It was one of the central pieces of physical evidence in the death of Kurt Cobain – and it was destroyed.
The Nirvana frontman was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head at his Seattle, Washington, home on April 8, 1994. At the scene, investigators with the Seattle Police Department (SPD) recovered a suicide note, a shotgun and a nearby heroin kit, leading them to conclude that the 27-year-old musician had taken his own life.
Now, an email obtained by the Daily Mail reveals that the Remington Model 11 20-gauge shotgun was destroyed nearly three decades later at the request of Cobain’s family.
SPD Capt James Britt emailed Sgt John Crumb on June 29, 2022, saying ‘that the family wishes for the shotgun to be destroyed in accordance with state law,’ before instructing that it be included in the department’s next gun burn.
A separate police report shows the weapon was incinerated on September 27, 2022, although the documents do not identify which family member requested its destruction.
And, while past reports described the shotgun as resting across Cobain’s chest, in his arms or between his legs, the original SPD evidence file obtained by the Daily Mail also recorded that it was found in his left hand.
The shotgun has remained at the center of debate for decades, but its destruction permanently ended any hopes of new forensic testing.
At the time, investigators did not recover a legible or identifiable fingerprint from the shotgun, pen or shell casings collected at the scene. Four latent prints were lifted from the weapon during the original investigation, but all were smudged and deemed inconclusive.
Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain died on April 5, 1994, at age 27, from a self-inflicted shotgun wound at his Seattle home
An email obtained by the Daily Mail reveals that the Remington Model 11 20-gauge shotgun found at Kurt Cobain’s death scene was destroyed at the request of his family in 2022
When asked about the weapon’s destruction, an SPD spokesperson told the Daily Mail: ‘The Seattle Police Department has closed this case.’
Gary Cobain, the rock star’s uncle, previously told the Daily Mail that he believes his nephew was murdered. ‘There should’ve been prints all over the gun,’ Gary said, adding that Cobain was believed to have placed the barrel in his mouth before pulling the trigger.
The shotgun was purchased for Cobain by his friend Dylan Carlson. A receipt dated March 30, 1994, was found in the right pocket of Cobain’s brown jacket.
The weapon then remained in SPD custody for 28 years before police authorized its destruction.
SPD has previously said its gun burns include weapons from closed investigations and court cases, along with firearms voluntarily surrendered by owners who no longer want them. The weapons are then transported to an industrial facility and melted at temperatures reaching approximately 3,100F.
Washington law permits police to dispose of firearms once they are no longer required as evidence and the applicable ownership, notice and disposal requirements have been satisfied.
State retention rules require departments to preserve records documenting the destruction of an evidence item, but do not impose the same retention period on the physical object itself.
However, the documents obtained by the Daily Mail do not identify the specific legal authority SPD relied upon, who was recognized as the shotgun’s lawful owner or which member of Cobain’s family asked for it to be destroyed and why.
Another file shows the date and location where the gun was destroyed
The Remington Model 11 20-gauge shotgun found at the scene was held by Detective Mike Ciesynski, who investigated Cobain’s death
Cobain’s body was discovered in the greenhouse above his garage by an electrician who had arrived to install security lighting three days after he died.
The King County Medical Examiner determined that Cobain died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and ruled his death a suicide.
That conclusion has stood for more than three decades, despite various theories about Cobain’s death, including recent claims from independent researchers who argued that the physical evidence points to homicide.
The researchers said the absence of identifiable fingerprints on the shotgun, the position of the weapon and the location of the spent shell casing was evidence that they believe deserves renewed scrutiny.
They also questioned whether the Remington could have ejected the spent shell into the position documented by police, as well as whether Cobain could have operated the weapon in the manner described in the official account.
Other concerns centered on the handling of the death scene and whether the physical evidence had been sufficiently tested before the case was closed.
Those claims have not been accepted by law enforcement, and both SPD and the King County Medical Examiner maintain that Cobain’s death was a suicide.
Cobain shared daughter Frances Bean with singer Courtney Love
Cobain’s body was discovered in the greenhouse above his garage by an electrician who had arrived to install security lighting three days after he died
The original evidence file provides a detailed inventory of the shotgun, ammunition and other objects recovered from around Cobain’s body.
It identifies the Remington by its serial number, 1088925, and states that police removed two unspent 20-gauge shells from the weapon and recovered one spent shell from the floor north of Cobain’s body. A box containing 22 additional rounds was found on the floor east of him.
Those 25 shells accounted for the contents of a full box of ammunition.
The evidence file also lists a handwritten letter with a red plastic pen ‘stuck into’ it, four rolls of 35mm film, 23 Polaroid photographs and cigarette butts collected from the surrounding floor.
Other items included an empty root beer can, a cigar box and its contents, a wallet, cigarettes, a lighter, dark glasses, an olive-drab hat, two towels and $120 in cash.
The evidence was placed under unusually strict controls one day after Cobain’s body was discovered.
In an April 9, 1994, memo, homicide Sgt Don Cameron emphasized that ‘NO ONE’ was permitted to examine or check out any item without the permission of himself or Capt Larry Farrar.
The memo was issued while evidence was still being processed and amid extraordinary international attention surrounding the death of one of the world’s most famous musicians.
The evidence file also lists a handwritten letter with a red plastic pen ‘stuck into’ it
Investigators with the Seattle Police Department (SPD) recovered a suicide note, a shotgun and a nearby heroin kit, leading them to conclude that the 27-year-old Nirvana frontman had taken his own life
The King County Medical Examiner determined that Cobain died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and ruled his death a suicide
SPD revisited the case in 2014, ahead of the 20th anniversary of Cobain’s death, after detectives discovered that four rolls of 35mm film from the scene had never been developed.
The resulting photographs provided clearer views of the room and evidence than some of the original Polaroids, but detectives said they found nothing that altered the suicide determination.
Photographs of the shotgun were subsequently released in 2016, allowing the public to see the weapon but not to subject it to independent physical examination.
Six years later, the gun itself was gone.
