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Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
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Courtney Love Sued for Allegedly Ordering Murder of Son-in-Law

After 24 years since Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain’s suicide, his wife Courtney Love has been accused of ordering the kidnapping and attempted murder of her former son-in-law in an effort to reclaim Cobain’s most famous guitar, according to a recent lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

LOS ANGELES (CN) – After 24 years since Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain’s suicide, his wife Courtney Love is accused of ordering the kidnapping and attempted murder of her former son-in-law in an effort to reclaim Cobain’s most famous guitar, according to a recent lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Isaiah Silva, ex-husband of Frances Bean Cobain, is suing Love over an alleged incident that took place in June 2016, where two men, including actor Ross Butler of the Netflix series “13 Reasons Why” and Love’s business manager, Sam Lutfi, broke into his West Hollywood home and “burglarized, robbed, assaulted, sexually battered, kidnapped and attempted to murder him,” according to the 86-page complaint filed on May 25.

Lutfi, real name Osama Nicolas Lutfi, was allegedly trying to reclaim a guitar given to Silva by Frances Bean Cobain that was played by Kurt Cobain during Nirvana’s legendary “MTV Unplugged” concert in November 1993. The following year Cobain committed suicide at his Seattle, Washington home.

Love has often been accused of killing her ex-husband, though the official coroner's report listed his death as suicide.

Lutfi formerly served as a business manager for Britney Spears. He later sued Spears’ parents for defamation over their claims that he preyed on their daughter and cut her off from the rest of her family.

The 1959 Martin D-18E guitar is believed to be “worth millions of dollars” which Silva said was gifted to him in January 2014, six months before he married Frances Bean Cobain, according to the complaint.

The complaint alleges in June 2016, Lutfi, Butler and Yan Yukhtman broke into Silva’s home and banged on his bedroom door, saying that they were with the Los Angeles Police Department. Silva claims he was later dragged out of his home and taken away in a black Cadillac Escalade.

One of Silva’s friends at his home at the time called the police and attempted to block the Escalade with his own vehicle. The police arrived and ordered everyone in the Escalade to get out with their hands up. Silva said Lutfi threatened him and his family’s life if he did not convince the police with a story that the men were old college friends from out of town and the kidnapping was part of a prank.

Five days after the incident, Silva filed a report with police. Silva said he believes he would have been murdered at another location if the LAPD did not intervene that day.

The complaint includes copies of emails and texts correspondence between Frances Bean Cobain, Love and Lutfi and a series Lufti sent to Silva after the June 2016 incident.

In one text message, Lutfi pressed Silva to sign a divorce agreement that would give back the guitar to Cobain and Love.  The text from Lutfi to Silva said, “this agreement is your one and only choice, consider it your lifeline.”

Silva said his family members were also threatened as part of what he called a “criminal conspiracy” that aimed to take back the guitar and remove him from his West Hollywood home.

Silva also claims Lutfi acted as a drug dealer, providing Love and her daughter narcotics and illicit benzodiazepines. Silva names Love, Lutfi, Butler, Yukhtman and several others, including Lutfi’s attorney, Marc Gans of Beverly Hills as defendants.

Silva is represented by Stanton Mathews of Mathews Nissen LLP and Douglas Unger.

Categories / Courts, Criminal, Entertainment, Law

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