| CASE OUTLINE PAGE 2 |
| SOME FACTS ABOUT ROME ROME March 4th, 1994 Courtney Love and Michael DeWitt joined Kurt in Rome, and within hours in which Kurt fought with Courtney and finally decided to leave her, Kurt was fighting for his life in a hospital. The story is Kurt ordered champagne, filled the suite with flowers and baubles and supposedly sent out for a prescription.........Courtney fell asleep. She woke up between 3-4 in the morning and found Kurt unconscious, sporting his brown corduroy jacket with blood coming from his nose. He had a wad of cash crumpled in one hand, and a note he had written on eight pages of hotel stationary in the other. This was described at the time as an accidental overdose. A convenient mistake which happened when Kurt was leaving Courtney and which involved Rohypnol . This substance Kurt did not use but that Courtney was in the habit of obtaining and using, as well as alcohol in combination and had at her disposal. These are well known for their use to incapacitate victims. It was only after Kurt's death that it was claimed this was a suicide attempt. On March 3rd, just a few hours before she met Kurt in Rome, Courtney did an interview with Select magazine and the writer stated that during this interview she was popping Rohypnol... SELECT MAGAZINE May 1994 edition- There is a box of Rohypnol on the big mahogony table in the middle of Courtney Love's London hotel room, among the scattered papers and cigarette boxes. "Look, I know this is a controlled substance," she smiles as she empties one of those fizzy stomach upset powders into a tumbler of water and washes back a Rohypnol. "I got it from my doctor. It's like Valium. You know, fuck that Prozac stuff. I'm not a depressive, I tried it for like five or six days, and by the sixth day I started seeing tracers like when you're on acid..." Courntey Love in Spin Magazine after Rome incident~ "And so we ordered champagne, 'cause Pat [Smear] was with us for a little while, and Kurt doesn't drink, and then we put Frances to bed. And we started making out, and we fell asleep. He must have woken up and started writing me a letter about how he felt rejected. But I'm not sure I believe that because he wasn't rejected. We both fell asleep. Anyway, I woke up at, like, four in the morning to reach for him, basically to go fuck him, 'cause I hadn't seen him in so long. And he wasn't there. And I always get alarmed when Kurt's not there, 'cause I figure he's in the corner somewhere, doing something bad. And he's on the floor, and he's dead. There's blood coming out of his nostril. And he's fully dressed. He's in a corduroy coat, and he's got 1,000 American dollars clutched in one hand, which was gray, and a note in the other. It was on hotel stationery, and he's talking about how I'm not in love with him anymore, and he can't go through another divorce [referring to his parents]. And then the next page is like how we're destined to be together, and how he knows how much I love him, and please don't take this personally, and how Dr. Baker [a senior psychotherapist at Canyon Ranch, a health and wellness resort the couple attended] said that like Hamlet, he had to choose between life and death, and he said he was choosing death." Breaking down this interview in Courtney's own words. Let us take a closer look: "And so we ordered champagne, 'cause Pat [Smear] was with us for a little while, and Kurt doesn't drink."-- Dr. Galetta who examined Kurt said it was a mixture of alcohol {champagne} and Rohypnols that induced his coma. But Courtney says "Kurt doesnt drink." Kurt has been seen in many photos around that time period drinking bottled Evian water. He was also sick from having pneumonia. How hard is it to drop a few pills into his water, considering perhaps the other medications he couldve been on? The prescription for the Rohypnol was Courtney's, and she said that Kurt took a whole packet that had contained 50 pills, so the media reports it! There is no evidence that Kurt swallowed 50 pills. The doctor that examined Kurt while in the coma says it was not a "suicide attempt" and they did not pump fifty pills from his stomach! His good friends, even Dylan Carlson didn't know of this as a "suicide attempt"..He admitted saying that it was an accident. "And he wasn't there. And I always get alarmed when Kurt's not there,"-- Courtney stayed in LA when Tom Grant was getting ready to go to Seattle to find him. When she was asked by a friend to go to help look for Kurt, who was supposedly missing, she said "I can't! I have business in LA !!" She seemed really alarmed, didn't she? "And he's on the floor, and he's dead. There's blood coming out of his nostril. And he's fully dressed. He's in a corduroy coat, and he's got 1,000 American dollars clutched in one hand, which was gray, and a note in the other. It was on