Tom Grant Condensed Summary of Events

Investigation into the death of
Kurt Cobain

by Tom Grant -->

This summary is not the report of this investigation. It was originally intended to serve as an outline to guide me through interviews with the media. It started out as one line sentences to remind me of details and events and gradually developed into its current form.
The summary is updated and revised periodically as I find time to work on it and improve the presentation of facts. It does not contain ALL of the details and information relating to this investigation. It merely highlights some of the events in brief comments so the reader might be better informed as to what transpired in April of 1994.
This limited information is not intended to PROVE that Kurt Cobain's death was the result of a murder. It simply lays some of the foundation for a much more detailed and complex case. More evidence will be presented at the proper time and place as the theory of suicide unravels and the truth regarding Kurt's death emerges.

PRIOR TO MY INVOLVEMENT

Courtney and Kurt had not been getting along. They'd been talking about divorce. In the weeks before Kurt died, Courtney called one of their attorneys, Rosemary Carroll and told Rosemary to get the meanest, most vicious divorce lawyer she could find.
Courtney also asked Rosemary if the prenuptial agreement could be voided.
Kurt called Rosemary too. He hadn't completed his will. He told Rosemary he wanted Courtney taken out of it.
Kurt did not want to tour or perform anymore. He was walking away from what Courtney said was a $9.5 million dollar contract to headline the Lollapalooza tour.
Courtney was angry at Kurt for the possible loss of of all those millions. Her anger wasn't working, so she tried to blame Kurt's attitude on his drug use and put together a so-called "tough love intervention." Among others at the "intervention" were some of the junkies Kurt did drugs with.
Courtney claims she told Kurt, "This has got to end. You have to be a good daddy!" This statement is a somewhat pretentious one, since it came from a woman who was doing drugs when we were first hired and continued her drug use during the next eight months. It's hard to believe Kurt could have taken this whole scene seriously.
MARCH 26TH.
Courtney left Seattle for the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills.
MARCH 30th.
Kurt and his best friend Dylan Carlson purchased a shotgun. Kurt told Dylan he was afraid of intruders at the house. Walking out on the Lollapalooza tour was a business decision that would cost OTHERS a great deal of money also. I have reason to believe Kurt may have been intimidated into believing his life would be in danger if he failed to do the tour.
The shotgun was a 20 gauge, set-up for light load. This set-up is what gun dealers often recommend for home protection because the shot won't penetrate walls and endanger those on the other side.
Kurt took the shotgun to his house so it would be there when he got back from rehab. He THEN left Seattle to go to a rehab center in Marina Del Rey, Calif.
APRIL 1st.
Sixteen phone calls were made to Kurt's rehab center from Courtney's hotel room at the Peninsula. Most of these are to the patient's pay phone. Courtney later told me she only talked to Kurt once that day.
That evening, Kurt left the rehab. Later, at 8:47 PM, he called the Peninsula Hotel and left a message for Courtney. The message on the hotel log reads: "Elizabeth's phone # is (213)_______." (This # is on my case file.)
Courtney never mentioned this message to the media. This doesn't sound like a message from a person who is suicidal.
Kurt arrived in Seattle early Saturday morning, April 2nd, and was taken to his house on Lake Washington by a hired driver. Later in the morning, Michael DeWitt, (also known as "Cali"), the male nanny who was living at the Cobain house, claims Kurt came into his bedroom and had a short conversation with him.
Cali later told us he had informed Courtney later that same day that Kurt had been to the house.
Saturday night Courtney had a friend plant a phony story with the Associated Press that she had overdosed on drugs and was in the hospital.
This planted story becomes significant later in the investigation.

