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Kurt Donald Cobain born in Aberdeen, Washington, USA
Born at Grays Harbor Hospital in Aberdeen, Wa. to a 19-year-old waitress, Wendy and a 21-year-old automechanic, Donald. The pair - married for less than two years - eloped when they realized she's pregnant. A litte over 3 years later Kurt's younger sister Kimberly is born. At the time when Kurt is born they are still living in a delipidated shack behind a real house in Hoquiam with a combined annual salary around $6,000. The young family struggles to stay afloat financially. -
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End of happy childhood
Money is tight but the Cobains manage to have summer vacations on the nearby coast and regular winter trips into the higher elevations for sledding. All changes when after increasing fights over money Wendy informs Don she wants a divorce. Wendy leaves her quiet-type husband to explain to the kids what is happening. Don remains in denial about the reality of the split for months or even years to come. Around this time Kurt is aged 9 and once happy-go-lucky kid is no more. -
The Cobains move from Hoquiam shack to a real house and a home in Aberdeen
A two-story house on 1210 East First Street in Aberdeen becomes their first - and only - real home until parents divorce in 1976. Cobain later describes their situation as "white trash posing as middle class." Poor working class might be more accurate description. The house is located just a block or a two away from Wishkah river and only 15 minute walk from town center. -
Cobain's family had a musical and artistic background
Cobain's maternal uncle Chuck Fradenburg starred in a band called The Beachcombers, his Aunt Mari Earle played guitar and performed in bands throughout Grays Harbor County, and his great-uncle Delbert had a career as an Irish tenor, making an appearance in the 1930 film King of Jazz. Cobain begins singing at two years old. Whether the Cobains caught Woodstock hippy bug we don't know. But this tiny tambourine man probably knew how to wreak havoc with any instrument he could get his hands on. -
1st try at a song at age 4
At age four, Cobain starts playing the piano and singing, writing a song about their trip to a local park. -
End of happy childhood: parents split in March, divorce official in July.
Money is tight but the Cobains manage to have summer vacations on the nearby coast and regular winter trips into the higher elevations for sledding. All changes when after increasing fights over money Wendy informs Don she wants a divorce. Wendy leaves her quiet-type husband to explain to the kids what is happening. Don remains in denial about the reality of the split for months or even years to come. Kurt is 9 and once ball of energy, happy-go-lucky kid is of no more. -
Cobain's mother grants full custody of Kurt to his father
Bitter quarrels about visitation rights (and duties). At this point Cobain has been shuffled from one place to another like he was spoiled goods. Don has a new family though he promised Kurt not to remarry. Wendy ends up in an abusive relationship. Cobain witnesses one incident which results her mother being hospitalized with a broken arm. She refuses to press charges. Cobain becomes insolent toward adults and begans bullying another boy at school. -
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Smokes marijuana for the first time, aged 13
As far as anyone can tell Cobain continues to smoke pot for the remainder of his life. -
Gets to choose between a bike or a used guitar, chooses latter
As his 14th birthday present his uncle offers him a used guitar. -
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Records 1st attempts at songs
Couple of months shy of turning 15, Cobain cuts his first recordings in his aunt Mari's house. -
Cobain was more or less normal teenager, in many countries it's normal to party as hard as Cobain did as a youth
American youths are often high and mostly messy. Cobain probably wanted to get more phucked up and more often than the average kid but then again his situation was more phucked up than the average kid who didn't get shuffled from one house to the next like they were spoiled goods. That and taking drugs and drinking helped him be more assertive and creative. And yes, even made him look that bit cooler than the rest. It was bad enough to be the "unwanted" kid without being a square too. -
"Nirvana's" first semi-public gig, Cobain aged 20
A house party show in Raymond, Wa. including a couple of Led Zeppelin covers/jams with one of the hosts on second guitar. Not exactly what Cobain envisioned his first gig to be. But then again if you are ever going to do anything at all you have to start one day - and some place. Had Cobain declined to go, he might never have mustered enough courage to graduate from practice pad to live venue settings - no matter how lowly. For every succesful Nirvana there are thousands who dare not try. -
Nirvana's first U.S. tour after only 34 gigs under their belts
