Police Release New Photos of Kurt Cobain's Gun

In response to a public records request by CBS News, the Seattle Police Department released new photographs Thursday of the shotgun Kurt Cobain used to kill himself in 1994. Prior to the release, the gun had never been seen publicly, with the exception of some crime scene photos that offered a partial view. Cobain was found dead still holding the shotgun. Conspiracy theorists have fueled a rumor that Cobain was actually murdered and the gun melted down in order to destroy evidence of a cover-up by the Seattle PD. The new photos refute that theory, as they were taken recently and show the gun being held by cold-case homicide Det. Michael Ciesynski.

Ciesynski is the current detective of record on the Cobain case, and he declared in 2014 after reviewing the file and additional evidence that the rocker's death was correctly declared a suicide. Last year, Soaked in Bleach, a film by private investigator and former LA cop Tom Grant, presented the case that Cobain was murdered and the crime was covered up, using the melted-down shotgun theory as part of its "evidence." After hearing about the new shotgun photos, Grant told CBS, "I suppose some people will say I am not reliable because I got one thing wrong," but he still believes the evidence "indicates Cobain was murdered" and that the investigation should be re-opened. See the new photos at CBS. (More Kurt Cobain stories.)