ELDON HOKE, AKA El DUCE. 


Sources,
1....High Times April 1996, pages 14 & 15.

2....Who Killed Kurt Cobain?, published by Birch Lane Press, Pages 131-134.

3....Broomfield's film Kurt and Courtney.

4....Loser, The Real Seattle Music Story, by Clark Humphrey, published be  Feral House, pages 33, 39, 40, 98.  The April '96 edition of High Times featured an article called Who killed  Kurt Cobain?, written by Tim Kenneally and Steve Bloom.  in this article the  authors aired the views of Tom Grant, El Duce and Hank Harrison.  El Duce was a first degree beergut.  he was the singer for the notorious band  called the Mentors, who, strangely enough played thier debut gig at a club  called The Bird, in Spring St, Seattle, on March 4th, 1978, (see Source

4.)   Courtney met El Duce in the late 80's.  A founder member of her group Hole,  Caroline Rue, was going out with Eric Carlson, aka Sickie Wifebeater, who was  the Mentors guitarist, (source 4.) The fact El Duce had some knowledge of/connection to, Seattle would be useful. During the High Times article El Duce claimed that in the last days of  December 1993, Courtney pulled up outside The Rock Shop, A music shop, at  1644 Wilcox Ave, Hollywood, and spoke to him.  The conversation went;  CL, "El, I need a favour of you.  My old man's been a real asshole lately, I  need you to blow his fucking head off." El,   "Are you serious?." Cl,  "Yeah,  I'll give you $50,000 to blow his fucking head off." El,  "I'm serious if you are." CL,  "Where can I reach you?." El,  "You can reach me here."  They then went into the store and he handed her a business card.  The manager  of the shop, Karush Sepedjian, remembers the visit.  He said,  "El was  kicking it out on the bench in front of the store and she came up to.  I  overheard her saying,  "can you handle doing this?. Can you get this done?.   What do you want for it?."  They were talking about knocking off Kurt Cobain.   Then El brought her inside and said to me quietly,  "She offered me  $50,000".  Love then took the business card and left.   Sepedjian then went on to say that in March 1994 Courtney contacted the shop  asking for El duce, who, at the time was on tour.  Courtney was screaming,   "That son of a bitch, we made an agreement.  What am I going to do?."   Sepedjian replied,  "I don't know, I've got a business to run.  Goodbue." Ten days later Kurt's body was found. (This would imply that she spoke to Sepedjian around March 30th.  Could this  be the business she told Grant and Carroll she had to attend to, rather than  flying back to Seattle to look for Kurt?.) Sepedjian said,  "I was like, Whoa!, I wonder if she actually did pay some  sucker to blow off his head?." El Duce said,  "Maybe she got somebody else.  I think kurt was getting ready  to divorce her for adultery charges.  She had to have him whacked right away  so she could get the money".  In Wallace and Halperin's book they provide a whole section about El Duce  which provides more information.  At the time Courtney phoned El Duce, (end  of March,)  Sepedjain described Courtney as Frantic. "She was frantic." This is similar to the way Joe Mama described her.  Joe Mama visited Kurt at  the rehab clinic on April 1st, just before Kurt left, he described Kurt;  "I  was ready to see him look like shit and depressed.  He looked fucking  great!."  Joe then saw Courtney after Kurt had left rehab, he said of her,   "She was really freaked out, so we drove around looking for him at all the  places he might have gone.  She was really scared from the begining.  I guess  she could tell," (Cobain by the editors of Rolling Stone, p.83.) The important question here, in the light of the El Duce/Sepedjian  information, information Courtney has tried so hard to suppress (but not by  legal means but by intimidation,) is, was she scared and freaked because of  her concern for Kurt?, or was she in this state because her plans were in  imminent danger of collapse?  And as Kurt was AWOL, she had no control over  him he could sign his new will and proceed with divorce?.  Do I go with Joe's  possible mis-interpretation of Courtney's behaviour, and lets face it, Joe  thought Kurt looked "fucking great,"  Or do I go with El Duce?, who has  passed a polygraph test.  I have to go with El Duce.  it's not like he gained  anything by his claims, he just ended up dead, like Kurt.  And another possibility which springs to mind is this, when Courtney and Joe  were driving around L.A. looking for Kurt, was she actually trying to locate  El Duce, or maybe find someone else to take care of "business"?, unbenownst  to Joe who really was trying to find Kurt?.  Joe, how do you reconcile your  perception of Kurt looking so great, with Courtney's claims that he was  suicidal?.) 

On March 6th, 1996, El Duce passed a polygraph test.  This test was held by  Dr. E. Gelb, one of Americas leading polygraph examiners.  According to Gelb,  El Duce's story is completely truthful.  When asked the question, "Did  Courtney Love ask you to kill Kurt Cobain?,  El Duce's positive response  showed a 99.91% certainty that he was telling the truth, which falls into the  category "beyond possiblity of deception". El Duce contacted the Seattle Homicide Department and also the Los Angeles  Police Dept.  Both he and Sepedjian have offered to take similar tests for  the police, but both departments have declined, and refuse to persue the  investigation. (Why?.  Why do the Seattle Police constantly deny that there are legitimate  reasons to re-open the case?.  I think it must be for the reason that the  initial investigation was so completely inept that it would be a major  embarrassment to them.   During the Green River Murders in Seattle, the Homicide Detectives ruled out  suspects on the strenght of their polygraph results.  Why then, do the  Seattle police choose to ignore El Duce's pass on the polygraph test?. ( see  The Search for the Green River Killer, by Carlton Smith and Tomas Guillen,  published by Signet True Crime.)  To anyone who ever benefitted, on any level, from the work of Kurt Cobain,  and who want to see his death treated with the dignity and respect that he  deserves, rather than the lies and farce bestowed by Courtney, I would  suggest that they become actively involved in pressuring for a new  Independent Investigation into the circumstances of his death, and send  letters of protest to the Seattle Chief of Police.  Chief Norm Stamper, The  Seattle Police Dept.  610 Third Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104-1886, USA.)  Love and her legal representatives have refused to comment on her whereabouts  at the time of El Duce's claims.  Wallace and halperin told these lawyers  that if they could prove courtney wasn't in L.A. in December 1993, they would  dismiss El Duce's claims as a fabrication. Nirvana did a gig at The Great Western Forum, Inglewood, CA, on December 30th  1993.  Inglewood is no further than 10 miles from Hollywood and The Rock  shop.  It is well known that Courtney travelled with Kurt, so the chances are  pretty high that she was in L.A, on December 30th 1993, which would support  El Duce's claims.  Source, Cobain by the editors of Rolling Stone, p.142.) Courtney's lawyers, whilst refusing to provide information on her whereabouts  at this time, have tried to discredit other aspects of El Duce's claims.  Her  attorney, Seth Leichtenstein points out that in one interview El duce said he  was seated on a bench outside the shop when Courtney approached him to