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Nirvana's debut album Bleach is released - before going to studio Nirvana has done no more than 30 gigs since having started
Not bad at all for $606 and 17 cents. Cover photo is taken by Cobain's then live-in-partner Tracy Marander during a Nirvana concert at the Reko Muse art gallery in Olympia, Washington where they lived. Love Buzz cover makes waves, as well as a one-off pop tune About a Girl - written about Marander without her knowing it - which stands out from other tracks that are more abrasive and leaning more towards heavy metal sound in general. Album's working title was called Too Many Humans. -
Cobain on songwriting in one of his first interviews
"When I write a song the lyrics are the least important thing. I can go through two or three different subjects in a song and the title can mean absolutely nothing at all. Sometimes I try to make things harder for myself, just to try to make myself a bit more angry. I try out a few subconscious things I suppose, like conflicts with other people. Most of the lyrics on the Bleach album are about my life in Aberdeen." -
Nirvana's first European tour "Heavier Than Heaven" after only 59 gigs under their belts and 2.5 years as a band
Double headliner tour, starting in UK, with Tad a crossover thrash band from Seattle. 38 dates in 9 countries and back home for X-mas. Tour's name was thought up by the tour promoters and was meant in part to poke fun at idea that vocalist and guitarist Tad Doyle alone weighed more than all of the members of Nirvana put together. -
Nirvana caught in the middle of history in the making
In Germany Nirvana plays in Berlin only two days after DDR's government has effectively put up their hands and allowed people to freely cross the Berlin Wall. -
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Forget huge audiences - but that's no reason to not put on a great show
There are still gigs where the band is lucky to have two dozen people show up. Of course a lot of the venues are tiny to begin with so you don't really even need a huge crowd to get an impression that you are wildly popular - or that people at least dig what you are doing! -
Fatal attraction?
Cobain and Love first lock eyes on each other at 11PM on Friday, January 12, 1990 at Satyricon, a small nightclub in Portland, Oregon. Cobain was there for a Nirvana gig; Courtney had come with a friend who was dating a member of the opening band. Already infamous in Portland, Love was holding court in a booth when she saw Cobain walk by a few minutes before his band was set to appear onstage. Within 30 seconds they are wrestling on the floor. Strangely Cobain's idea of flirtation works. -
Cobain's first experiment with heroin takes place in Olympia, he is few months shy of turning 24.
Cobain wrote in his diary that he tried heroin first time in "late 80s" which his friends dispute since he was still afraid of needles and because heroin wasn't even available then in Aberdeen. He dabbled with Percodan which is a prescription opiate instead. This was classic Cobain: recreating personal history as he saw fit. Cobain scolded a friend in 1987 who wanted to try heroin: "Why do you want to kill yourself? Why do you want to die so badly?" Everything is deadly - until you try it. -
2nd match in LA, no contest
Another wrestling match during L7 concert at Hollywood Palladium. Both disclose where they will be staying for the night. Love writes down her phone number on a napkin, tells Cobain to give her a call sometime. At 3AM Cobain calls Love and they talk for an hour. He mostly listens. Afterwards Cobain can't stop talking about Love to his friends, saying: “I’ve met the coolest girl in the whole world.” It will be 5 more months until the two meet again... By the time Nevermind is already out. -
Cool... or just crazy? Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison) is almost three years senior to Cobain (DOB 7/9/1964). Compared to Cobain, Love's seen it all and done most of it too.
Love's parents divorce when she is 5. At 9 she is diagnosed with mild autism. Says all her friends were teenage prostitutes in junior high and wanted to be part of their gang. Shoplifting at 14 sends Love to juvenile hall. There she knifes a girl because of something the girl said. After many foster homes is legally emancipated at 16. Later works as a stripper. Once aborts pregnancy. Lies about using heroin while pregnant with Frances. -
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Biggest rock star lives like a hobo in a car
Cobain didn't even have a roof over his head when Nevermind was conquering the charts all over the planet. His go-to home: 1963 Plymouth Valiant (valued at $550) -
Breakthrough album Nevermind is released
By January 1992, Nevermind replaces Michael Jackson's album Dangerous at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. Meanwhile Kurt is still effectively homeless and financially broke. -
Feeling like a million bucks?
