Eldon Hoke's Claims

Hello. It's been a long time since I made any posts here. In case anyone is wondering where I was, I have been preoccupied with a few things in my personal life. Now I am back but maybe not for long. Recently, I came across a video on YouTube by Video Friendly Unit Shifter. The video talks about a man called Eldon Hoke a.k.a. El Duce. He was a musician for a band called The Mentors where he sang and played the drums. In the Cobain Case, he is well known for making the claim that Courtney Love had offered him $50,000 to kill Kurt Cobain. On 19th April 1997, Hoke's dead body was found on railroad tracks. Blood tests revealed he had taken a high amount of alcohol. Officially, his death is recorded to be from an accident. Prior to his death, he had an interview with Nick Broomfield who was filming his documentary Kurt and Courtney. In the interview, Hoke talked about the alleged offer made by Courtney. Many people who support the murder theory suspect that Courtney killed him. They think she feared his claims will prove her guilt and so she wanted to silence him. Now his claim can make Courtney to become a suspect but it doesn't proves that she killed Kurt.

I realized that I haven't written about this topic on my blog. I recommend to watch the video before reading my post on this topic.

Firstly, I must tell you that I haven't watched the documentary Kurt and Courtney by Nick Broomfield. I live in India and I haven't been able to find any copy or a website to download or watch it online. I think that documentary is not available in my country. When I watched the video I mentioned above and saw a clip where Eldon Hoke mentioned that Courtney had the shotgun to kill Kurt, I was surprised. 

According to the books 'Who Killed Kurt Cobain?' (chapter 8) and 'Love and Death' (chapter 11) written by Ian Halperin and Max Wallace, Eldon Hoke and a man called Karush Sepedjian had met Courtney around New Year's Eve in December of 1993, a few months before Kurt's death. This is where Eldon claims that Courtney had offered him $50,000 to kill her 'old man'.  

Chapter 8 of the book, Who Killed Kurt Cobain?

Chapter 11 of the book Love and Death.

From what I know, on 18th or 19th March 1994, Kurt had locked himself in a room. Courtney, worried that he was suicidal, called the police. The police arrived and confiscated four guns from Kurt. According to one article I found, the guns included a revolver, two handguns and one semi-automatic rifle. There was no shotgun. It's said these were all the guns Kurt had in his possession at the time. The question is, did Kurt owned any shotgun around December of 1993? Because if he didn't then why did Hoke claimed that Courtney had the shotgun? Another question, was Courtney allowed to own guns? I don't think she was. Also, is he sure that Courtney was talking about Kurt when she mentions her old man? When I read the definition of old man in dictionaries, I learn that it could be used to refer to one's father or a husband. What if Courtney was talking about her father and not her husband? Not that it was nice of her to say such things. And yes, these sort of things are bad and will make you a suspect but the police still need evidence that directly proves the suspect to be guilty before they can arrest them. And lastly, as mentioned in the video of Video Friendly Unit Shifter, the gun Kurt used was something he bought with Dylan Carlson on 30th March 1994 (Chapter 3, Love and Death). The gun was registered under Dylan's name though Kurt took the gun with him after buying it. Courtney wasn't the one who got the shotgun. Remember that Hoke made this claim on 1997. The earliest book and documentary that gives us the details of this case weren't released then and it's likely that Hoke was unaware of the fact that Kurt bought the shotgun just a week before his death. It's possible that he was lying.

Chapter 3 of Love and Death

In case anyone is wondering why Kurt bought the shotgun under Dylan's name, he did it because the police confiscated his guns and perhaps he was not allowed to own any gun at that time. He told Dylan that he saw some prowlers around his house and he wanted a gun for safety. 

There's also another man called Allen Wrench who claimed he killed Kurt Cobain and Eldon Hoke. Though Tom Grant believes Eldon Hoke to be speaking the truth, surprisingly he doesn't believes Allen Wrench. Apparently, Grant believes in Hoke because he passed a polygraph test by a doctor who was later found to have fake credentials. For that note, polygraph tests do not reveal if the person is lying. It's just a theory that hasn't been perfectly accurate. Still, there are supporters of this theory and it is practiced in some places, likely to study, collect data and maybe find a way to make an accurate lie detector in the future. 

And even if Hoke was speaking the truth and he passed the test, the fact remains that Kurt was the one who bought the shotgun. And let's not forget that his guns were confiscated by the police on March. Also, Courtney went to the Peninsula Hotel on 28th March 1994 (Chapter 6 of Who Killed Kurt Cobain?). How or when did she learn that Kurt recently bought the shotgun? 

A passage from chapter 6 of Who Killed Kurt Cobain?

I must mention that some of Eldon Hoke's friends claim that he made the whole thing up to get famous and have some people become interested in his band and music. 

Personally, I think Eldon Hoke believed in the murder theory and he believed that Courtney is the guilty murderer. Maybe he had a strong belief in his personal opinion, such that he wanted to prove it and get Courtney arrested. He may have lied about the claims he made. There are some people who are willing to fabricate evidence just to get someone they strongly suspect to be sent to jail. Especially when they believe that the suspect is giving false evidence or using deception to prove their innocence. This makes them want to retaliate by giving false evidence and use deception to prove their guilt. In the end, you must verify whatever information and evidence you get before making a conclusion.

This is all I have to say about this topic. To summarize:

• Hoke claims that Courtney met him on December of 1993 around New Year's Eve. She offered $50,000 to him to kill her 'old man'. He also claims that Courtney had the shotgun at the time. I don't think Courtney owned any guns then. We'll need evidence that she can own guns. Or maybe he meant to say that Kurt had a shotgun that Courtney wanted to use for the murder.
• In mid March 1994, police arrived to Cobain's house after receiving a call from Courtney. They confiscated all the guns Kurt had in the house after Courtney mentions she thinks he's suicidal. None of the guns was a shotgun which contradicts Hoke's claim that there was a shotgun Kurt had which she wanted to use.
• On 30th March 1994, before leaving to Exodus, Kurt had purchased a shotgun with Dylan Carlson. This was the shotgun that was found next to his dead body on 8th April 1994. Kurt had purchased the gun under Dylan Carlson's name.
• Hoke publicly spoke about the claim during a time where getting details of the case was not widely spread and easily obtained. He may not have been aware of the fact that Kurt did not had the shotgun when he met with Courtney on December 1993. He may not have been aware that the police confiscated his guns just a few weeks before his death and that the shotgun found next to his body was something he bought with Dylan Carlson on 30th March 1994. This makes one question if he was making up his claim simply to get Courtney sent to jail. Or like some of his friends claim, he lied to get fame and attention.
• We have to verify all the information to his claim before we can believe it. Did Courtney went to meet him at the Rock Shop around New Year's Eve in December of 1993? We must also know about the limousine company that rented the car to her. Though not directly stated, the Rock Shop is located in L.A.. Was Courtney in L.A. around that time? If it turns out that Courtney wasn't there then his claim cannot be considered true even if he passed the polygraph test.   

-Indya