hotel stationery,"--- When Kurt was found in the greenhouse, he was fully dressed, money was strewn on the floor and there was a note. Canyon Ranch, a health and wellness resort the couple attended-- This the same place where Courtney was with Billy Corgan three weeks following Kurt's death. Some stories in the media have Courtney grieving at home. It is said there is no such thing as coincedence. WHAT OF THE ROME NOTE? An SPD officer who wishes to remain anonymous- "Love gave us another note which she said Kurt had written in Rome. She said it was a suicide note, but wasn't. It was a rambling letter which was very unflattering to her. There are some veiled references in which you'd have to stretch the truth to conclude suicide." "Who Killed Kurt Cobain?" Why would Kurt write a note, prepare to leave, get the cash together, and then take an overdose? Both actions contradict each other. Gold Mountain employee - "Kurt insisted it was not a suicide note. He just took all of his and Courtney's money and was going to run away and disappear." 'Cobain' by the editors of Rolling Stone Frances Barnett- "How can it be, that Cameron advised Courtney to get rid of a note because he thought it would do her no good? The very fact that he thought it was detrimental to her should have indicated to him that there was something wrong. This was a note written in Rome, where Kurt suffered a near fatal overdose. This was a note which Kurt himself said was NOT a suicide note. As such, it probably contained solid evidence that Kurt was leaving Courtney. " Frances Barnetts' website~ In Defence of Kurt Cobain |
| THE OVERDOSE SEATTLE POLICE REPORTS- Dated 4/08/94 Incident Report #94--156500 Det. Jim Yoshida and Det. Steve Kirkland Police narrative: "Dr. Hartshorne notes that there are puncture marks on the inside of the left and right elbows." Roger Lewis-- "At least three days after his death, Kurt Cobain's blood contained 1.52 milligrams of morphine per litre (mg/L) plus traces of a "diazepam-like" substance. This level is widely known to represent three times the lethal dose of heroin, but it is not commonly understood that this level is three times the lethal dose even for severe heroin addicts. Generally, a blood morphine level of 0.5mg/L is caused by 75 mg - 80 mg of heroin, the established maximum lethal dose, even for severe addicts. A blood level of 1.52 mg/L generally indicates an original dose of approximately 225 mg - 240 mg of heroin. Large overdoses of heroin by heroin addicts are a phenomenon which is well understood. Research clearly shows that an overdose in the range of that received by Cobain would lead to immediate and complete incapacitation and/or immediate death. " Roger Lewis essay "Dead Men Don't Pull Triggers" |
| Information rebutting Roger's Claims? Decide for yourself: "The Persistent, Dangerous Myth of Heroin Overdose" by Stanton Peele. People rarely die from heroin overdoses — meaning pure concentrations of the drug which simply overwhelm the body's responses. What, then, are we to make of frequent reports of heroin overdoses from Plano, Texas and Strathclyde, Scotland? People do die while consuming heroin — but the overdose myth may actually make such deaths more, rather than less, likely. The first popular source to tell us about the myth of heroin overdose was the classic 1972 Consumer Union Report, Licit & Illicit Drugs, written by Edward M. Brecher. Brecher pointed out that, when street doses of heroin were far purer than they are today (China Cat and black-tar heroin scares notwithstanding), drug overdoses were practically unknown. Brecher noted that heroin overdoses began to be reported in New York City after World War II, and accelerated into the 1970s. Yet the average purity of a street dosage prior to the War was 40 times the concentration of a 1960s dose. Research at the Jefferson Medical Center in Philadelphia in the 1920s showed that addicts could tolerate up to a ninefold increase in the concentration of their standard, already large, dose. These researchers estimated that a toxic dose of heroin would be at least 500 milligrams for nonusers and 1800 milligrams for addicts. In the 1960s, New York City Medical Examiners Drs. Milton Helpern and Michael Baden studied heroin addict deaths. Heroin found near dead addicts was not unusually pure and their body tissues did not show especially high concentrations of the drug. Although the addicts typically shot up in groups, only one addict at a time died. Furthermore, the dead addicts were experienced rather than novice users and therefore should have built up tolerance to large doses of heroin. The best guess as to what was killing these addicts (aside from general infection, illness, and malnutrition) were the impurities in the drug, such as quinine, which produced adverse reactions in some injectors. A related