontman used to kill himself in 1994. Cold case Detective Mike Ciesynski is shown holding Cobain’s gun at different angles in five photos posted to the police department’s website.

These photos show that the conspiracies &#8211 and the documentaries questioning the death of the 27-year-old &#8211 have even less traction, Tom pointed out.

“This gives you the sense that these documentaries are bogus,” Tom added.

One main conspiracy that seems to be debunked thanks to the photos: police melted down the gun Cobain used to kill himself.

“It’s all nonsense,” Tom said.

The photos were taken in June 2015, added to the city of Seattle’s computer system March 3 and since then have been added to the investigative file, according to police.

It’s unclear why they took the photos last year or why they’re releasing them to the public at this time.

Cobain’s body was found in Seattle on April 8, 1994. An investigation determined that days earlier Cobain had gone into the greenhouse of his large home and taken a massive dose of heroin. He then shot himself with a 20-gauge shotgun. His death was ruled a suicide.

On the 20th anniversary of Cobain’s death in 2014, Ciesynski reviewed the case files and said he found no new information to change the police conclusion that Cobain took his own life. He did find four rolls of undeveloped film from the suicide scene.

After releasing two of the images in 2014, police released 34 additional photos taken at the scene due to numerous public disclosure requests for the images.

Cobain, who was 27 when he died, helped popularize the Pacific Northwest’s heavy, muddy “grunge” rock, along with bands like Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Mudhoney.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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