EASTER SUNDAY AT THE PENINSULA

SUNDAY, APRIL 3rd.
Courtney called my office in Beverly Hills. She told me someone was using her husband's credit card and she wanted me to try to find out who it was.
I took another investigator with me named Ben Klugman. We met Courtney at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills. "If you leak this to the press, I'll sue the f___ out of you," Courtney warned me as we walked into the room. Nice to meet you too!" I thought to myself.
Courtney told us her husband was Kurt Cobain and that he just left a drug rehab. She said she lied to the credit card company and had his card canceled. She wanted us to call the credit card company and find out what the attempted activities were on this cancelled card.
I mentioned I couldn't understand why she needed us for that. I advised her she could do that herself and save some money. If we did it, I'd have to charge her fifty dollars just to make a phone call. Courtney responded sarcastically, "What? That's not enough money for you?" It was time for me and Courtney to get to know each other better.
"Look," I replied, "I'll do whatever I can to help you, but I'm not going to sit here and get ripped every time I say something."
Courtney apologized, then continued to fill us in.
Courtney told us Kurt only had one credit card and without that one card he had no access to money. She said Kurt didn't have any friends or anyone else that might loan him money. Knowing now who we were dealing with, this didn't make sense!
We questioned Courtney some more about Kurt's ability to get money for his needs. She insisted, "This guy can't even catch af___ing cab by himself!"
Courtney told us about the overdose story she had planted with the Associated Press the previous evening. She claimed the reason she did this was to scare Kurt and get his attention so he'd try to contact her.
Later that afternoon while I was with her in the hotel room, Courtney rambled on in an angry rage about the 9 1/2 million dollars Kurt was walking away from.
She said, "If he doesn't want the money, he ought to do it for his child, for Frances."
She said she'd do the Lollapalooza tour for Kurt if he didn't want to do it...
She said she'll do Saturday Night Live if he didn't want to do it...
She said she thinks KURT wants a divorce...
She mentioned a prenuptial agreement, but said, "My name's on all the houses and assets."
Courtney said she didn't know for sure where Kurt was. She said he MIGHT be in Seattle or he may have flown back east to stay with Michael Stipe. (She failed to mention Kurt had been seen at their house.)
She asked us to find someone in Seattle to watch a drug dealer's apartment and other locations in case Kurt turned up,but she NEVER asked us to watch the Lake Washington house.
I subcontracted with a P.I. firm in Seattle for the surveillance.

A FALSE POLICE REPORT

MONDAY, APRIL 4th.
Courtney called in a missing person's report pretending to be Kurt's mother, Wendy O'Conner. The report reads, "Mr. Cobain ran away from California facility and flew back to Seattle. He also bought a shotgun and may be suicidal." The wording of this report made it sound like he purchased the shotgun AFTER he left the rehab in L.A. The report also FAILED to mention Kurt was last seen at the Lake Washington house AFTER he left the rehab!
We continued working with the credit card company trying to track the use of Kurt's credit card. Someone was still attempting to use it.
Courtney told us Kurt only stays in the BEST hotels. (We later learned he mostly stays in flop house hotels). We began calling hotels looking for Kurt and thought we located him at a hotel under one of his aliases. Courtney said she didn't want Kurt to know she was looking for him, but later she called me and said she talked to the person in the room and it wasn't Kurt.
During a phone conversation, Courtney told me Kurt was suicidal. "Everyone thinks he's going to die," she announced.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6th.
Kurt had not been located. Courtney called the electrical contractor in Seattle who had been installing a security system at the Lake Washington house. She instructed the electricians to begin work on the lights and motion detector on the greenhouse.
Did she know Kurt was inside?
Was she trying to get the body discovered?
At the hotel later that afternoon, I volunteered to go toSeattle and search for Kurt. Someone in the room said, "Why don't you go up there, Courtney?"
"I can't, I have business I have to take care of here," Courtney replied.
Rosemary Carroll later told me, "She didn't have any business in L.A."
I asked Courtney not to tell anyone I was coming because they might alert Kurt, but she later called Mike Dewitt, ("Cali"), and told him I was on my way to Seattle.
During an earlier conversation, Courtney told me she didn't trust Cali. Now she said, "He won't tell anyone."
"Save the American Icon, Tom!" Courtney shouted dramatically as I left her hotel room and headed for the airport.

