I labeled this letter - “ATTENTION” - first, to get yours, and second, to address the fact that some people seek public attention in order to elevate their lack of self-esteem. These people will often say or do almost anything in order to fulfill an emotional void or personal need. This brings me to the main topic of this letter.

                                       The Allen Wrench Hoax

I dealt with this issue in the Cobain Case Study manual years ago under the section labeled, “Hoaxes”.  

You can download the Cobain Case Study Manual in PDF format FREE of charge at:  www.cobaincase.com/manual.htm

I’m going to repeat what I wrote in regards to the demented character named  “Allen Wrench.”  Wrench is determined to convince the young and the naïve that he is the person who killed Kurt Cobain. He does this through subtle hints in e-mails and web posts, deliberate slips of the tongue and terrible acting during videotaped interviews.

Before I repost excerpts of what I wrote years ago, (and paraphrasing some of what I said back then), I should mention first that I realize there are many good people and sincere supporters who have taken this joker’s plastic bait.., hook, line and sinker. Whether you agree or disagree, I don’t mean to intentionally offend anyone here except those who deliberately spread false information about the facts of this case.  

That being said, here is what I’ve been writing about “A.W.” since he and I first exchanged e-mails many years ago;

When dealing with attention starved individuals, non-disclosed information helps investigators separate the "nuts" from the "bolts." This is the primary reason investigators do not publicly disclose every fact or detail of a particular case.

Police detectives and investigators are familiar with this “confession” syndrome. Whenever a murder case gets national media attention, police anticipate the actions of sick individuals who turn themselves in and confess to the highly publicized crime.

[Remember the guy who recently claimed he was the murderer of Jon Bonet Ramsey? He was willing to go to prison by falsely confessing that he killed a defenseless little girl, simply for the media attention he received. Of course it was later proven he did not commit that crime and he was released. But can you imagine how sick a person’s mind must be to be that desperate for attention?]

As it was getting off the ground, this “Wrench” guy tried to draw me into his sick fantasy world as we exchanged e-mails for a period of time. The undisclosed details of the case make it nearly impossible to play head games with me. When he realized I could see through his scam, he began posting in chat rooms and news groups and e-mailing our supporters. Over the years, he has managed to mislead and confuse thousands of nice but somewhat naïve young people.

Every time someone writes to tell me, "I know who killed Kurt Cobain! It’s a guy named Allen Wrench," this character gets has a good laugh--at the expense of those who only care about the truth regarding this case. By confusing others and wasting the time of those who take this investigation seriously, he has also managed to waste many, many hours of my time.

I realize Ian Halperin and Max Wallace included a chapter in their book, “Love and Death,” about this clown. I advised them they were only playing into his sick scheme for attention. They agreed that he wasn’t really credible and they doubted his story, but they are writers, not investigators. They told me their publisher wanted that chapter in the book because, “It makes the story more interesting.”

 And there you have it. Media people care about “interesting.” That helps sell books or increase record or video sales. Investigators should care more about facts and truth, whether it’s “interesting” or not.

I’d be willing to bet any investigator in the U.S. with a criminal investigation background, would easily see through the antics of this emotionally disturbed individual.

To those who are innocently helping him spread confusion by giving him the attention he craves on YouTube, websites, chat rooms etc., I can only advise you to do  whatever you believe to be the right thing for you to do. I’m more concerned about you’re pending embarrassment in the end than I am about your good intentions right now.

As for me, I cannot waste any more of my time responding to questions or comments about an issue I resolved so many years ago. We need to keep moving forward, not backward.

Tom