Police release photos of shotgun Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain used to kill himself

Police in Seattle have released photos of the shotgun Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain used to kill himself more than two decades ago.

Cold case detective Mike Ciesynski is shown holding Cobain’s gun at different angles in five photos posted to the police department’s website.

The pictures were taken in last June, put on the city of Seattle’s computer system on March 3 and since then have been added to the investigative file, according to police.

Police did not explain why they released the pictures.

However it followed a public records request from CBS News for the photos to “dispel a rumour...that the shotgun had been melted down to hide evidence in a supposed...coverup of a potential murder.”

Cobain’s body was found in Seattle on April 8 1994. An investigation determined that a few days earlier he had gone into the greenhouse of his large home and taken a massive dose of heroin. He then shot himself with a 20-gauge shotgun. His death was ruled a suicide.

Amid a swirl of rumours surrounding his death, Mr Ciesynski reviewed the case files on the 20th anniversary of Cobain’s death in 2014 and said he found no new information to change the police conclusion that the singer took his own life.

Cobain, who was 27 and married to the rock singer Courtney Love, helped popularise the Pacific north-west’s grunge rock music, along with bands like Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Mudhoney.

Follow @StandardShowbiz for more entertainment news.