THE SEATTLE SEARCH

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6th, 11:30 PM.
I picked up Kurt's best friend, Dylan Carlson at his apartment. We went to a cafe where we ate and planned our strategy for locating Kurt and finding out what was going on. Dylan told me Kurt had been afraid of intruders at the house lately, so he helped Kurt buy the shotgun to have for protection when he returned from rehab.
Later we checked out a drug dealer's apartment on Capitol Hill as well as hotels on the Aurora strip where Kurt had been known to stay from time to time.
While Dylan and I were driving around Seattle, I asked him if we should check with Kurt's mother in Aberdeen. Dylan replied, "No. Kurt wouldn't go there. He doesn't get along with his mom."
THURSDAY MORNING, APRIL 7th, 2:15AM.
We went to the Lake Washington house. I waited in the car while Dylan walked up alone as we had previously planned. We didn't want to alert Kurt to my presence if at all possible. Dylan came back to the car after at least five minutes saying no one was home. I wondered what took so long if no one was home?
We went to a pay phone and called Courtney. She was at Rosemary Carroll's house in Los Angeles. Dylan talked to her. I told him to have her call the alarm company and turn off the alarm so we could go in the house.
Upon returning to the Lake Washington house, we gained access through an unlocked kitchen window. While we were searching the house, Dylan commented, "I've never seen the house this clean before."
We didn't find Kurt. Dylan didn't tell me about the greenhouse and since it was dark and raining, I hadn't noticed there was a room above the garage.
We now know that after talking to Dylan on the phone, Courtney left Rosemary's and went back to the Peninsula Hotel. A short while later, she called 911. First reports have her overdosing again. She was later arrested. Rosemary Carroll has shown me evidence that this was possibly a deliberate and planned event.
Rosemary also told me that on Thursday morning, while Courtney was at her house talking to Dylan on the phone, she overheard Courtney say, "Be sure and check the greenhouse."
Since Courtney directed Dylan to check the greenhouse, I couldn't help but wonder why she hadn't asked Cali to check the greenhouse in the past few days.
Dylan and I spent most of the day on Thursday checking out some of Kurt's hangouts and talking to people who might know where he was. As evening approached, we headed for the small town of Carnation located about 30 miles east of Seattle where the Cobains owned two vacant cabins situated on several acres of property. But in the dark, Dylan became unsure as to whether or not he could locate the property. The increasing rain didn't help much so we eventually turned back. We'd try another time.
Although Courtney was in the hospital as a result of her alleged "overdose," Dylan managed to speak with her on the phone to get further instructions. Courtney wanted us to go back to the Lake Washington house to look for the shotgun. She said it could be in a hidden compartment in her closet. Again, I wondered why she hadn't asked Cali to look there before now?
9:45 PM.
Dylan and I returned to the Lake Washington house. Inside I found a note from Cali which had been placed on the main stairway. It wasn't there the night before. The note read in part, "I can't believe you managed to be in the house without me noticing. You're a f---ing a--hole for not calling Courtney..." I had a feeling the note was intended for me to find, not Kurt. It just seemed phony.
Cali later told us he was hardly at the house from Monday on.If so, why would he find it so hard to believe Kurt had been in the house? Cali says he was hardly there himself! Besides, it's Kurt's house!! What gives Cali the right to be angry at Kurt for being in his own home? This didn't make sense!
Cali explained he wasn't staying at the house because Courtney kept calling and saying she knew Kurt was there. If so, why wasn't she having us watch the house during our surveillance?
Cali told friends he was leaving for Los Angeles Thursday afternoon, the 7th. I never got to see or talk to him while I was in Seattle. I had the feeling he was trying to avoid me.

KURT IS FOUND

FRIDAY MORNING, APRIL 8th.
Dylan and I were again on the way to the Carnation property when we stopped for gas. Dylan made a call. When he came back to the car, he said a friend just told him a body was found at the Lake Washington house. We turned on the radio and soon heard that it was Kurt. No reaction from Dylan.
Later we heard Kurt's body was found in the greenhouse. I turned to Dylan and asked, "What's the greenhouse?" He told me it's a room above the garage. I asked, "Why didn't we look there? Dylan replied, "It's just a dirty little room. I think they keep some lumber in there or something."
I called my office and spoke with Ben Klugman. He told me the credit card company says someone had continued trying to use Kurt's credit card as recent as just hours before the body was found. We now know Kurt had been dead for two days or more, so someone was still trying to use his credit card after he died!
I called the Seattle homicide detectives and tried to tell them something was wrong here. The detective told me Kurt was locked in the room by himself. He said the door was locked from the inside and the fire department had to break a window on the door to get in, inferring that Kurt had to have been alone in the when he died. I assumed they must know what they're talking about, but I was curious about what kind of door lock this was.
Courtney wasn't at all upset that I hadn't found Kurt. She acted as if she thought Kurt died the night before. If so, we could have saved him! Why wasn't she angry at us?
Courtney tried to get me to talk to the press. I told her I didn't want to say anything until I found out more about what happend. This whole thing smelled rotten!
I left Seattle and flew back to Los Angeles.

