The Seattle Police Department has released never before seen images of the gun that Kurt Cobain used to kill himself in 1994.
The photos (below) show cold case Det. Michael Ciesynski holding the shotgun in various positions. While photos from Cobain’s death scene have been released over the years, this is the first clear view of the weapon that killed him.
The photos, obtained through an open records request by CBS News, come in response to conspiracy theorists who claimed that the Seattle police melted the gun down to cover up Cobain’s murder.
Cobain was the frontman of groundbreaking grunge band Nirvana. Despite the band’s success, Cobain grew disillusioned with fame, eventually turning to heroin.
After escaping from a rehab facility in Los Angeles, the singer/songwriter flew home to Seattle. He was found dead in his home on April 8, 1994 beside his drug kit. Toxicology reports revealed there was a large amount of heroin in his system.
Nirvana was one of the most popular bands of the early 1990s, with songs like “Smells Like Teen Spirit” serving as the anthem for many of Generation X. The band has sold over 75 million records worldwide and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.