This is probably what Cobain looked like on more days than he cared to count for. Apart from childhood, living in Olympia, Wa for little over 4 years turned out to be the longest period of his life that he was able to live in one address. No wonder that was also most fruitful period of his life at least when it came to writing music. During his stay in Olympia (April 1987 to July 1991) he wrote 75% of all the songs he was ever going to write. That's 46 songs in 52 months. Do better. -
Cobain and Love get intimate, become inseparable
They meet backstage after Nirvana's gig in Chicago's Cabaret Metro. -
Cobain and Love get hitched on Hawaii - not entirely sober
Novoselics do not participate per Love's wishes. Cobain has earlier confided to a friend with his doubts as to whether he is really in love with Courtney or not. Is convinced that he can however learn to love her. Cobain seems to be of the opinion that it's his duty to marry the mother of his child. -
Buys Carnation home - in vain
Cobain buys a dream get-away place for the whole family (with mountain bike and all) far away from the hustle and bustle of Seattle in Carnation, WA. The Cobains never move in because Love spins a yarn that local rednecks have threatened their lives. In reality Love doesn't want to live in the sticks. Another Cobain's dream is shattered. He buys a house in Seattle that he is ashamed to live in. He never sells his utopia in Carnation. -
Frances Bean Cobain born
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Iconic entrance in UK's Reading festival on Sunday
Everett True: "Krist Novoselic introduced Nirvana that evening as I appeared on the edge of the stage with the wheelchair, “…he’ll pull through. With the help of his friends and his family, he’ll pull through”. The whole stunt had been planned the previous night as a burn on those who’d been gossiping about Kurt and his wife, who’d just given birth to Frances Bean: Kurt’s in hospital, Kurt’s been arrested, Kurt’s OD’d, Courtney’s OD’d, the baby’s been born deformed…" Cobain was a funny guy. -
Vanity Fair's Strange Love article causes scandal, the Cobains are not allowed to be alone with their child for one month
"We went on a binge," she says, referring to a period last January when Nirvana was in New York to appear on Saturday Night Live. We did a lot of drugs. We got pills, and then - - - we copped some dope. Then we got high and went to S.N.L.. After that, I did heroin for a couple of months." "It was horrible," recalls a business associate who was travelling with them at the time. "Courtney was pregnant and she was shooting up. Kurt was throwing up on people in the cab. They were both out of it." -
So-called 1st suicide attempt, Love to the "rescue"
At around 19PM Cobain injects $30-$40 worth of heroin and drives home where his physical condition gradually (in about 2 hours time) deteriorates "to the point that he was shaking, became flushed, delirious and talked incoherently." Love decides to intervene by administering Cobain with MORE drugs before calling 911. Love claims to have saved Cobain's life. She is not arrested for possessing, injecting and administering illegal drugs. -
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Road to recovery: correct diagnosis for stomach pains and working treatment
During summer 1994 Cobain's debilitating stomach pains are finally correctly attributed to be caused from a pinched nerve which itself is brought about due to a curved spine (scoliosis). With proper meds Cobain realizes that he can be virtually pain-free without having to rely on heroin or other illegal substances to cope with pain. He called it "a miracle". The man we all called junkie in fact does push-ups in his own home. How many junkies do physical exercise? -
Road to recovery: correct diagnosis for stomach pains and working treatment
During summer 1993 Cobain's debilitating stomach pains are finally correctly attributed to be caused from a pinched nerve which itself is brought about due to a curved spine (scoliosis). With proper meds Cobain realizes that he can be virtually pain-free without having to rely on heroin or other illegal substances to cope with pain. He calls it "a miracle". The man we all loved to call junkie in fact does push-ups in his own home. How many junkies do physical exercise? -
So-called last interview in NY
Late evening interview by British rock journalist Jon Savage. According to Savage "Cobain was intelligent, cogent and as candid as he could be, given his situation." Savage says interview took place at his hotel room after Melvins' gig which Cobain and himself both attended. However, Melvins played in NY on 24th, that's full 2 days later... Music journos... as pissed - if not more so - than folks they are supposed to be interviewing. -
Yes, he bloody well ate food. IHOP was his favorite restaurant.
