The official King County Medical Examiner's report and multiple credible sources consistently establish April 5, 1994 as Kurt Cobain's date of death. While the body was not discovered until April 8, the forensic determination of April 5 is the legally and medically recognized date, unchallenged even by recent 2026 studies that dispute the manner of death. One minor outlier source suggests "around April 6," but this does not meaningfully undermine the established record.
Caveats
April 5 is a forensic estimate based on body condition analysis, not a directly witnessed time of death — the body was discovered three days later on April 8, 1994.
Recent 2026 forensic studies challenge the official manner of death (suicide vs. homicide), though none dispute the April 5 date itself.
Some sources citing April 5 are reproductions of official documents hosted on non-official domains, though their content is corroborated by multiple independent credible outlets.