likelihood which is more evident today is the mixture of drugs, or of drugs and alcohol. Street lore among heroin addicts typically eschewed drinking alcohol with heroin as a potentially deadly combination. Today, drug cocktails as well as drinking while shooting up are common. The majority of drug deaths in an Australian study, conducted by the National Alcohol and Drug Research Centre, involved heroin in combination with either alcohol (40 percent) or tranquilizers (30 percent). If it is not pure drugs that kill, but impure drugs and the mixture of drugs, then the myth of the heroin overdose can be dangerous. If users had a guaranteed pure supply of heroin which they relied on, there would be little more likelihood of toxic doses than occur with narcotics administered in a hospital. But when people take whatever they can off the street, they have no way of knowing how the drug is adulterated. And when they decide to augment heroin's effects, possibly because they do not want to take too much heroin, they may place themselves in the greatest danger. Plano, Texas is a well-heeled Dallas suburb. For some time, we have been reading about dramatic heroin overdose statistics in Plano — 20 overdoses (17 deadly) since September 1994. In July 1998, twenty-nine people were charged with smuggling and selling heroin and cocaine that led to four fatal overdoses. But the deaths should not be labeled overdose. Milan Malina, 20, died of pneumonia and inhaling his own vomit. Wesley Scott, 19, died at a party after inhaling his own vomit. Rob Hill, 19, was found dead in his own vomit by his parents after a party. Death by asphyxiation in one's vomit is common among people who mix alcohol with drugs, which often occurs at parties. Alcohol is more likely to cause people to puke, while additional drugs make the intoxicated individuals less able to stir themselves awake. Strathclyde, Scotland is at the opposite end of the socioeconomic spectrum from Plano. By the end of July 1998, 54 overdose deaths had been reported in Strathclyde. As in Plano, the availability of high-purity heroin had been blamed for the epidemic. But, according to Dr. Laurence Gruer, addictions coordinator for the Greater Glasgow Health Board, "It is actually rare to find someone has died taking heroin alone — it has almost inevitably been taken as part of a cocktail with [tranquilizers] Temazepam or Valium." Public officials can generally say any bad thing they want about illegal drugs. And they feel no doubt that labeling deaths as overdoses should scare most young people away from drugs. But this message may not have the desired effect. And its unintended consequences can be deadly. As the Australian National Research Centre made clear: "Both heroin users and service providers need to be disabused of the myth that heroin overdoses are solely, or even mainly, attributable to fluctuations in heroin purity." WHY PEELE'S ARGUMENT DOES NOT APPLY Stanton Peele-"Brecher pointed out that, when street doses of heroin were far purer than they are today (China Cat and black-tar heroin scares notwithstanding), drug overdoses were practically unknown." The notwithstanding black-tar heroin is important because Mexican black-tar heroin is the type of heroin that was found at the scene of Cobain's death. Roger Lewis- "Mexican black tar is usually no higher than 40% pure, but is not uncommonly up to 80% pure, while highest recorded purity level for Mexican black tar heroin is 93% pure (89). If the heroin used in this case was indeed Mexican black tar heroin, and it was in the range of the highest potency recorded, i.e. 93% purity, then the dose required to reach a blood morphine level of 1.52 mg per litre would be approximately 245 mg to 260 mg. Whatever the physical source of heroin was, it does not really matter; the only thing that makes one type of heroin stronger than another is concentration of dose, so it was approximately 225 mg to 240 mg of some type of heroin. If the purity was 40%, a more common figure, then the lethal dose, including adulterants, would have been around 600 mg. Thus there is a definite chance of up to 350 mg of procaine or acetyl procaine as an adulterant. Note that procaine is commonly found in samples of Mexican black tar heroin. Regarding the potential toxicity of procaine, it should be noted that procaine levels would likely be undetectable in Cobain's blood due to the fact that the body was found at least three days after death. Still, the importance of procaine's potential toxicity is emphasized by Nakamura, who says "Nearly all the contraband heroin in the western areas is obtained from Mexico and contains an appreciable amount of procaine, or acetyl-procaine, as a filler material. ...The potential danger of a large concentration of this dilutent in street heroin needs to be better understood. (63)." Even more