Imagine the appetite when one can actually start eating like a normal person - that is, without it causing you great pains to do so. Cobain figured that if he felt like an addict he might as well be one. Yes, it was that bad sort of a pain. Heroin seemed to be about the only thing that eased the pain. Ask yourself: would you have felt inclined to do heroin if you knew that it would help to take away the pain? Heroin is - after all - a painkiller. And effective at that. How can you be sure? -
In Utero is released
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So-called last photoshoot in NY
Photographed by Jesse Frohman who incidentally is still 20 years later making money off a dead man. Nice. Originally scheduled 5 hour slot turned out to be just 20 minutes. Also photoshoot had to take place inside the hotel where Cobain was staying instead of outside in Central Park as planned. According to Frohman Cobain was very stoned - and asked for a bucket because he thought he might puke - but very nice and agreeable. Some four and half months later Cobain is already dead. -
Last photo shoot - still not depressed
Cobain liked to shoot targets in the woods. That was one reason why he chose to keep guns in the house. Cobain had a friend buy the shotgun for self-protection as cops had confiscated all of his guns previously under the false pretext that he had been suicidal. Guns in photoshoots weren't real. Cobain was ASKED to pose as if blowing his brain out. A joke aimed at those who wanted to see him kill himself. -
So-called Rome overdose
Courtney Love wakes up around 3-4AM and finds Cobain unconscious on the floor and bleeding from his nose. However, ambulance is not called until 6.30AM. No one asked why. Cobain has taken champagne laced with Rohypnol (a.k.a. date rape drug). A prescription drug meant for Love's consumption is tasteless and odorless and when mixed with alcohol renders a person incapacitated and open to abuse. Anyone could have mixed the drug into Cobain's drink without him knowing. -
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Love to press: Rome just a tiff, no suicide attempt
"He was just upset that he was in some awful place and I was away enjoying myself and shopping. It was not a suicide thing... So now we're going back to the therapist when it all calms down." -
Cobain wakes up from coma 20 hours later in hospital, orders milkshake
After 20 hours Cobain regains consciousness. Cobain's first line of communication with Love is simply "fuck off" written on a piece of paper. Before Cobain's death this incident was not referred to as a suicide attempt. Gold Mountain's Janet Billig: "Kurt insisted it was not a suicide note. He just took all of his and Courtney's money and was going to run away and disappear." Later Cobain seems still perplexed as to what really went down and why. Rohypnol is known to cause amnesia. -
Love to press: Rome just a tiff, no suicide attempt
Love: "He was just upset that he was in some awful place and I was away enjoying myself and shopping. It was not a suicide thing... So now we're going back to the therapist when it all calms down." Dr. Galletta: "Cobain doesn't know what happened to him. He hasn't gained complete control of his memory. When he emerged from the coma, he was very hungry and asked for a strawberry milkshake!" Later still: "I'm still pretty freaked over the Rome thing, and need some time to rest and get over it." -
Police confiscate Cobain's guns
Love calls 911 claiming Cobain to be suicidal and locked inside a room with a gun. Police remove all the guns (and some pills they find) under this same pretext. Cobain denies being suicidal and explains that he locked himself up in a room simply to be left alone because his wife was out of control and verbally abusive. Later Love admits to the police that Cobain wasn't in fact suicidal and that she never actually saw him with a gun in the first place. -
Intervention in Cobain's home
As part of the intervention, Love threatened to leave Cobain, and Smear and Novoselic said they would break up the band if Cobain didn't check into rehab. After a tense five-hour session in the two-day process, Cobain retired to the basement with Smear, where they rehearsed some new material. -
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Cobain in LA's famous Exodus detox center for 3 days (it is frequently quoted he left after just one day)
Joe Mama said of Kurt: "I was ready to see him look like shit and depressed. He looked fucking great!" Cobain plays with his daughter, sees counselors. A fellow musician shares a joke about a client who went AWOL from a no-locked-in Exodus by climbing over the wall. A known joker, Cobain too "escapes" in a similar fashion before buying plane ticket back to Seattle. -
Fri: Cobain bolts from LA's Exodus Recovery Center on 3rd(!) day, flies back home to Seattle
Arrives on 3/30 and departs on 4/1. Most assume Cobain left detox on the 2nd day but he didn't SINCE March has 31 days! So, Cobain spent 2 nights and left on the 3rd around 7:25PM. He had better things to do: #1 Kick out male nanny #2 Binge on heroin for the last time before filing for divorce next week? #3 Ask Pfaff out? #4 Disband Nirvana? #5 See Campion's Piano. He had tried everything to make relationship with Love work. Enough's enough. What could possible go wrong?