RETURN TO SEATTLE

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13th.
I met with Rosemary Carroll at her Hollywood office. She indicated to me hersuspicions about Courtney's involvement in Kurt's death.
As mentioned before, Rosemary told me that a couple of weeks earlier Courtney had called and asked her to find "the meanest, most vicious" divorce lawyer she could find.
Courtney also asked Rosemary if the prenuptial agreement could be voided.
Rosemary then told me that Kurt also called her around that same time. He hadn't completed his will yet and he told Rosemary he wanted Courtney taken out of it.
Rosemary was disturbed that Courtney wouldn't let her or anyone else see the alleged "suicide" note.
We agreed it would be best for me to return to Seattle for further investigation.
THURSDAY, APRIL 14th.
I went to the Lake Washington house. Courtney was sitting at the dining room table. As I approached and sat down to talk, she said, "I guess I really found the right P.I. this time." The flattery was nice, but it didn't make much sense.
After some conversation, Courtney got up to get a cigarette. A lady walked over to where I was sitting. She was wearing a black T-shirt that read, "Grunge Is Dead." I assumed she was a relative of Kurt's, maybe a sister or cousin. She stood in front of me and asked, "You're the investigator?" I nodded while she continued, "What do you think?" Not knowing who she was, I replied, "I don't know. What do you think?"
She answered by introducing herself. "Well, I'm Kurt's mom, Wendy. I don't know. Something doesn't seem right. Why didn't Dylan look in the greenhouse?"

I told Wendy I'd like to sit down and talk to her sometime in the next few days. She agreed and said she'd like to talk to me too.
I noticed Courtney looking over her shoulder as Wendy and I talked. She seemed to be concerned about our conversation. As she walked back towards us Wendy began walking away. Courtney put her arms around Wendy and kissed her. Then I noticed Courtney whisper something in Wendy's ear. The rest of the time I was at the house, Wendy seemed cool towards me, almost evasive.

I HAD TO SEE THE "NOTE"

Courtney took me upstairs where we sat on her bed and talked. Since she wouldn't even let her close friend and attorney, Rosemary Carrol, see the suicide note, I had to come up with away to get a copy for myself for closer examination.
"I heard you read the note on TV the other day," I told her. "I was confused about something. It sounded like the note said, "I'm lying here on the bed..." If Kurt was lying on the bed when he wrote the note, why was the bed was so neat when I came in here the other night? It didn't look like anyone had been on this bed."
"No, Tom, I was lying on the bed," Courtney answered and repeated, "I was lying on the bed recording the message to Kurt's fans."
"Are you sure that's what you said? " I asked. "I got the impression it was Kurt saying HE was lying on the bed."
"No. Here, I'll show you," she said, and reached over to retrieve a folded paper from under a pillow. Handing me the note, Courtney pointed out, "It's only a copy. The police have the original."
I studied the note as if looking for the phrase in question, then remarked, "I can't read this without my glasses. Can I go downstairs and make a copy on your fax machine? I'll look at it later."
"Yeah...sure," Courtney mumbled as her eyes dropped out of an icy stare. When I came back up, Courtney was kneeling on the floor looking in a phone book. A telephone was on the floor next to her. "Would you wait downstairs, Tom?" she snapped. A few minutes earlier she was friendly--now she seemed irritated!

A TRIP TO CARNATION

Later we made plans to go to the Carnation property. Hole's guitarist Eric Erlandson was supposed to go with us, but while at the Lake Washington house earlier, Courtney took Eric into another room to talk to him in private. When they came out, Eric left the house alone in his van.
I commented, "I thought Eric was going with us." Courtney replied, "He'll meet us there."
I drove Courtney to Carnation. Kat Bjelland, guitarist for Babes In Toyland, rode along in the back seat of my rental car. During the drive Courtney began talking about the "son of a bitch" who gave the story to the Associated Press saying she had overdosed on April 2nd. She became agitated as she grumbled, "I'm going to find out who the hell it was and sue that mother f...er for libel. I can prove I was at the hotel. People saw me there. It was a total lie."
"You told me YOU planted that story," I reminded Courtney.
"Huh?...Oh" she responded, and turned to look out the window.
On the way, Courtney wanted to stop twice for snacks. We also missed the turn off, getting lost temporarily and having to solicit directions from a nearby farmer. This seemed a little strange when I later discovered one of the houses on the property had just been built. Courtney must have been out there several times while the house was under construction and it wasn't all that difficult to find. Were these delays in our trip deliberate?
When we arrived at the Carnation property, I noticed the two houses on the property reflected Kurt and Courtney's individual personalities. One is an old weathered cabin with furniture and bedding. The other is a brand new mansion, vacant and unfurnished.
We went into the old cabin first. Courtney and Kat went upstairs to the loft while I stayed downstairs to look around. When they came back downstairs, Courtney reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a cloth pouch. "Look Tom. Kurt was here," she said, as she opened the pouch revealing a syringe inside.
NO WAY! I thought to myself. This didn't look like something Kurt would use to keep a syringe in. And why would he have left it here? I felt Courtney probably brought the pouch with her.
A few minutes later we found five dead rats in the toilet. They'd been there for quite some time. It was obvious no one had used this cabin recently!
In the new house we found a sleeping bag, some cigarette butts, and some soda cans scattered about. Courtney wanted to take these items back with us. She said she wanted to get them fingerprinted. What's the big deal here? I wondered.
I also noticed Eric never showed up at the Carnation property. Had he come and gone before we arrived?
Courtney apparently changed her mind about prints after a bizzare conversation we had in the car. She told Kat and I that she was going to make a rubber hand from a cast she'd made of Kurt's hand. She said she was going to use it to slap people in the face and say, "There! That's from Kurt!"
I mentioned I'd worked with hand casts and it was amazing how you could even duplicate fingerprints. Courtney appeared strangely discouraged. I never heard any more about printing the items found at the Carnation property. Had this been part of a scheme to try to convince me Kurt had been to the Carnation property after leaving the rehab in Los Angeles?
Conversation in the car indicated Courtney was still thinking more about her career than about Kurt.
Courtney also talked to narcotics Detective Antonio Terry on my carphone. I later learned she'd been talking to Terry quite a lot during the time Kurt was missing. Detective Terry was even mentioned in the missing person's report as having additional information about Kurt.
Remember Terry's name. It will come up again later.
While Courtney was out of the car at one time, I heard radio commentator Paul Harvey talk about a rumored suicide pact which supposedly existed between Courtney and Kurt. This was typical of the type of planted stories I'd heard Courtney originate on her own and then blame others for leaking to the press. I wondered if there was a connection between her fake "overdose" Saturday night and her possible deliberate overdose and arrest Thursday morning. Had she expected Kurt to die Saturday night? Had she expected us to find his body Thursday morning? Had she tried to make this look like a suicide pact?

