Photos of Kurt Cobain’s death scene will not be made public

The Washington State Court of Appeals has ruled that photographs from the scene of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain’s death will not be released publicly.

KING5-TV reports the court ruled Tuesday that the photographs are exempt from Washington state’s Public Records Act and releasing the photos would “violate the Cobain family’s due process rights under the 14th Amendment.”

Cobain’s widow, Courtney Love, and his daughter who was a toddler at the time of his death, Frances Bean Cobain, filed testimonies to keep the photos from being made public.

The ruling comes after Seattle journalist Richard Lee appealed the case’s dismissal. Lee has pursued the release of 55 photos in an attempt to prove Cobain did not die from suicide in 1994, but rather was killed.

On April 8, 1994, an electrician found Cobain dead in the living quarters above his garage at his home, located at 171 Lake Washington Boulevard East in Seattle. Forensic analysis at the time determined he had killed himself on April 5. The Seattle Police Department incident report stated: "Kurt Cobain was found with a shotgun across his body, had a visible head wound and there was a suicide note discovered nearby." The King County Medical Examiner noted puncture wounds on the inside of both the right and left elbow.

Prior to his death, Cobain had checked out of a drug rehabilitation facility and had been reported as suicidal by Love.

This story was originally published May 16, 2018 at 2:23 PM with the headline "Photos of Kurt Cobain’s death scene will not be made public."