Cobain case lacking in surprises
SEATTLE (Al>) - Thorp
havo boon no surprises in Iho
p<j| ic.«r investigation of grunge
roc.ker Kurt Cktbain's shotgun
suicide and the probe is
expet ted to wind up tills
week. an investigator sata i nursonv
"Thom is nothing that's out of lino with tho iwsic
assumptions wo had from tho Iteginning. We found
nothing that is inconsistent nothing that would
load us to holiovo it was anything hut n suicide."
said homicide Cap! 1-arrv Farrar
Farrar said police worn not troubled by apparent
mi (insistencies in the case
For example, the King County medical examin
er's office has said f iolsun —- whose IxxU was found
April H died in the late afternoon or evening of
April T>. based on the condition of the fexly and evi
dence at the s< one. The singer could hove died sev
eral hours earlier or later, noted Nikolas 1 lartshonie.
the assistant medical examiner who conducted the
autopsy.
Seattle police said earlier this week they had
received reports that the 27-year-old Coham con
tacted two friends April ti — one in person and one
by telephone
Farrar noted the time of death is "a rough esti
mate at bust."
Colxiin's Ixxlv was found in living quarters above
the garage of the comfortable. St 2 million c edar
shake home near lake Washington that ho shared
with his vs ife, rex k singer Courtney l.ovo. and their
20-mmith-old daughter. Fram es Bean Cobain.
Farrar noted that "when you're dealing with rix k
stars and drugs it s a lifestyle that's certainly dif
ferent from what many jceople have "
There have been several recent development*
related to the death of Cobain, singer, songwriter
and guitar player for the pioneer grunge hand Nir
vana. which has sold more than H million records
in the past three years
Poles’ in Beverly Hills. Calif., confirmed Wednes
day that Love was rushed to a hospital for treatment
of a possible heroin overdose on April 7, the day
before Cobain's body was found. She was subse
quently arrested for possession of heroin and drug
paraphernalia. She was released on $10,000 bail
pending arraignment May 5.
Love — whose bond. Hole, has just released an
album tiller! "Live Through This" — told Seattle's
KIKO-TV Wednesday that nartolii s were found
next to Cobain's bodv
The Seattle Post Intulligriu rrquoted an uniden
tified source in Thursday's editions as saying that
toxicology tests detected heroin and Valium in
Cobain's bloodstream 'Hie level of heroin was 1.52
milligrams per liter, the sourr e told the newspa
per
That's "a high concentration, by any ai count.”
said Dr Randall Baselt. who heads the Chemical
Toxicologic al Institute in Foster City, C,alif But he
said the of fee ts would depend on many factors,
including how ac i ustomed Cohain's system was to
the drug.
The King County medical examiner's office has
dec lined to release results of the toxicology tests
and would not say whether drugs were found in
Cobain's body
Farrar said that information had been released to
the family, but not to the public
Court rules erotic music law violates free speech
OLYMPIA, Wash (AP) — A
controversial Washington law
restrn 11salt’s of "eroth "
sound rtt ordings to minors vio
tales tht* free-speech rights of
adults, the state Supremo Court
rultKl Thursday.
The law — believed to 1m» the
first of its kind in tho nation —
allows a county prosecutor to
ask a judge to declare that a par
ticular recording appeals to
minors' prurient interests and
offends community standards
If the judge agrees, the record
ing must he inhaled adults
only."
A dealer who refuses to label
and restrict the recording's sales
could he fined up to $500 and
sentenced to six months in jail
Although the state constitu
lion permits thi» Legislature to
regulate speech it considers
harmful to minors, the eroti<
music law also applies to adults
and is an unconstitutional prior
restraint of their protw ted
expression. Justice Charles
Smith wrote for the unanimous
court.
Adults "may well refrain from
exon ising their rights for fear of
criminal sanctions" under the
law. Smith wrote.
Representatives of the music
industry hailed the decision but
warned that other attempts at
what they called censorship
would he mounted.
"ft was wrong for the Legisla
ture to try to make music ille
gal." added Gerard Sheehan,
spokesman for the American
Civil Liberties Union's Washing
ton iJiapter ''Music is prolix ted
by the First Amendment was
basically our claim, and that
apparently is what the Washing
ton Supreme Court agrees with
us on."
Paul Lawrence, the lead attor
ney for challengers to the law.
called the d« ision a "victory for
free speech in the state of Wash
ington It says the state will not
infringe on free expression."
In addition, "the sale or distri
bution {of erotic material) need
only be to retailers or distribu
tors and need not be to minors
for the prosecuting attorney to
take action, in effect, censoring a
recording prior to its publica
tion." Smith wrote.
Eugene jury to decide
on sex abuse lawsuit
(AP) — A Lane County jury is being asked to decide whether
social worker* and church official* ignored bruises that could
have alerted them to the abuse that a 9-year-old girl was suf
fering at the hands of her father.
Stephanie Amber Moss, when she finally regained con
sciousness after a final, brutal boating in 1991. was left with
“the abilities of someone six months old," her attorney. William
Barton, said in his opening statement on Wednesday.
Moss cannot spook, but mspnnds to soothing music and grows
agitated when she hear* male voices. Barton said.
Special education teachers working with the girl reward her
with lollipops when she sticks out her tongue to ' yes” or "no,"
he said, reading from a recent progress report.
The lawsuit filed on her behalf seeks $30 million in damages
to cover the cost of the round-the-clock rare she requires.
It names Moss’ father. Phillip Lee Kephart, 30, who plead
ed guilty to 19 felony charges stemming from the 1991 booting,
the state Children's Services Division and the United Penta
r.ostal Church of Cottage Grove.
Kephart. who will remain in prison until the year 2031, is not
contesting the lawsuit.
"Phillip Kephart was the one who struck her, hut CSD had
all the information it needed to stop what eventually happened,"
Barton argued
James Griffin, an Oregon assistant attorney general repre
senting CSD. told jurors that each of the formal complaints filed
with the agency regarding alleged abuse to Stophanie was thor
oughly investigated.
"The claim, ultimately, is that we were negligent for not
removing Stephanie Amber from the home," Griffin said. "But
the testimony will show that we never had anyone with one
scrap of evidence telling us that these injuries had been caused
by abuse."
l^rry Brown, the attorney representing the church, asked
potential jurors earlier this week whether child abuse is their
first suspicion when they see bruises on children.
Barton argued that church officials had failed to report marks
that wore obvious and alarming
In documents filed in Lane County Circuit Court, attorneys
representing the state and the church have denied all allega
tions of wrongdoing.
Saving fish runs to cost billions
CAP) — The Army Corps of En
gineers said Thursday that it
would have to return water flows
in the lower Snake River to near
natural levels to provide signifi
cant benefits to declining fish
runs.
The corps reported that low
ering all four lower Snake River
reservoirs to resemble the natu
ral configuration of the river
would cost almost $4.9 billion
and (.ouid take 17 years.
This was the only reservoir
drawdown option studied by the
corps that the agency said would
be effective. By drawing down
reservoirs, water flows would
increase and speed young fish on
their perilous journey through the
Snake and Columbia rivers and
out to sea.
pFTiVd0,Ner'"
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