Just six days before Kurt Cobain was found dead, his wife Courtney Love, hired Private Detective Tom Grant to find Kurt. You may remember that Kurt walked away from a drug rehab center and promptly vanished. Tom Grant does not believe Kurt committed suicide. He suspects foul play. Detective Tom Grant is a former L.A. County Sheriffs detective, and at present, a licensed private investigator practicing in Beverly Hills, California. What's behind this talk of Kurt Cobain being murdered? Tom Grant explains.
Q - Courtney Love hired you to find Kurt. Why did she select you? Did you come through a recommendation from a mutual acquaintance?
A - No. This was on a holiday, Easter Sunday, April 3 (1994) and I happened to be in my office. Courtney was down here in Beverly Hills and she opened up her phone book to try and find a private investigator that she could hire at that time. She saw my ad in the phone book. So, it strictly came from an ad in the phone book. I was reading an on-line post from one of Courtney's supporters saying 'this will teach Courtney Love to never hire anyone out of a phone book.' To that, I would have to agree. Courtney Love should never hire anybody that she's not able to pay off.
Q - Why is Courtney Love mad at you?
A - I really don't like to referring to the O.J. Simpson case, because it's just out there in everything everybody writes and talks about. But, the natural response to a question like that is, why is O.J. Simpson mad at Chris Darden and Marcia Clark? I'm just doing my job, but, I'm accusing her of being involved in a murder. So, naturally she's going to be angry just like O.J. is going to be angry at people accusing him of something.
Q - Did you break some kind of law by pursuing an inquiry into Kurt Cobain's death after Courtney initially hired you?
A - We'll have to let the courts decide that. I was totally aware of a business and professions code that states private investigators are not allowed to disclose information of an investigation except to the police and to the client. In the material I wrote to the Department of Consumer Affairs, who licenses private investigators, I listed ten to fifteen reasons why I violated that law, if there was actually a violation of law there. To this day, my license had not been suspended or revoked. In fact, I've never heard back from the Dept. of Consumer Affairs. I'll welcome a court challenge to what I've done here. The fact is, when I realized something was wrong, I did go to the police. I was eventually put in a position where, since the police blew me off, and other people started dying that were close to this case, I felt among other things, that my life was in danger if I kept quiet.
Kurt Cobain: Suicide or Murder? His Father-in-Law Talks
It's a story that's been whispered about almost from the beginning - did Kurt Cobain commit suicide or was he murdered?
In the Underground, there have been all kinds of theories, conjectures and hypotheses thrown around. There is however, one man who should know.
That man is Hank Harrison. Mr. Harrison is the father of Courtney Love (Kurt Cobain's wife). He was also the first Personal Manager of The Grateful Dead. What you're about to read will change the way you view the death of Kurt Cobain and the music world forever.
Q - Mr. Harrison, where were you when you heard the news that Kurt Cobain was found dead, and did you initially believe foul play was involved?
A - I was writing a book. I was sitting at my computer. A friend of mine called me. He heard it on the radio about 10, maybe 11 in the morning. I immediately felt very, very bad. I knew there was some kind of foul play. There was no doubt in my mind.
Q - Why would anyone want to kill Kurt? Did he owe money to someone? Did he burn someone on a deal?
A - I don't think he burned anybody. I think he was getting out of the business. If you read Michael Azzarad's book you'll see he had a fantasy for a long time of doing what The Sex Pistols did, and that was signing a contract, taking the money and then cutting out. He wanted to do that to Geffen I think. He wanted to get out of the Geffen contract I assume, although I'm not one hundred per cent sure of that. I've also been told by other people, and also the private investigator, that Courtney has made statements that there was $9 million dollars on the table for the Lollapalooza concert tour and Kurt didn't want to do it. Somebody might've shot him 'cause he turned down the Lollapalooza gig. It put the whole Lollapalooza tour in jeopardy, because Lollapalooza without a big act in the front of it, wasn't going to make as much money as Lollapalooza with a bunch of small acts. Kurt had a problem with the guy who was promoting the Lollapalooza tour and the whole concept of it. The first year he did Lollapalooza the promoter had a Marine recruiter come in and Krist Novoselic especially took umbrage to that. They didn't want to go and do it. They didn't like the guys approach to multi-media. Who knows what all the details were. But, Kurt was tired. He didn't want to go on a big tour. I don't think they actually announced he was going to do it. There was some speculation that he might. But, somebody didn't like it. Courtney told the private investigator that she especially was upset about the $9 million dollars.
Kurt Cobain's cousin talks - believes death was a suicide
Bev Cobain is an older cousin to Kurt Cobain.
She is an accredited psychiatric / mental health nurse who works with depressed, suicidal, and dually diagnosed patients ages 13 and up. She belongs to the American Association of Suicidology and the Washington State Youth Suicide Prevention Committee. She teaches suicide intervention workshops for the state of Washington.
Bev Cobain is the author of "When Nothing Matters Anymore" which looks at teen depression as teens themselves experience it by examining what happens, what hurts, what's hidden, and what helps. Bev has spoken with hundreds of teens about the realities of teen depression, about feeling beyond blue, and what they themselves can do about it. We spoke to Bev Cobain about her book, suicide and depression, and her famous cousin Kurt Cobain.
Q - You wrote this book for depressed teens. Kurt was 27 years old when he died. Are you saying then that his problems started in adolescence?
A - You know, I've learned an awful lot about depression since I wrote that book, and during the time that I was writing it even as a psychiatric nurse I didn't know. Part of that is most depression begins in the teens or sooner. So, I am saying that Kurt did have some problems early in his life. I don't know what they were except that I know he was diagnosed with bipolar illness at a fairly young age.
Q - Does it follow that if you're depressed you will commit suicide?
Q - No. What follows is if you're depressed there is a potential to become suicidal, because around ninety percent of suicides involve depression.