Plenty, it seems. -
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Cobain's last day was as normal as normal can be
Love knew Cobain wanted out of the marriage. Just weeks prior to his death, she asked one of her attorneys to get the "meanest, most vicious divorce lawyer" she could find. On Monday, the last day that Cobain was seen alive, he had a big dinner in a restaurant with an intent to see Jane Campion's two-hour film "The Piano" afterwards. In the evening Cobain was last seen in a local dive bar and appeared to be utterly normal in his behavior. He declined an invitation to join some girl's party. -
Sat: Nanny sees Cobain, Love closes Cobain's credit cards
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Sun: Love hires private investigator to find Cobain
Love tells PI Grant that she doesn't know where Cobain might be. Yet when he calls SPD early next morning she tells police Cobain has flown to Seattle, has bought a shotgun and is suicidal. No one in the detox thought Cobain was suicidal. One councelor did later say that Cobain wasn't even close to admitting that he had an addiction problem. Maybe Cobain felt he had the situation in control. He had been through a drug detox before and was surprised at how easy it was for him to kick a habit. -
Cobain's last day before winding up dead was as normal as normal can be
Love knew Cobain wanted out of the marriage. Just weeks prior to his death, she asked one of her attorneys to get the "meanest, most vicious divorce lawyer" she could find. On Monday, the last day that Cobain was seen alive, he had a big dinner in a restaurant with an intent to see Jane Campion's two-hour film "The Piano" afterwards. In the evening Cobain was last seen in a local dive bar and appeared to be utterly normal in his behavior. He declined an invitation to join some girl's party. -
Mon: Love calls to report Cobain missing, suggests using Det. Terry for more info
Love poses as Cobain's mother to file for missing person report. The report is marked that Cobain has last been in contact with on Saturday, April 2nd. In it Love suggests them to run the case by Det. Terry. Begs the question, why? Has Terry inside information about where Cobain usually obtains drugs and/or where he chooses to use them? If so isn't he then breaking the law for not apprehending a known offender AND for sharing such information with Love? -
Tues: Cobain's presumed time of death
Estimation of the time of death is a critical component of forensic death investigations, but it is an imperfect science. Unless a death is witnessed, it is usually possible to provide only a time window during which death could have occurred. Decomposition process is based on studies under very controlled conditions, including a temperate climate (ie, 75° F). In reality, many deaths occur outside of these “ideal” settings, and additional confounding variables may be present. -
Wed: Nanny calls Dylan Carson if he's seen Cobain, two people claim having spoken to Cobain on April 6
Rolling Stone on 6/2: " Though the county medical examiner has determined that Cobain died on the afternoon of April 5, the police report that two people claim to have spoken to him on April 6. " Who were these two individuals and what did they thought they had talked about with a dead man? -
Thurs: Love stages her own suicide attempt for obvious media attention
Love is found in her L.A.hotel room with an ex-boyfriend Hole guitarist Eric Erlandson. She is whisked to a hospital, released 2.5 hours later, immediately arrested and released 3 hours later after posting $10,000 bail. After which Love checks into the same Exodus detox center that Cobain had left only 6 days before, only to leave it the following day after hearing about Cobain's death. According to Love's attorney, contrary to published reports, Love had an allergic reaction to Xanax. -
Fri: Cobain's body found when electrician is called in to install new security system
Novoselic: "Smack was just a small part of his life." A friend: "He and Courtney hadn't been getting along. The only thing keeping them together was Frances but Kurt had been talking of a divorce and trying to get custody." -
Thu: Cobain's body is cremated - per no wishes of his