OBSTRUCTING THE INVESTIGATION

Back at the house, I told Courtney I'd like to talk to Cali and Dylan together. Courtney told me, "Cali went to rehab in El Paso, or Georgia... no, he's in L.A. with friends." Courtney shouted to Eric, "Call Cali and tell him to get back up here on the next plane."
Dylan arrived at the house while I was in the kitchen. Courtney took him into her bedroom for about twenty minutes. When they came down it was obvious Dylan had just gotten a heroin fix. I took Dylan into the kitchen to talk. As I began questioning him, I noticed his response was canned as if he'd just been prepared and rehearsed. He also kept nodding off from the heroin. There was no sense in continuing.
I left the house and asked Eric to call my hotel when Cali got there. After several hours, I called and spoke to Eric. He told me that after I left,Courtney had him call Cali and tell him he didn't have to come to Seattle. Eric said, "I don't know what's going on here!"
SATURDAY, APRIL 16th.
Ben Klugman had flown to Seattle to work with me. Ben and I went back to the Lake Washington house to talk to Courtney. The lady answering the door told me Courtney was upstairs sleeping. I asked her if Wendy was there. She said Wendy was downstairs. I asked the lady to let Wendy know I was there and to ask her if we could talk. The lady left, returning in a couple of minutes to tell me, "Wendy says she has nothing to talk to you about."
The electrical supervisor who had been at the scene of Kurt's death, met with Ben Klugman and me at my hotel room. He described the position of the body and the shotgun. He also told us, "Kurt's hair looked like it had been combed by a hairdresser. It was all spread out nice and even."
I realized this could just be one man's perception of what he thought he saw while under stress, but I wanted to see the police photographs to see what he was talking about.

DOCUMENT EXAM - NOT CREDIBLE

I faxed off several documents, including a copy of the "suicide note," to two document examiners in Los Angeles. The document examiners told me, based on the photocopies they had examined, it was their opinion Courtney wrote the letter left on the stairs, not Cali.
This explanation wasn't logical. Courtney was still in Beverly Hills when this note showed up on the stairs. If the document examiners were right, this would indicate a conspiracy of some type. Still, I found their conclusions hard to believe.

MEETING WITH THE POLICE

I went to the police station and met with Sgt. Cameron. I discussed with him:

Possible motives,...
- More money from a suicide than from a divorce...
- Kurt's record sales would probably take off...
- Courtney's career would probably take off...
Numerous inconsistencies and contradictions in logic...
The missing credit card and continued activity on the card after Kurt's death...
Courtney specifically told to Dylan check the greenhouse, and he didn't do it...
The Letter on the stairs from Cali seemed phony and didn't make sense...
Document examiners said Courtney wrote the letter on the stairs...
Doubts about Kurt's handwriting on the note, especially the bottom portion...
The electrician's statement about Kurt's hair appearing to have been combed.

