From the Age, Melbourne, Australia
Shortly before she committed suicide last year with her younger brother,
15-year-old Narelle Henderson, of Kinglake West, wrote on her arm:
"Kurt Cobain is a legend."

A diary found later at Narelle's home included more references to Cobain, lead
singer of the American band Nirvana, who had shot himself dead several months earlier.

"Kurt you are so f lucky. I would give anything to be' where you are or with you."

Narelle's obsession with the grunge rock hero was cited by a coroner yesterday
as a contributing factor in her suicide with her 12-year-old brother, Stephen Henderson,
in the Mount Robinson State Park at Pheasants Creek in November last year.

Both had bullet wounds to the back of the head. But while Cobain's suicide was
influential, the dread of attending a forthcoming religious camp was probably
uppermost in the children's minds at the time they shot themselves, and the immediate
motivation for their suicide pact, the coroner, Ms Jacinta Heffey, found.

A suicide note found in clothing worn by Narelle said: "We want to tell (whoever finds us)
not to make anybody go to Meetings or Church if they really hate it. "It destroys your life
and we considered running away or other things but we were afraid we would be found
and get in trouble and made to go back to our awful lives . . ."

The children were due to attend a four-day religious convention either the night before
or the day of the convention. Ms Heffey said in her finding: "It would seem clear
that the imminent 'convention' was uppermost in the children's minds and
was the immediate motivation behind the joint suicide."

But Ms Heffey said Narelle was "also influenced to some degree" by the suicide of Cobain
in April 1994. A letter found in Narelle's room, in which the text was written backwards,
said: "Satan I need help, I want to serve you and be a devil worshipper.
God is dead and no one cares. I am planning to kill myself on Tuesday.
When I die let me be a devil or demon and destroy everyone who hurt me.
I might have a seance and try and communicate with Kurt Cobain I love him,
when I die can I meet him please I need to. Let me be a devil or demon."

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