Cremation takes place only 6 days after finding the body. Rather a haste particularly when Cobain never expressed a desire to be cremated in the first place. You'd figure someone as stubborn with details as Cobain to at the very least put pen on paper as to how he wanted his body to be dealt with after taking his own life. Also why would a guy who abhorred violence want to leave behind a junkie mess AND shot face as the last memory when he had all the time in the world to do it unobtrusively? -
Shotgun checked for fingerprints - one month later
Only partial fingerprints could be extracted at that point. Nice detective work (again). Cobain liked to shoot targets in the woods. That was one reason why he chose to keep guns in the house. Cobain had a friend buy the shotgun for self-protection as cops had confiscated all of his guns previously under the false pretext that he had been suicidal. Guns in photoshoots weren't real. Cobain was ASKED to pose as if blowing his brain out. A joke aimed at those who wanted to see him kill himself. -
Det. Terry murdered, first SPD officer killed in line of duty since 9 years
Det. Antonio Terry was the officer Love admitted on tape she dealt with to try and get people she didn't like, such as Caitlin Moore, busted. In other words Love was if not a Seattle police snitch per se, at least Det. Terry's snitch in some capacity. Naturally it begs the question how and when did Det. Terry return the favor to Love? Or didn't he? Just how well did these two know each other? -
Chilling with my Barq's Root Beer and my homies, yo. What Lollapalooza? Do I look like I care much, bro?
Cobain didn't want to do Lollapalooza and it cost the band (=him) millions. Nirvana - as far as he was concerned - was finished. Was he finished writing music? No, he just needed a break. This is what Cobain would likely have done at his Carnation "ranch" if only that one bloody week after skipping Exodus would have turned out differently... Newly - and happily! - divorced guy in his prime waiting eagerly to eventually win the custody of his pride and joy: Frances, aged 2. -
Police advice Love to get rid of Rome note, Love burns it upon receiving it back from SPD
During the tape recorded telephone conversation PI Grant had with Love, she tells him that when the police returned the note from Rome to her, Sgt. Cameron said "This will never do you any good. I'd get rid of this if I were you." "So, I burned it", Love says. -
So-called Rome note simply means Cobain wasn't willing to stop his heroin use - yet
In a taped conversation Love tells PI Grant that the Rome note mostly "trashes" her, but "it says one thing very definitely suicidal". Love tells that Cobain wrote that "Dr. Baker says I would have to choose between life and death. I'm choosing death." Grant interprets it as a doctor simply informing Cobain that if he doesn't get off drugs, he'd eventually die from them. In other words Cobain wasn't going to stop using heroin just because it might kill him some day. -
Eldon "El Duce" Hoke found dead
LA punk band singer claimed Love offered him $50,000 to kill Cobain. Hoke passed polygraph test (March 6th 1996). About a week later after "Kurt and Courtney" interview was filmed, Hoke takes a walk with someone his friends have never seen before. The same night Hoke is hit by a train and is instantly killed. Cops are unable to locate said mystery man and death is ruled "misadventure". -
Love sells Carnation house for profit
After this it's like Cobain's dream never even existed. Why set up a museum when there's $402,000 to be had, right? -
How low can you go? Lower than you think.
Cobain grew up in Aberdeen, Washington and held a grudge against it for many long years. Like all little towns it doesn't appreciate folks who are or pretend to be different from the rest. If you are gay, you keep it to yourself. If you have money, you don't show it. If you have dreams, you drown them in drink. That's how small towns roll. The good Aberdonians didn't want to be associated with a loser. Today their sentimental christ figure is up on display because they could smell Graceland. -
20 years later police finally develop original 4 rolls of film and publish some of it.
Due to deterioration pictures now have a green tint. Cold case detective who was asked to develop the four rolls of film and conduct interviews due to "high media case": “It wasn’t going to change my decision that this was a suicide, and actually I’m the one that makes the decision finally: do we go forward or not? Morally I would not be able to justify that. Legally I can’t justify doing that.” Detective informs that the final investigation report has not yet been completed.