"Why did you tell me the door was locked from the inside?" I asked Sgt. Cameron, pointing out that the lock was a simple push-in and twist type. "Anyone could have pulled that door shut after locking it!" I added.
"There was a stool wedged up against the door," Sgt. Cameron replied with a touch of resentment in his voice.
Once again I assumed the police had evidence that Kurt was alone, but I still had some real problems with this case!
When I asked Sgt. Cameron if I could look at the photographs to see why the electrical supervisor thought Kurt's hair had been combed, he responded, "We haven't developed the photographs and probably never will. We don't develope photographs on suicides."
"Nothing you've said convinces me this is anything but a suicide," Sgt. Cameron informed me as we concluded the meeting.

CONTINUING THE INVESTIGATION

I spent the next few weeks trying to determine if my document examiners were correct. Through my own testing I was eventually convinced they were wrong. I concluded Cali DID write the letter I found on the stairs at the Lake Washington. It was not written by Courtney.
One of the document examiners finally admitted her mistake. The other remained firm in her original opinion.
I don't believe in the accuracy of the work done by these two document examiners. So even though it may have helped prove my case, I won't use it. I want REAL evidence here, not false or misleading evidence.
I called Detective Kirkland and told him the document examiners had made a mistake. He didn't understand the significance in the first place, so it was obvious they had paid little attention to anything I had to say about this case.
I studied media material and found it was full of planted stories and misinformation. One story had Courtney grieving at home, while I knew she was actually at Canyon Ranch in Arizona sleeping with Billy Corgan. This was only three weeks after Kurt died.

COURTNEY LOVE ON NOTICE

MAY 8TH, 1994.
I sent Courtney a letter indicating my suspicions about Kurt's death.
Dear Courtney,
I'm sure you know by now that my investigation has been somewhat more active than you might have been aware of. The purpose of this letter is to clarify my postion regarding our working relationship.
You may recall our trip Carnation on Thursday, April 14th. I mentioned during the drive that I was beginning to turn over some "rocks" that I wasn't sure you'd want turned over. I asked you if you wanted me to continue digging. Kat, who was in the back seat, said, "Oh yeah, she wants to know everything." You responded, "Yeah Tom, do what ever it takes. I want to know everything that happened." Your instructions were clear, so in the days and weeks that followed, I proceeded to "do whatever it takes."
As the investigation continued, my attempts to get at the truth often seemed to be deliberately hindered. While reading some of the articles being written in newspapers and magazines, I discovered the information being released to the press was inaccurate and often cleverly misleading.
I consider the circumstances surrounding your husband's death to be highly suspicious. My investigation has exposed a number of inconsistencies in the facts of this case as well as many contradictions in sound logic and common sense. I'm required to report findings such as these to the police, so on Friday, April 15th, I spoke with Sgt. Cameron about some of what I've learned so far.
As I've experienced in past cases, police detectives don't often welcome the work of outside investigators. I've learned it's somewhat idealistic and naive to think the truth might be more important than professional pride.
I've decided to continue working on this case until I see it to its conclusion, without additional charge. Attached you will find an invoice which accounts for the charges billed for our services, including time and expenses. As you can see, prior to my return to Seattle on April 13th, these charges exceeded the retainer amount. However, please consider your bill paid in full. There will be no further charges.
As I pursue the truth regarding the events surrounding your husband's death, your cooperation and assistance will be appreciated, but not required.
Sincerely,
Tom Grant
THE GRANT COMPANY

FIREPROOFING THE BRIDGE

I anticipated an angry reply from Courtney. Instead she responded by retaining me to do more work for her. This work was unrelated to the investigation into Kurt's death. The work was time consuming and when I finished it became obvious she didn't really care about the results.
During conversations with Courtney over the next several months, she encouraged me to continue investigating Kurt's death, but she often sabotaged my efforts to obtain information.
Whenever I started talking to people close to Courtney about Kurt's death, she'd hire me to do another job. It seemed that she really had very few options at this point it. Getting angry would just create more suspicion. Cutting off contact would keep her in the dark about what I was doing. Courtney may have also assumed I'd accept more work as a payoff.
Courtney often told me she thought Kurt was with Katlin before he died. Katlin was a drug dealer living in Seattle's Capitol Hill area. Since we had someone watching Katlin's apartment and video taping nearly everyone coming and going, it seemed odd that Courtney had not asked for the surveillance tapes.
At a meeting later in my office in Beverly Hills, Cali told us he checked the greenhouse on Sunday but never looked after that. He said, "It's just a dirty gross little room." The greenhouse is a rather large, clean room. It measures 19' x 23'!
In the May 11th issue of the Seattle Times, Dylan told a Times reporter he didn't know the greenhouse was there. "For all the times I'd been there, I didn't even realize there was a room above it associated with the house." This contradicted the conversation I had with Dylan in the car on the day Kurt was found.
Several weeks later, Courtney told me she gave Cali $30,000 to go to a rehab somewhere back east. She was angry because he took his girlfriend with him. I couldn't help but wonder if this was actually an excuse for a payoff.