evidence from Lewis suggests that Cobain would have died or been in a comatose state because of body weight. Roger Lewis- "A blood morphine level of 1.52 mg/L indicates a heroin intake of approximately 225 mg - 240 mg. Thus, despite suggestions that Cobain may have simply been incapacitated by a normal, large dose fit for an addict, it must be noted that his body weight was at highest 130 lbs., and he was listed as being 115 lbs. in late 1993. This would generally increase his susceptibility to overdose by as much as 20%, since toxicity data is based on a 150 lb. adult." Stanton Peel-"People rarely die from heroin overdoses meaning pure concentrations of the drug which simply overwhelm the body's responses." Heroin alone was not the only drug found in Cobain's system. There were also traces of a diazepam substance. The importance of this from Lewis's report. Roger Lewis-"Diazepam is generally synonymous with the more well-known drug Valium, and sometimes the term diazepam refers to the generic category of drugs known as benzodiazepines. This class of drugs is regarded as sedative-hypnotic, and is not cross-tolerant to opioids. That means addicts can use diazepam and similar drugs in the same way that non-addicts use them. Conversely, even a heroin addict will experience toxicity to benzodiazepines in the same manner as a non-addict. A junkie is not immune to the toxic effects of a benzodiazepine overdose simply because he or she can handle a big dose of heroin. Cassidy, et. al. report "as both drugs cause respiratory depression...the likelihood of death resulting as a consequence...is greater than if either drug were taken alone." (10). Oldendorf reports on the effect of relaxation as increasing heroin absorption in the brain (67), a factor which addicts often attempt to manipulate, eg. by using heroin with a relaxant such as a benzodiazepine." Roipnol or Rohypnol (Flunitrazepam) is part of a group of drugs called Benzodiazepine - they're relatively modern tranquillisers and sleeping tablets. When taken alone, they present few problems..... Roger Lewis- "The evidence indicates that a massive intravenous dose of heroin, and possibly a benzodiazepine, was administered to Cobain. The final of the two known injections incapacitated and/or killed Cobain..." Roger Lewis essay "Dead Men Dont Pull Triggers" These facts clearly show that Cobain would have been either killed or immediately unconscious because of the amount of the heroin dosage with the mix of a benzodiazepine.. |
| CONCLUSION TO THE "SUICIDE" SOLUTION It is indeed now clear that the SPD's investigation has been flawed and the end result was rushed to judgement of 'suicide'. A mistake no one wants to admit to or have part of... Dr. Nikolas Hartshorne, Chief Medical Examiner KCME-- "I've never seen a more open-and-shut case of suicide."-- April 1994 "Who Killed Kurt Cobain?" Sgt Cameron of the Seattle Police Dept.- "The forensic evidence in this case makes murder nearly impossible." Seattle Post Inteligencer"-- Dec. 1994 But wouldn't reveal that evidence because "of Courtney's wishes. "Who Killed Kurt Cobain?" But there are others who believe a bit differently and are closer to the truth: Max Wallace co-author of the book "Who Killed kurt Cobain?"- The Seattle Police Department is never going to admit they made a mistake, and I don't think they're trying to cover anything up. I think they really believe it was suicide. I know we have talked to members (of the Seattle Police Department), and they're very suspicious. They were actually very cooperative. We were given some inside police department information. They were very suspicious when they saw that information afterwards. They were troubled that Cameron wouldn't do anything, wouldn't look into this, and would close the case. They think that Cameron rushed to judgment. An SPD officer who wishes to remain anonymous-- "I don't necessarily think the death was a murder, but there are too many inconsistancies to just call a suicide. The case should be investigated by an outside source such as the Washington State Police to clear up all the BS. Cameron will never admit he made a mistake; he is very concerned about his reputation." "Who Killed Kurt Cobain?" Roger Lewis- "The evidence indicates that a massive intravenous dose of heroin, and possibly a benzodiazepine, was administered to Cobain. The final of the two known injections incapacitated and/or killed Cobain, and the gunshot is evidence of a homicide staged to look like a suicide. The case should be reopened by an independent investigatory body." Roger Lewis essay "Dead Men Don't Pull Triggers" Frances Barnett- "For anyone who says "You can't prove Kurt was murdered," I reply: I can prove Kurt's death was never investigated properly. I can also prove that Kurt had no potential for suicide at the time he died. I can