FBI Makes Kurt Cobain’s File Public for First Time Ever

For the first time, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has made the 10-page file pertaining to the death of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain available to the public, with minimal redactions.

Although the case file is fairly brief, it does establish the notion that some (fans and one private investigator named Tom Grant) do not agree with the official ruling of death by suicide, which was determined by the Seattle police in the days after Cobain’s 1994 death.

Official government responses were issued to a pair of letters, dated Sept. 21, 2006 and Nov. 20, 2006, expressing appreciation for the concern that Cobain’s death may have been a homicide. The letters also claimed that inconsistencies in the details surrounding Cobain’s death warranted further investigation.

Both replies read, with negligible differences between the two,

However, most homicide/death investigations generally fall within the jurisdiction of state and local authorities. In order for the FBI to initiate an investigation of any complain we receive, specific facts must be present to indicate that a violation of federal law within our investigative jurisdiction has occurred. Based on the information you provided, we are unable to identify any violation of federal law within the investigative jurisdiction of the FBI. We are, therefore, unable to take any investigative action in this case.

The names of the authors of each letter were redacted in the FBI file.

One of the 10 pages also indicated a third government response was issued, bearing the same statement as seen above, though the original letter of concern in this instance was not published as part of the public case file.

Also present in the case file is a tax from Cosgrove/Meurer Productions, the documentary company behind the TV series Unsolved Mysteries. The communication between the company and the Los Angeles and Washington D.C. FBI offices notes inconsistencies in the official Cobain death investigation, observed by private investigator Grant, who believed Cobain’s alleged suicide note was instead a “retirement letter” to fans.

View the entire FBI case file here.

This now public file may not hold any new answers for inquiring fans, but what remains firm is that more than 25 years after his death, Kurt Cobain remains a cultural icon and a massive influence over generations of musicians and music fans. So much so that six strands of his hair were recently put up for auction and images from the rocker’s final photoshoot will be sold as NFTs.