POLICE REPORTS
BRING STARTLING REVELATIONS

I finally received copies of the police reports. The reports indicated Kurt had two other Versateller cards in his wallet, along with $120 in cash which was on the floor and $63 in cash, which was found in Kurt's coat pocket. Studying the reports further, I discovered misleading information had been given to me AND the press.

As mentioned earlier, the entrance door to the greenhouse had a push and twist lock. Anyone could have locked it and pulled it shut as they left.
The stool Sgt. Cameron said was wedged against the entrance doors, was actually just sitting in front of the unlocked balcony doors on the other side of the room. These doors didn't allow access since there's no stairway to that balcony.
Kurt was NOT barricaded in the room as the police had indicated to me and as the media had reported.
Kurts's driver's license had been removed and placed in front of his wallet for a photograph BY AN OFFICER on the scene. Kurt DID NOT leave his license out so his body could be identified as reported in the media.
The first officers on the scene had taken 23 Polaroids. The police DID have photographs they could have shown me!
The canceled credit card was NOT in Kurt's possession.
There was no attempt in these reports to explain the missing credit card. And yet... the case was now closed!

NO PRINTS ON THE SHOTGUN?

The police reports also indicated the shotgun had been sent to the crime lab to be checked for fingerprints. The Fingerprint Analysis Report for the shotgun reads: " The above item was processed for prints on05/06/94 by Sr. ID Technician T. Geranimo, #4466. Four cards of latent prints were lifted. The four cards of lifted latent prints contain no legible prints." I have to wonder how Kurt could have handled this shotgun before he left for rehab and after he returned to the house without leaving ANY legible prints.

MORE DEATHS, MORE MURDERS?

JUNE 4th, 1994
Narcotics Detective Terry was murdered. He's the first Seattle police officer to be murdered in the line of duty in nine years. I've read the news reports and although it is quite a coincidence, it doesn't appear Detective Terry's murder is connected to the Cobain case. But, I'd like to know more.
JUNE 15th.
Kristen Pfaff, the bass player for Courtney's band Hole, died of an alledged drug overdose. Her body was found in the bathtub inside the bathroom of her Seattle apartment. Kristen's death occurred the evening before she was to leave Seattle to go back to Minneapolis.
In a recent interview, Courtney said she had to go drag Eric away from Kristen's body. At the very least, this means Courtney was in Seattle at the time of Kristen's death.
I'm very suspicious of the circumstances of Kristen's death. Evidence will show Kurt was planning to leave Courtney and Seattle shortly after he returned from the rehab in Los Angeles.
Kristen was also leaving Seattle, getting away from Courtney. Was this a coincidence?... Or was it murder?

"COPYCAT SUICIDES"

Reports of so-called copycat suicides continue to surface. Many of Kurt's fans are having difficulty dealing with his alleged "suicide" and feel if he thought suicide was the answer for his problems, then they'd solve their problems the same way.
I'm appalled that no one in the Cobain camp is speaking out about this, trying to put a stop to these sensless deaths.

ANOTHER COINCIDENCE?

JUNE 17th.
The original so-called "suicide" note from Kurt's death was returned to Courtney. The police also returned the note from Rome at this time. Courtney had given the Rome note to the police for handwriting comparison. I find it interesting that the police would return the last pieces of physical evidence in Kurt's death the day after Kristen Pfaff died!

"GAG ORDERS"

As my investigation continued from Beverly Hills, I tried to get Cali back in for additional questioning. He was living in Los Angeles at the time, so it would have been convenient for him to come to my office.
Every time I started to focus on Cali, Courtney would give me another time consuming job unrelated to this case.
Courtney eventually tried to get me to sign a confidentiality agreement. I told her to send me a copy and I'd look at it. But, I added, "I'm not going to sign anything that could interfere with my investigation."
Courtney also said she wanted to get Cali and another friend of hers by the name of Renee Naverette, to sign a confidentiality agreement. She said, "Everyone who works for me has to sign it."
Why NOW? I wondered. She's known Cali for years!

