his last days
March 1, 1994
on tour at Terminal Eins in Munich, Germany
Cobain is diagnosed with bronchitis and laryngitis
he is treated the next day in Rome
and joined by Courtney on March 3
March 4
Love wakes to find that Cobain overdosed
an apparent combination of champagne and Rohypnol
Love had filled a prescription for Rohypnol after arriving in Rome
he is immediately rushed to the hospital again
he spends the rest of the day unconscious
he spends 5 days in the hospital
he is released and returned to Seattle
[Halperin, Ian & Wallace, Max - Who Killed Kurt Cobain?]
Love claims this was Kurt's first suicide attempt
March 18
the alleged suicide note
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Cobainnote.jpg
Love phones police and says Kurt is suicidal
she said he locked himself in a room with a gun
police arrive
they confiscate several guns and a bottle of pills from Cobain
Kurt insists he was not suicidal,
and had locked himself in the room to hide from Love
when questioned by police, Love admittes:
Kurt had never mentioned that he was suicidal,
and that she had not seen him with a gun
[Seattle Police Department]
March 25
Love arranged an intervention concerning Cobain's drug use
10 people were involved:
musician friends,
record company executives,
and 1 of Cobain's closest friends, Dylan Carlson
Former Nirvana manager Danny Goldberg describes Cobain:
"extremely reluctant",
"denied that he was doing anything self-destructive."
still, Cobain agreed to undergo a detox program
[The Seattle Times - Questions Linger After Cobain Suicide]
March 30
Cobain arrived at the Exodus Recovery Center in Los Angeles, California
April 1
one of Frances Bean's nannies brought her to the facility
she stay for 1 hour visiting with Cobain
that night, Cobain walked outside to have a cigarette
he climbed over a six-foot-high fence to leave the facility
he took a taxi to the airport and flew back to Seattle
the next morning, he stopped by his Seattle home
he had a conversation with Michael "Cali" DeWitt
Michael lived at Cobain's house
Over the next several days, Cobain was spotted in various locations around Seattle
most of his friends and family were unaware of his whereabouts
April 3, Love contacted a private investigator, Tom Grant
he was hired to find Cobain
the next day Love filed a missing person report
but she used Cobain's mother's name without her permission
she added in the file that Cobain was suicidal,
and was in possession of a shotgun
[Seattle Police Department - Missing Person Report]
April 8,
Cobain's body was discovered in the spare room above the garage
this room is referred to as "the greenhouse" at his Lake Washington home
says Veca Electric employee Gary Smith
The address on Lake Washington
171 Lake Washington Blvd E, Seattle, WA 98112
Smith arrived at the house that morning to install security lighting,
and saw the body lying inside
Apart from a minor amount of blood coming out of Cobain's ear,
Smith reported seeing no visible signs of trauma,
and initially believed that Cobain was asleep
Smith found what he thought might be a suicide note
it had a pen stuck through it beneath an overturned flowerpot
A shotgun, purchased for Cobain by Dylan Carlson,
was found at Cobain's side
an autopsy report later concluded Cobain's death was a result of:
a "self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head."
the report estimates Cobain to have died on April 5, 1994
in the alleged suicide note,
ostensibly written to Cobain's imaginary childhood friend "Boddah",
Cobain quoted a lyric from Neil Young's song "My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)":
"It's better to burn out than to fade away."
Cobain's use of the lyric had a profound impact on Young,
who recorded portions of his 1994 album Sleeps with Angels in Cobain's memory
the note also evoked the name of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury,
who Cobain felt could revel in the adoration of an audience
a way that Cobain himself could not
Cobain's body was cremated
one third of his ashes were scattered:
at the Namgyal tibetan buddhist monastery in Ithaca, New York,
another third in the Wishkah River,
and the rest left in Love's possession
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