Kurt Cobain death a suicide, police reaffirm 20 years later

Kurt Cobain's death was indeed a suicide, police have once again concluded almost exactly 20 years after the event.

In re-examining the case, police viewed dozens of never-before-seen photos that had been collecting dust in a Seattle police evidence vault. The 35 mm film was processed last month at the King County Sheriff's Office photo lab.

"I was requested to look at the case because I'm a cold case detective because it is 20 years later and it's a high media case," Detective Mike Ciesynski told CBS Seattle affiliate KIRO-TV, who had the four rolls of film recently developed. "And there were always these conspiracy theorists out there, and so I was asked to look at the case and review it."

Even with a second look at the case and these new photos, police still say the 1994 case was clearly a suicide.

In April, the Nirvana singer, then 27, took a lethal dose of heroin before shooting himself in his apartment just days after being released from rehab. Veca Electric employee Gary Smith found the grunge rocker lying on the floor when he went to Cobain's house to do electrical work.

The syringes and heroin kit Cobain used, as well as the undeveloped film, were part of the re-investigation.

The 35 mm film wasn't developed until now because the case was considered a clear suicide, and the back-up Polaroid photographs were used instead.

Many believe the conspiracy theory that the "Smells like Teen Spirit" singer was murdered, but police once again discredited that notion.

"No change, no developments, no new leads," Detective Renee Witt, a police spokeswoman, told The Washington Post on Thursday afternoon. Many thought that police weren't just reviewing the case but were in fact re-opening it, but Witt clarified that any such reports are "very very incorrect."

Ciesynski said having the film developed will hopefully benefit everyone, and when KIRO-TV asked if the case was closed, he said, "Hopefully, I'm sure until the 25th anniversary comes up."