THE ROLLING STONE INTERVIEW

The DECEMBER. 15, 1994 issue of Rolling Stone featured an interview with Courtney by David Fricke. This was one of the most interesting interviews I've read so far. It describes Courtney's mindset and reveals what I consider to be a psychopathic personality.
Throughout this interview, Courtney seems preoccupied with convincing everyone how suicidal Kurt was. She tells a story about Kurt bringing a gun to the hospital room when Frances was born and she heroically grabbed the gun from him and said, "I'll go first, I can't have you do it first. I'll go first."
This whole story is difficult to believe. I find it interesting that Courtney was so absorbed in promoting the image of Kurt's suicidal tendencies right after his beautiful daughter was born, that she displayed no concern whatsoever for the fact that Frances would have to grow up hearing this horror story once it got published. I don't think this will be the best thing for this little girl's self esteem.
I realize my own writing may be read by Frances some day. I don't like that idea, but I feel I have to say these things now in an attempt to protect her in the future.
Questions about the Seattle "suicide" note are being raised. I firmly believe the note left at the scene in Seattle was not a "suicide" note, but actually a note of retirement written to Kurt's fans. The words at the bottom, "Which will be so much happier without me," appear to have been added to the note.

BUT NOW...THERE'S ANOTHER NOTE? !

In this Roling Stone interview, Courtney now says Kurt wrote her another note also. She claims she found it on her bed under a pillow.
I know this is NOT TRUE because Thursday morning, well after the time of Kurt's death, I looked under the pillows. I also looked under the bed and between the mattresses. That's where I found a package of the drug Rohipnal that I later told Courtney about.
Dylan and I were looking everywhere for drugs and drug paraphernalia that might indicate whether or not Kurt had been in the house recently.
Even more important however, is what this "new note" says. Courtney admits it's not suicidal. She quoted from the "new note" in the Rolling Stone interview. "You know I love you, I love Frances, I'm so sorry. Please don't follow me... I'll be there, I'll protect you. I don't know where I'm going, I just can't be here anymore."
This seems to confirm what my investigation had already revealed... that Kurt was simply leaving Seattle and wanted to be left alone.
Courtney claims she told Sgt. Cameron about this other note. If so, I have to wonder why Sgt. Cameron never mentioned this other note in any police reports and why it was never mentioned to the press.
I also have to wonder why Courtney never told me about this other note during the seven month period following Kurt's death. I continued doing other work for her. She acted as if she wanted me to continue investigating this case but she obviously hadn't told me everything.
Now we have two notes left by Kurt. Neither one is suicidal! Both notes simply confirm Kurt wanted out of the music business and he was leaving Seattle to get away from it all.

WHAT ABOUT THE NOTE FROM THE ROME INCIDENT? -->
Courtney claims there's a line in the Rome note that alludes to suicide. She says the Rome note mostly just trashes her, but she claims, "It says one thing very definitely suicidal."
Then Courtney quotes a line from the Rome note written by Kurt, "Dr. Baker says I would have to choose between life and death. I'm choosing death."
If this statement really IS on the Rome note, what does it mean? It seems to me the Doctor was simply telling Kurt that if he doesn't get off drugs, he'd eventually die from using them. To think that the doctor was telling Kurt that suicide was an option for him is absurd!
Kurt's response probably meant that he was going to do what he wanted, even if using drugs would eventually kill him. This would be a typical response from a heroin addict.
Keep in mind, this incident in Rome was never called a suicide attempt, by anyone, until AFTER Kurt died in Seattle. The doctor in Rome even said he believed the overdose was an accident.
Dr. Galleta says, "The last image I have of him, which in light of the tragedy now seems pathetic, is of a young man playing with the little girl. He did not seem like a young man who wanted to end it all."
In a recently released book "COBAIN" by the editors of Rolling Stone, Neil Strauss writes regarding the Rome event, "Gold Mountain, [Nirvana's management company], still denies that a suicide attempt was made. A note was found, says a company spokesman, but Kurt insisted it wasn't a suicide note. He just took all of his and Courtney's money and was going to run away and dissappear."
Is there really ANY evidence that this was a suicide note? It doesn't look like it. But there's another problem here. We may never know the entire contents of the so-called Rome "suicide" note. We may never be able to determine what Kurt actually meant, or if he even wrote the statement attributed to him by Courtney, because this original note has been destroyed.
When he returned the note from Rome to her, Courtney claims Sgt. Cameron told her, "This will never do you any good. I'd get rid of this if I were you."
So... she burned it!