also choose to believe the fact that Tom Grant has recorded conversations with Rosemary Carroll, one of Kurt's lawyers, wherein she voiced her belief that Kurt wasn't suicidal, but that she thought he might have been murdered. Grant has this on tape, Wallace and Halperin have heard these tapes and are therefore independent witnesses to this. Rosemary Carroll and Courtney Love refuse to sue Grant over his claims. Why? They know that if they took him to court, Courtney would lose the argument. Courtney would be in deep trouble." Frances Barnetts' website~ "In Defence of Kurt Cobain" As of December 9th 2001, Tom Grant has posted these and other audios for listening on his website. Tom Grant-- "What I'm attempting to do at this time is prove that the police investigation was thoroughly flawed and the public was completely misled. I believe anyone examining the material carefully will have to agree the case should be reopened and reinvestigated properly by another governmental agency." Tom Grants' Murder Investigation Manual |
| CASE OUTLINE PAGE 3 Contents: CASE UNPARALLELED IN SUICIDE & OVERDOSE REPORTS CASE CONSISTENT WITH HOMICIDE PATTERNS WHY THIS CASE SHOULD BE REOPENED |
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| DR Cyril Wecht, Nationally known Forensic Pathologist-- "For most people, including addicts, 1.52 milligrams per litre of morphine is a signifcant level, and for most of them, a great percentage, it will be a level that will induce a state of unconsciousness quite quickly, we're talking about seconds, not minutes. I just cannot tell you that it would've been impossible for him to have shot himself because it was found he had a level of 1.52 milligrams per litre of morphine at the postmortem examination. It is certainly within the realm of possibility, but it does raise a question, a big question, as to whether or not he shot that shotgun." NBC Tv's Unsolved Mysteries |
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| Dr. Ronald Reay, Seattle Medical Examiner-- "It is really an issue of tolerance, how much is this person used to. If a person has gradually over months or years increased the dose, a person could function with that amount of drugs, narcotics, or whatever is present in the system. Again, so much of it depends on individual tolerance over a period of time." NBC Tv's Unsolved Mysteries |
| In spite of Dr Reay's issue on tolerance, Ian Halperin and Max Wallace, spoke to eleven different heroin addicts who each categorically stated that it would be impossible for them to pick up a hand gun and manuver it after shooting that much heroin, no matter what the tolerance. Said one eight year addict, " anybody who says you can do that has never shot smack." "Who Killed Kurt Cobain?" pg113 Courtney Love-- "Kurt was nowhere near the junkie people paint him as." Vox- February 1997 edition Kurt interviewed by Michael Azerrad (author of 'Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana', published in 1993)-- “So there was an element of just wanting to get high?” “There might have been in her eyes”, says Kurt, who still maintains that he basically did heroin for its analgesic properties. “Every time that I wasn’t doing drugs, they suspected that I was. They still do”. Musician Magazine, October 1993 No heroin was found in Kurt's system in the Rome overdose, and witnesses exist to state that Kurt was clean, and above all this Kurt himself denied he had a drug problem. Therefore Kurt could not at this time, be classified as a heavy drug user who had a high tolerance for heroin. There are also witnesses to the fact that Kurt was clean during the tour. Everett True commented on Kurt's drug/alcohol consumption: "Although it's no secret that in the past Kurt Cobain has taken drugs, sometimes to excess, the last time we met (in Seattle, last December -1993), he seemed completely "clean". That is, he was clean, optimistic and happier than he'd been for years....I knew that he'd cut down on his drug taking for a while....He hadn't taken alcohol in any serious quantity for several years, that's for sure." Melody Maker- March 12th edition Posted on Tom's message board we look at the medical evidence from another point of view.... |
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| Here,Courtney clearly wears make up for the camera as she reportedly woke up between 3-4 am and found Kurt unconscious on the floor, yet waits to call the ambulance until 6:30am. Why did she leave Kurt for nearly 2 hours before calling for help? |
| NEW Update 05/31/06 In regards to the article from Stanton Peele below, the case of Wesley Scott and the cause of death is incorrect. The actual cause of death on his death certificate states that it was 'acute narcosis' He was in fact, still alive when he arrived at the hospital and died even after they had cleared his airway. |
